International Women's Day at The Resurgence Trust

The Resurgence Trust celebrates International Women's Day with issue 343 of Resurgence & Ecologist magazine, 'When we speak'. This special edition envisions a world where each woman finds her voice, and it dares to wonder what transpires when she speaks out for her planet. The issue acknowledges the institutions that keep women and Gaia in silence and depletion, and shines a light towards a more equitable, regenerative future.

Marked annually on 8th March, International Women's Day commemorates the social, cultural and political achievements of women and looks towards a more just and equitable society for all beings. The Resurgence Trust observes International Women's Day as an opportunity to amplify repressed voices of woman and the Earth, and to work to dismantle the social structures that silence them.

Below you can find a palimpsest of resources, with free articles from our latest issue as well as speculative engaging pieces from our archives. Each article responding to the question: what happens when women use their voices?

Power Plants for the Future

Planting over 7 million trees globally and supporting women to nurture their earth and bodies, TreeSisters is an innovate women-led reforestation charity. Founded by Clare Dubois, the charity believes that women and nature share a common history, and that "women rising on behalf of Nature is the same as women rising on behalf of themselves and their children".

Plant Connections

Growing up with a quietened voice, Bridgit discovers plants as instruments of amplification. She describes how, through conversation between women and plant, one can be "bought straight back into ones body by their emotive and visceral presence." Bridgit maps out her relationship with plants navigating each one as it mangnifiesmagnifies her strength and empowers her voice for all to hear.

Darn It!

Flipping the script on the traditionally women-led activity of mending, Katy Bevan reports on Hikaru Noguchi's regenerative approach to traditional English darning methodologies. "The visible-mending movement is reclaiming darning", says Katy, "rather than a sign of poverty, darns are now being worn as a badge of honour".

Tackling Period Poverty

Raised in a small community in Nepal, Dipisha Bhujel experienced stigmatisation and isolation as a result of traditional beliefs concerning menstruation. Learning how more than 84% of Nepali women lacked access to sanitary products, Dipisha set up Project Sparśa - a non-profit that makes compostable sanitary pads from banana plants and educates Nepalese women about their bodies and menstruation.

Joining the dots: women, environmentalism and neoliberalism

Katie Hodgetts explores the complex intersection between the exploitation of woman and Earth. She asserts "Both women and nature are subordinated by our patriarchal capitalist system", she writes, "because economic production is valued higher than non-productive output that women have traditionally been assigned to."

The Red Dress

Kirstie Macleod shares how her collaborative embroidery project entwinned and amplified the voices of women from around the globe. This 14 year14-year project features contributions from many female refugees and asylum seekers as they imprint their story onto the dresses fabric of the dress. The result - a "6.8 kg Red Dress weighted as much by the individual stories as by the beads and threads that adorn it".

 

Image credits: Power plants for the future: Illustration by Sanny Van Loon; Plant Connections: Nettles on the river bank (detail) by Emma Chambers; Darn It!: Hikaru's hands darning. Photograph by Noriaki Moritani; Tackling Period Poverty: Harrison Thane/ The Iris Project; Joining the Dots: women, environmentalism and neoliberalism: International Women's Day march, Los Angeles 2017, Flickr, Molly Adams, Creative Commons; The Red Dress: Lekazia Turner, embroiderer from Jamaica, 2022. Photo by Mark Pickthall.