Every year, on March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day. It is a global celebration honoring not only famous women who appear in history books, leaders, pioneers, and trailblazers—it is also a day to remind us there’s still work to be done for women to achieve gender equality.
I will not go into the history of IWD, but I will leave links below for you. I will not list the trailblazers, the history makers, or any famous women, the heroes who contributed to the benefits women enjoy today.
Instead, I want to encourage all of us to reflect on the heroes who are close to home. The women who did not make the headlines in newspapers and magazines—the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and friends. The ones who quietly suffered, encouraged us, and loved us.
We can take a moment or two to acknowledge the women who inspired us, who nurtured us, who contributed to shaping us.
- Women whose strength lifts us to find our own strength and resilience.
- Think of the one whose story touched your heart and gave you hope to move forward.
- How do you feel when you picture the woman who listened to you, and when she spoke, her words enveloped you with compassion?
- The woman who acknowledges your successes and encourages you to follow your dreams.
- The one you could count on being there when you wanted to share your happiness and your struggles.
- The women who believe in you and your abilities to attain whatever you put your mind to.
These women who are not famous are our everyday heroes. Personally, there are several women who helped me, an immigrant child, in the United States.
However, my first hero is my biological mother, Sofia. Just saying her name and seeing her face with my mind’s eye makes me feel loved. Sadly, I only had her for ten years. But she left an indelible and solid mark on me. My mother gave me a foundation so strong, built with love, that it supported me throughout my life. A foundation I could build on, one that shaped me into the strong and compassionate woman I am today.
When I was nine years old, my mama sat me down and, in her normal loving way she said, “You are old enough now to do this.” She explained a process I had seen countless times performed by her. You see, my sister, who was two and a half years younger than me, used tantrums to get her way. No, she did not throw herself to the ground, screeching and crying. She just cried and held her breath until her tongue receded down her throat. As the little one struggled to breathe, our mother would pull her tongue so my sister could breathe.
So, pulling my sister’s tongue is what my mama told me I was old enough to do! Of course, I objected and argued that I could not do it. At the end, I accepted the responsibility, but luckily, I never had to perform the task. As adults, my sister and I laugh about her secret weapon to get whatever she wanted. For IWD information:
To me, that incident is an example of how my hero, my mama, empowered me. Being entrusted with what I thought at the time was a life-saving responsibility instilled that trust in myself and became one of the building blocks of my confidence. The lesson on how to help my little sister also taught me to accept responsibility.
As I reflect on International Women’s Day, I am reminded not only of the strength of famous women but of the quiet ones close to home. Their strength and resilience live in our stories, the stories we carry and share. In many ways, my adoption journey in my memoir Taxi to America was shaped by such women. I honor them all and I am grateful for every woman’s story, whether it is famous or familiar.
For information about IWD:
https://www.internationalwomensday.org/history-of-international-womens-day/
https://www.history.com/articles/the-surprising-history-of-international-womens-day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day#History
Stella Nahatis is the author of Taxi to America, a memoir of resilience, family, and the immigrant journey from Greece to the United States.