How to celebrate Women’s History Month

Not long ago, we celebrated International Women’s Day, yet Women’s History Month continues.

There are different ways we can honor women in March, professors from the global women’s studies department shared as they talked about campus events and actions individuals can take.

BYU professor Cristie Cowles Charles is an adjunct faculty member in the English department who teaches Intro to Global Women’s Studies.

“Sometimes we don’t highlight specific groups of people,” Charles said. “It’s fun to have a time to remind us to do that.”

There are events the global women’s studies department holds to talk about the issues women face, she said.

Additionally, the International Cinema and other departments on campus have highlighted historic women and women in general throughout the month of March.

Writ & Vision, located in downtown Provo, has been hosting an art exhibit showcasing both Heavenly Mother and Father. The art exhibit will be available through the rest of March.

“There are so many different arenas where women have made a difference that are not known,” Charles said. “It’s kind of a time when we can highlight women who have not been historically highlighted or noticed.”

Julie Allen, comparative literature and Scandinavian studies professor, also teaches global women’s studies classes.

“Women’s stories are everybody’s stories,” she said. “Everybody’s got a mother.”

She talked about what everyone can do individually to celebrate this month.

“Take a moment in March and say ‘I’m gonna learn something about a woman in my ancestry, or a woman in my culture, or a woman in my community,'” Allen said.

It isn’t necessary to fear that celebrating women will denigrate men, she expressed.

“There’s no reason to feel excluded because someone else has a birthday,” Allen said.

Celebrate diversity in learning about others’ experiences, she said.

Those interested can visit the current Harold B. Lee Library exhibit, titled “No Small Part: Utah Women in Medicine, Nursing & Midwifery” or other events hosted in Utah Valley.