In theory, rights are clear. Women have the right to health, autonomy, identity, and safety. Girls and adolescents have the right to be protected, to be heard, and to grow up in environments that support their well-being. But in practice—especially for immigrant women in the United States—these rights are not always accessible.
People sometimes ask: why do we have a Women’s Day but not a Men’s Day? The answer is simple. Because men have historically held the power. They have been the ones making decisions and shaping the systems. They never needed a special day to be recognized.
No one truly prepares you for the obstacles you’ll face in this lifetime, especially when navigating a journey into the unknown. This is the reality for many immigrants, who make the difficult decision to leave everything they’ve ever known behind, all in the hope of building a better future.
![The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Mexican market wom[an]" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1898.](https://www.vipmujeres.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/vip-oyeme-collage-migrant-women-made-new-york-city-300x216.jpg)
Walking the streets and trying to maneuver my way through the labyrinthic subway system, I keep encountering a woman who historically has nourished this city but has been kept in the shadows. She has had multiple faces throughout time. But if we take an attentive look at history, she’s the one always offering care: making food, cleaning, constructing, clothing New Yorkers, and much more. She is a migrant and a racialized, segregated worker. She tends to come from the Souths. She has endured low-paid, undignified, and unstable working conditions, and all her conquests have resulted from an incredible effort that ultimately has benefited all kinds of workers.
