Women Making an Impact

Every year on March 8th, people all over the world observe International Women’s Day (Mezinárodní Den Žen). March has become synonymous with celebrating women, promoting equal rights and opportunities, and hosting women-centered events and activities.

A core group of five IWAP members began meeting last year to inaugurate an annual International Women’s Day event. In past years IWAP has held different activities, including a women-centered educational walk around Prague to view the statues and monuments of significant women, and informal gatherings over food and drinks. We thought it would be important for IWAP, as the leading association of international women in Prague since its establishment in 1991, to formally celebrate women who are making an impact in the Czech Republic.

Each of us on the planning committee experienced celebrations of women in our countries of origin and places we have lived. It was clear that we wanted to position IWAP to lead a positive and motivating celebration for International Women’s Day, strengthening our ties to other individuals, associations and organizations, and promoting IWAP’s threefold mission (to foster friendship, to promote insight into Czech culture, and to give support to Czech charities). We envisioned using our regular General Meeting time, opening it up to both members and non-members, and featuring Czech women and long term residents.

One issue we discussed in our planning was the history of observance of Mezinárodní Den Žen in the Czech Republic. In 1975, the United Nations inaugurated International Women’s Day. At that time, in what was then Czechoslovakia, Soviet style and rhetoric dominated the celebrations. Some people recall the day as one of obligatory celebration in which men gave women flowers, thanked them for their work, then went out to get drunk while leaving the women to clean up and take care of the kids. (This is described in an academic article by Karen Kapusta‐Pofahl, “Reinstating International Women’s Day in the Czech Republic: Feminism, Politics and the Specter of Communism” – Washburn University, Retrieved February 28, 2016). Communist propaganda did not acknowledge the inequality of women’s roles – women carried a “double burden”, expected to work full time as well as take full responsibility for traditional homemaking and child-rearing. With the end of the socialist regime, this style of observing International Women’s Day ended too. Some non-governmental groups organized events, including feminist activist marches and protests, though wider acknowledgement did not occur until the holiday was reintroduced by the Parliament of the Czech Republic in 2004, in line with United Nations objectives.

For our inaugural event we focused on selecting a panel of women who actively influence life in Prague. Our speakers were invited to share how they have identified needs and opportunities in their lives and careers, and how they are making an impact in social, professional and personal ways. The purpose was to inspire in each of us our own unique perspectives in how we, too, can make an impact.

The speakers we chose truly made our event a great success. About 120 people attended this special March General Meeting at the beautiful conference hall at Snemovní 7 in Malá Strana, including a dozen foreign-exchange students. Donations were collected to support the charitable work of Cesta Domů.