by Alison

middle-aged and strong

a woman drives her tractor

through fields touched with gold

A belated Happy International Women’s Day!

Celebrated annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day is a global holiday that recognizes the achievements and life experiences of women worldwide. In honor of the holiday, this year a group of women have come together to show solidarity and express their individual voices through the medium of haiku.

See Me, Hear Me, Read Me is a compilation of haiku written by international women. Published by ActionAid of the United Kingdom, ActionAid is a nonprofit that works to eradicate poverty worldwide. The book includes contributions from well-known women such as Julie Walters, Yoko Ono and Dame Judi Dench along with other inspiring women of whom ActionAid has worked with around the world.

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The writers come from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and are at various life stages. Although I have not ordered the book yet, the sneak peaks that I have gathered around the internet have me intrigued.

Here is one haiku by Judi Dench, simple and telling in it’s message:

Girls are not allowed

To go to school, only boys

Girls work, girls sweep, girls weep

And here is one by Julie Walters, which clearly illustrates the theme of unity between women:

Woman not invisible

I see you, we hear your pain

we are the women.

Here is another by P. Chandrakala, a 23 year old HIV positive single mother and activist from India:

Not respected in society, burdens

HIV positive women isolated

unite and fight for our rights.

The challenges that women across the globe face are vast and complex and it is fascinating to see how completely fitting is the ancient Japanese poetic tradition of haiku for a compilations such as this. Haiku is approachable and direct, with little room for excesses. It has also become a poetic tradition with an international following that is familiar on some level to many. What a wonderful way to demonstrate unity between women!

You can order See Me, Hear Me, Read Me directly through Actionaid.

by Alison

so many mothers

feel too much guilt I wonder

if dads feel the same

by Alison

perhaps we’ll have peace

when women gain power to

hold up half the sky

by Alison

a braided updo

and Chinese silk dress turn me

into someone new