women's history month

 

                                        By Harry E. Berndt

 

 

Watching my grandson's wife, I suppose she is my granddaughter-in-law, I was struck by the fact that she is eight months pregnant and very beautiful. It occurred to me that this is March, the month set aside to honor women and their accomplishments. I don't recall, however, reading about giving birth as one of women's accomplishments. It is just something that we seem to take for granted. But thinking about it caused me to think more about women and what they mean to all societies.

 

Many women each year die during pregnancy or childbirth. Knowing that it is possible that one may die in the process of bringing a child into the world indicates something about women that is seldom mentioned. Women are courageous. In addition to life endangerment, pregnancy can be and often is uncomfortable. Women face the discomfort courageously. The postpartum experience can be terribly painful, causing anxiety and even suicide. And, after all of that, many women become pregnant again – and even again and again. Women are courageous.

 

Around the world today there are wars caused by men. Women and the children women protect and try and keep safe are most often the victims. Often, women give their lives to protect their children from the horrors caused by men. Women are in the forefront of anti-war demonstrations and are often abused, imprisoned, or worse for their convictions. Women have always been in the forefront of human rights activities and have suffered abuse there, also. All of this takes courage.

 

By now, the twenty first century, it is well known that women can do almost anything that men can do. Women can be warriors, for example, and some are, but they are more likely to be nurturers. It is right that we point to the accomplishments of women in science, law, medicine and the arts, but we should not forget that above all else, women are courageous. In the United States, we often hear about men opening up the West. Had not women been willing to face the dangers of childbirth, often without the care of either doctors or even midwives, we would still be in Pittsburgh. It has always taken courage for women to be our mothers and wives and to make our societies civilized places in which to live. So, in this month set aside to honor women's accomplishments, let us honor their courage.