fish wife; international women’s day

There shouldn’t really be a need for an ‘international women’s day’ but when women are still being punished for wanting to drive a car or go to a football match, then it’s even more important to recognise gender inequality.

I was watching a TV programme not so long ago about fish wives.  The Victorian fish wives of Cullercoats, in North East England, were “noted for their beauty, hardiness and industry  …… when fish are scarce, they not infrequently carried a load on their shoulders, weighing between three or four stone, to Newcastle, which is about ten miles distant from Cullercoats, in the hope of meeting with a better market.”

This particular fish wife wants me to tell you that she walked to the gym this morning, in the rain, carrying a heavy gym bag on her shoulder.  

While I applaud Anniemay’s achievement - and it is an achievement in this day and age, when jumping in the car is all too easy - it is borne of the luxury of choice.   

And not just the choice to walk or not - but the freedom to choose how to live her life.  Many women in the world today, like the Victorian fish wives of Cullercoats, have no such choice.