Women (who) make the difference

Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician. Elected to the country's Parliament on an anti-corruption platform, Betancourt was the candidate of Partido Verde Oxígeno in the 2002 presidential election. She was kidnapped during the election campaign while she was on her way to the demilitarized buffer zone of San Vicente del Caguán to negotiate a truce between the government troops and the guerrilla forces of FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del pueblo).
Betancourt has been held as hostage since that day: 1839 days in captivity.

I celebrate her strength and her civil commitment. This is my way to mark the International Women's Day. I am not really at ease with this day. I find it somewhat sexist, as if women needed to be lulled once a year with flowers (smelling yellow mimosas in Italy), chocolate boxes and empty rhetorics. Instead, they are a part (actually, the majority) of humankind that has to fight every single day of the year to get all what they deserve: respect, equal rights, and equal chances as those of their male counterparts.
I firmly believe that the advancement of women's conditions, as well as a bigger political, social and cultural awareness of the issue of violence against women and girls should be at the top of the agenda all year round, not just today.

By the way: those packs of young women in Western Europe who pretend to "celebrate" March 8 with booze and male striptease shows are clearly missing the point of the day and sadly emulating the worst of Western masculine culture.