International Women's Day

 International Women's Day.

Now where on earth would we be without women? Women, of course are renowned for their multi tasking, their undoubted versatility, their down to earth practicality, their stunning logic, their maternal instinct when babies are born and nurturing becomes second nature. Women can spin plates simultaneously, adapting and adjusting, organising, making plans for the future and then just getting on with the business in hand without any objections.

But then history tells us that they also produce some of our finest Prime Ministers, our most respected humanitarians, excellent nurses, kind, generous individuals who left an unforgettable legacy on society. When Florence Nightingale provided a warm, caring and sympathetic heart to the wounded soldiers of wartime England, it was widely felt that women had asserted their authority, well and truly arrived. But Nightingale was one of the leaders, pioneers, a woman who loved and cared unconditionally. 

There was Indira Gandhi, formidable prime minister of India from many moons ago, Golda Meir, the Israeli Prime Minister, who was there at the start of Israel's great Independence era, a strong, forthright, positive, ruthless, uncompromising world stateswoman, a woman of clear thinking, radical ideas, controversial statements, no nonsense theories, an almost incessant smoker but revered in a way that few women had been up until that point. 

And then in 1979 the United Kingdom welcomed its first woman into 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. She was a feisty intellectual, a professional chemist, smooth talking but direct, pragmatic, forceful, outspoken and attracting both huge respect and notoriety in huge measures. When confronted by the might of the mining industry during the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher gave as good as she got, attacking Arthur Scargill's militant colliery workers and miners, breaking down political barriers by threatening and then destroying their resistance. 

The memorable sight of Thatcher striding across barren wasteland where once there were prosperous pitheads and coal faces will never be forgotten by the enraged working classes. Thatcher hated Scargill and his hard working, gritty miners who had left school at the age of 14 and known no other employment. But Thatcher was deliberately disruptive according to some, perhaps dangerously divisive and just a pain in the neck. She was single handedly responsible for the three million unemployed who had now found themselves lost and bereft, out of work, no money in their pockets to pay bills and look after their families. However, that may have been questionable to those who thought she was superb. 

Nowadays women occupy some of the highly prestigious roles in modern times. In the old days women were, and still are, accomplished legal secretaries, acknowledged PA's,  human resources administrators of  the highest calibre, eminent high court judges, prominent lawyers of some repute and women of strength, character and resilience. Women strike with vehement intentions, protesting for their rights with bold placards across the world. Women rightly complain about gender inequalities, feelings of injustice and persecution in a man's world.

The truth is that feminism is still a movement that has to be taken seriously. Women are fervent campaigners on behalf of worthy causes because they believe, quite firmly, that they're right. And who could possibly disagree with them? Emily Pankhurst, leader of the Suffragette movement, was steadfast and loyal on behalf of feminism and would never be silenced. Emily Davison, who bravely threw herself under the Kings horse in the Epsom Derby way back when, is still regarded as an iconic figure by millions of women. 

Then, there are today's artists such as Tracy Emin who threw back the frontiers of her profession when she presented us with the famous unmade bed and displayed it in an art gallery for all to see. Germaine Greer joyously advocated women as powerful and influential, raging against alleged sexism and women's subordination and oppression, while men threatened to take away what must have seemed their waning influence. 

Who could ever forget the perception of women in the world of music? Ella Fitzgerald was the dominant and mighty voice of jazz, a woman whose magnificent and gifted voice travelled the globe and made a lasting impression on her fans and admirers. Billy Holliday was the heartbreak and bittersweet voice of the 1950s, crying and sobbing into a microphone as if she'd been rejected in love yet again when we knew she hadn't. 

And then there were the likes of Barbara Castle and Shirley Williams, hard, indomitable spirits who knew theirs was the right opinion and none could contradict them. Female politicians will always model themselves against the inimitable Margaret Thatcher but then again who could ever deny them their moment in the sun?

Women in sport have never had it so good to quote an old Tory Prime Minister. Football enjoys a phenomenal global popularity and the Women's Super League in England is a flourishing force with the national team defying all expectations at times. Women's cricket has yet to emerge as a recognisable entity but does seem to making genuine progress at both club and international level while women's rugby is slowly developing and may take a while to make a dramatic breakthrough. 

So it is that we mark International Women's Day. They will be flying their flags, marching impressively down high streets and traditional West End of London landmarks. My mum and grandma will always be important members of my own family because they fought and overcame the horrors of the Holocaust. They provided me with the opportunity to express my gratitude for them here and now. Members of my family of course on the distaff side, will always be guiding lights on my life. So wherever you are in the world Happy International Women's Day. This is your day.