Being A Modern Woman In An Ancient Society

Standing up for your rights

Today March 8th we celebrate International Women's Day. Around the world many women are celebrating with pride the achievements of women throughout time. It is so unfortunate that in some societies it would be unheard that women should be allowed to have the ability to drive, be a political representative and so on. According to news media reports Egyptian women were not as fortunate to celebrate the modern woman. A protest by hundreds of Egyptian women demanding equal rights and an end to sexual harassment turned violent when crowds of men heckled and shoved the demonstrators, telling them to go home where they belong.

One might think that the International Woman's Day dates back only100 years, but the fact is women have tried over the years to gain better respect and place in society. The idea of an International Woman's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage. 

 Let's travel further back in time to the days of an empire that stretched many lands. Long ago, in a country called Persia (Babylon), there was a king named Achashveyrosh (as known in Hebrew... his Persian name was Xerxes) and a queen named Vashti.  King Achashveyrosh  ordered his wife the queen to appear before him at a party so he could show everyone how pretty she was.  The story commentary suggest that she was to appear only with her crown.When she refused, the king was furious. This you could say was one the start of a well know tradition of the Jewish people to celebrate the courage of the women in ancient Persia in a city called Shushan. 

Queen Vashti was dealt with swiftly but the Story of Queen Esther is the story of women deifying the laws of the land ( or of the time) Esther had to deal with the situation that her people ( the Jews) had been ordered to be killed. Esther who was chosen to replace Vashti was not allowed to come before the king unles she was summoned. Breaking the rule meant death. Yet even though Esther new she wa doomed, she did she felt she had to do. You can search the full story online. What is amazing i that the Jewish people will read ( and have been reading each year for centuries) the story of Esther. For the Jews it is most know for how Ether saved the Jew. Nut for all of us it can be an inspiring story of the courage of women told to a community year, after year after year. Isn't it a shame that some place around the world still treat women no different than queen Vashti in our enlightened world? To be a modern woman in an Ancient Society is a heavy burden that millions of women have to bear.