For Women’s History Month, a Focus on the Present

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

March is Women’s History Month, and one Kodiak nonprofit will hold an event this week that will also encourage discussion about women’s present. Soroptimist International of Kodiak is the early 20th-Century’s answer to the Rotary Club back when women were not allowed to join the group, and it focuses on improving the lives of women.

Lindsey Howell, President of Soroptomist Kodiak, says the group will show a series of short documentaries about women on Friday.

“So, every year Soroptimist does some sort of an event to recognize women in the community or just to talk about some sort of women’s issue or get people thinking about it. And, in the past, we’ve done things, people are really familiar with the art show that we’ve done five or six different years where we invite women in the community to come in, bring their artwork, and put it on display. And that’s a great way just to recognize our wonderful female artists in the community. But this year we did something a little bit different.”

She says the group selected three of nine stories in the Girls Rising project, which focuses on girls in locations around the world.

“And each of them is a little bit different and really just overcoming the barriers or challenges they may have either within their country or their culture or, just in general, kind of the viewpoint that the world often has about women in education and how it may not always be a priority.”

She says the event will be an opportunity to reflect on that attitude in the United States.

“We often think that that’s not the case here in the States, but we know that that’s not true. And so, just an opportunity to see what women in other countries have done to really overcome that and talk about what we can be doing here in our own community. Just to keep thinking about that.”

Viewers at Friday’s event will follow the stories of girls in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Haiti.

It’ll begin at the Kodiak Public Library with a social gathering and light refreshments at 6:30 p.m. The film screening and a discussion will follow.