Statement from Congressman Keith Ellison on International Women's Day

Statement

"International Women's Day was created to recognize the economic, political and social achievements of women past and present. As part of Women's History Month we take today to commemorate the many ways women worldwide impact their neighborhoods, villages, countries, and the world.

"Regardless of nationality, country residence or culture, we all want the freedom to chart our own destiny, raise our children in a safe and violence-free environment and live in a society that reaffirms respect for each of us as individuals. In every struggle for equality, opportunity, or justice women have played a major role--and many times have taken the helm. Many have made scientific and business advances, fought in battlefields as soldiers and medical professionals, fought to expand political and social equality, and emerged as national and international leaders.

"International examples include Maribal sisters of Costa Rica who fought the Trujillo regime, Helen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman president on the African continent, and Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. In the United States we celebrate Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Dolores Huerta who fought slavery, struggled to obtain the vote for women, and expanded workers' rights. Minnesotans can point to suffragette leaders like Harriet Bishop and Clara Hampson Ueland paved the way for generations of women who followed.

"History shows that when women and girls have equal opportunity all sectors of society are better for everyone.

"Today, we should reaffirm our support for the dignity, security, and opportunity of all women throughout the world."

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