Ohio University’s Women’s Center is partnering with offices across the Athens Campus to celebrate Women’s History Month.
The festivities kick off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, in Nelson Commons with a keynote speech from Sara Safari, an author, speaker, mountain climber, college professor and advocate for women empowerment. The United Nations Association awarded Safari the Global Citizen Award in 2015 for her efforts to raise funds and awareness for girls who become victims of human trafficking or who are forced into early marriage.
Safari was climbing Mount Everest in April 2015 as part of her work with the Empower Nepali Girls Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower and support neglected, marginalized and at-risk girls and young women in Nepal, when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing approximately 10,000 and leaving an estimated 100,000 children homeless. Safari survived the avalanches on Mount Everest and remained in the country where she provided assistance to the victims and their families.
Today, Safari serves as a board member and director of development for the Empower Nepali Girls Foundation. All profits from her 2016 book, “Follow My Footstep: A Journey of Adventure, Disaster, and Redemption Inspired by the Plight of At-Risk Girls,” benefit the Empower Nepali Girls Foundation.
Safari’s keynote address is free and open to all. The event is being sponsored by the Women’s Center, the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Center for Campus and Community Engagement, the College of Business, the Multicultural Faculty In-Residence, the Department of Recreation and Sport Pedagogy, OHIO’s Middle East and North Africa Studies Certificate, the Multicultural Center, the Black Student Cultural Programming Board and the History Department.
Members of the OHIO community interested in joining in on Safari’s fundraising efforts are invited to participate in the “Workout Like You’re Training for Mount Everest with Sara Safari and WellWorks” event, scheduled for 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, March 1, in Grover Center E194. Safari will lead the participants in a 50-minute workout session with proceeds from the event benefiting the Empower Nepali Girls Foundation. The cost to participate is $10 for students and $25 for others.
Women’s History Month events continue on Wednesday, March 7, when the Women’s Center partners with OHIO’s Career and Leadership Development Center (CLDC) for “She was Caring and Helpful,” a workshop on writing letters of recommendation in a way that defies gender stereotypes. The event is scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. in Alden Library 319, and participants are encouraged to bring examples of letters of recommendation that they have written as a means of learning how to craft letters that use positive and strengths-based language.
Ohio University will join millions across the world on Thursday, March 8, in observing International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women while also acknowledging the progress yet to be made. In honor of International Women’s Day, several OHIO academic units and offices are hosting “Tres Vidas,” a chamber music theater work featuring an actress, cellist, pianist and percussionist and celebrating the lives of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant activist Rufina Amaya and Argentinean poet Alfonsina Storni.
“Tres Vidas” will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the School of Music Recital Hall on the fourth floor of Glidden Hall. It is being presented in partnership with the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies and co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the School of Music, the Patton College of Education, the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Health Sciences and Professions, the College of Arts and Sciences, University College, the Office of the Vice President of Research and Creative Activity, the Scripps College of Communication, the International Student Union, the Latin Students Union, the LGBT Center, the Multicultural Center and Programs, Arts for Ohio, the Performing Arts and Concert Series, Sigma Delta Pi and the Black Student Cultural Programming Board.
Ohio University will shine a spotlight on its own outstanding women during the annual Women’s Achievement Dinner, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, in the Walter Hall Rotunda. Sponsored by the Women’s Center, Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., and Rho Lambda, the event is an opportunity for members of the OHIO community to highlight the successes of women in a variety of roles, and to lift up those doing work in areas that may go unrecognized as "women's work" or more feminized labor. Nine awards will be presented during the event. Tickets for the dinner are $15 and are available from the Women’s Center in Baker University Center 403. Sponsorships for the dinner are also available at the Women's Center, cost $200 and include two free tickets to the event. All proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit OHIO’s Survivor Advocacy Program and the Women’s Center’s lactation room funds.
In addition to highlighting the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society, Women’s History Month also provides an opportunity to look ahead at future progress and changes that still need to be made. That’s the goal of a Saturday, March 24, event being hosted by OHIO’s Brigadier General James M. Abraham and Colonel Arlene F. Greenfield Veterans and Military Student Services Center, its Survivor Advocacy Program and the Campus Involvement Center.
“Using Personal Stories of Sexual Violence to Fight for Policy Change” will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Baker University Center’s 1804 Lounge. The event will feature Andrea Neutzling, a survivor of military sexual trauma, and will include a lecture on using one’s experience of sexual assault and trauma to lobby for improved policies that address and prevent sexual assault. That lecture will be followed by a workshop to identify policy proposals that improve the experiences of survivors, as well as practical steps for how participants can use their experiences to lobby for change, including in-person citizen lobbying and letter writing. (Note: This program has received an exemption from mandated reporting in order to allow for full-campus participation by all members of the campus community. Disclosures of incidents of sexual misconduct at this event will not be considered a notice to Ohio University.)
Ohio University’s Women’s History Month activities will conclude on Tuesday, March 27, with the screening of “Difret,” an award-winning film based on the inspirational true story of a young Ethiopian girl and a tenacious lawyer embroiled in a life-or-death clash between cultural traditions and their country’s advancement of equal rights. Scheduled for 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Seigfred Hall 519, the screening will be followed by a discussion. This event is being sponsored by Alden Library in collaboration with Salaam: Student Union of Ethiopian and Eritrean Heritage.
For more information about Women’s History Month at OHIO, contact the Women’s Center or visit https://www.ohio.edu/womenscenter/calendar.cfm.
Erin Franczak contributed to this article.