By Camille Perdriaud International Women’s Day is about gender equality.
Discrimination against women in the public and private sphere must be eliminated, and substantive equality, not just in laws but also on the ground, should be achieved. Despite efforts, inequalities persist between men and women in all areas. If we take education, reports show that girls are disadvantaged at all stages of education and are more likely to be out of school than their brothers or male family members. Millions of girls do not meet minimum proficiency in basic reading and math. It is the fight of the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (2014), who advocates for the right to education for every girl and woman. This year, International Women’s Day is promoting gender equality through its campaign DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. A persistent gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking technology’s full potential, yet essential for accessing opportunities in today's world. Moreover, the digital space has become a new arena where gender-based violence can flourish with no legal way to be stopped. This 8 March, the United Nations called to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable. It could be particularly relevant because, at the same time, digital technology is opening new doors for the global empowerment of women. Indeed, the digital age represents an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate all forms of disparity and inequality. International Women’s Day is about promoting women’s rights. Billions of women around the world are affected by discriminatory laws and lack of legal protections, often in multiple ways. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to promoting women’s rights and documenting the reality of women’s lives worldwide. On December 16th, 2022, the CSW adopted a resolution to remove Iran from the Commission following the Iranian government's implementation of discriminatory measures against women’s rights. As a reminder, on September 13th, Mahsa Amini was accosted by the “morality police” in Iran’s capital, who accused her of wearing her headscarf improperly. The young woman was reportedly beaten on the way to custody and died after three days of being in a coma. International Women’s Day is about eliminating all forms of violence toward women. Women are victims of multiple forms of violence based on gender, which prevents their empowerment. Female genital mutilation is one of them. Affecting about 200 million women and girls worldwide, FGM refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia. Despite being internationally recognized as a human rights violation, it persists for various reasons. No matter where or how it is performed, it causes extreme physical and psychological harm and violates women’s fundamental human rights, including their rights to health, security, and dignity. International Women’s Day is about the recognition of women’s achievements. On this day, we celebrate women’s achievements worldwide as they pave the way for girls to follow in their footsteps. It is important because the lack of women's representation plays a significant role in the absence of parity in some areas. As Kamala Harris, the first woman Vice President of the U.S. said after being elected: “While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” International Women’s Day is also about men. Men and boys are allies in achieving gender equality. It is what the Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson advocates in her global solidarity campaign HeForShe. In her speech, she highlights the role that gender stereotypes play in the situation of women: “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled”. She showed that gender equality is also an issue for men. Sources: https://www.unicef.org/stories/what-you-need-know-about-female-genital-mutilation https://www.unicef.org/media/94201/file/Reimagining%20Girls%20Education%20Solutions%20to%20Keep%20Girls%20Learning%20in%20Emergencies%20.pdf https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2020/04/policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_women_9_apr_2020_updated.pdf https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day/background https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2023/03/in-focus-international-womens-day
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March 2024
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