Here come the girls!

Today is International Women’s Day. Since 1911, this annual celebration has tried to highlight issues which concern women and bring recognition to all that has been achieved in the name of women’s rights. To begin with, campaigns such as the right to vote, to work and to be treated fairly inspired the conception of an annual day for women, but in more recent years International Women’s Day has grown to encompass issues such as hunger, poverty and social deprivation.

International Women’s Day is not a designated holiday here in Wales, nor do we have a tradition of honouring women with gifts on this day (though feel free to start one!) as they do in other countries round the world. There are other ways you could acknowledge the day, though! You can brush up on the history and development of women’s rights, as well as looking at some of the controversies, with Feminism for Beginners, which is available at Owen Library, Mount Pleasant and Griffith Library, Dynevor. You’ll find plenty more about women and feminism in all three SMU libraries at shelf mark 305.42. If you’re looking for something a little less academic, why not pick up a book by a female author? Novels by Margaret Atwood, Sylvia Plath and Mary Shelley, as well as many other texts from women writers, can all be found on the shelves of Townhill Library. If art is more your thing, Griffith Library has a host of books about women in art, as well as resources focusing on individual artists such as Gwen John or Tracey Emin.

Learn more about International Women’s Day from the United Nations and from the global hub which has been set up to share information, news and resources across the world.