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You may have heard this by now (this publication hits the streets a few days after I file my weekly musings), but in case you have not, Monday, March 8 was a big day.  

Around the world, women celebrated a milestone – the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD) – a day to celebrate women and their values. More than that, the day is a reminder of the ongoing struggle for recognition and equality that women in many cultures still face.

In European and a few Asian countries it’s a national holiday. Women gather in public squares, parks, and plazas to celebrate the political, economic, cultural and social achievement of women globally. Furthermore, the custom is to present the woman in one’s life with flowers and candy. This romantic gesture hasn’t quite caught on yet here in North America.

What about an International Men’s Day, you ask?  It’s celebrated on November 19.  Mind you, it doesn’t get much press, but it’s there, and is apparently celebrated as “an anti-sexist day” intended to give more gender balance, and a way to celebrate men’s contribution to community, family and child care.

Gender balance and gender bias remain a hot topic in the 21st century.  Case in point is the language in our national anthem, which the federal government bravely attempted to address last week.

I admit I’ve been involved in grumblings and rumblings in recent years over the exclusion of our ‘daughters’ from the now infamous line, “in all our sons command”.  And I listened in staff rooms and around luncheon tables last week to women’s opinions of this issue that were surprisingly balanced, i.e. some were for it, but a few were against.

“It’s historic,” one young woman insisted. (‘Archaic’, I thought, might be a better word.) But surprisingly it’s not all that ‘historic’.  Robert Stanley Weir’s original wording back in 1908 was, “True patriot love thou dost in us command.” It was in 1980 that parliament decided to rule out the daughters.  

Maybe it was the verb ‘dost’ that did it.  It dost sound slightly stilted.  

But Saltspring Island’s Jill Evans has, I believe, nailed it.  Here is her version: O Canada!  /Our home and favoured land! /True patriot love in all thy souls command. /With glowing hearts we see thee rise/ the True North strong and free!/ From far and wide, O Canada / From sea to sea to sea. /God keep our land glorious and free!/ O Canada we stand on guard for thee./ O Canada we stand on guard for thee.

As she points out, it includes those not born here, and those not sons, gets rid of a surplus ‘stand on guard’ and includes the very north.  Although I would have used ‘treasured’ land rather than ‘favoured’ land.

Heck, we changed the flag didn’t we? Remember the hue and cry that went up back in 1964 at the very thought of it?  And now we wrap ourselves in it and cherish its bold beauty.

But it’s pointless conjecture now. In the end the Conservatives caved. The sexist lyrics remain. According to the Prime Minister’s official spokesman, Canadians “overwhelming do not want to open this issue”.  Really? I don’t remember anyone asking me.  

So, in this ‘strong and free’ country of ours I will just mumble along through that fourth phrase with the words: in all our souls command. I like the sentiment  – my nod to the 100th anniversary of IWD.