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Happy International Women’s Day (IWD)

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also serves as a call to action to accelerate gender equality. The roots of International Women’s Day can be traced back to the early labour movement and women’s rights struggles.

We are all entitled to human rights. These include the right to live free from violence and discrimination; to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; to be educated; to own property; to vote; and to earn an equal wage.

But across the globe many women and girls still face discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. Gender inequality underpins many problems which disproportionately affect women and girls, such as domestic and sexual violence, lower pay, lack of access to education, and inadequate healthcare.

How are Women’d Rights Being Violated?

Gender Inequality

Gender inequality could include:

Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is when violent acts are committed against women and LGBTI people on the basis of their orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. Gender based violence happens to women and girls in disproportionate numbers.

Women and girls in conflict are especially at risk from violence, and throughout history sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war. For example, we have documented how many women who fled attacks from Boko Haram in Nigeria have been  subjected to sexual violence and rape by the Nigerian military.

Globally, on average 30% of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence committed against them by their partner. Women are more likely to be victims of sexual assault including rape, and are more likely to be the victims of so-called “honour crimes”.

Violence against women is a major human rights violation. It is the responsibility of a state to protect women from gender-based violence –  even domestic abuse behind closed doors.

Sexual Violence and Harassment

Sexual harassment means any unwelcome sexual behaviour. This could be physical conduct and advances, demanding or requesting sexual favours or using inappropriate sexual language.

Sexual violence is when someone is physically sexually assaulted. Although men and boys can also be victims of sexual violence, it is women and girls who are overwhelmingly affected.

Workplace Discrimination

Often, women are the subject of gender based discrimination in the workplace. One way of illustrating this is to look at the gender pay gap. Equal pay for the same work is a human right, but time and again women are denied access to a fair and equal wage. Recent figures show that women currently earn roughly 77% of what men earn for the same work. This leads to a lifetime of financial disparity for women, prevents them from fully exercising independence, and means an increased risk of poverty in later life.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity  

In many countries around the world, women are denied their rights on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. Lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex women and gender non-confirming people face violence, exclusion, harassment, and discrimination. Many are also subjected to extreme violence, including sexual violence or so called “corrective rape” and “honour killings.”   

Women’s Rights are Human Rights

It might seem like an obvious point, but we cannot have a free and equal society until everyone is free and equal. Until women enjoy the same rights as men, this inequality is everyone’s problem.

History of IWD

The first National Women’s Day was organised by the Socialist movement in the United States on 28th February 1909. The following year, the International Women’s Conference held in Copenhagen included a proposal to establish International Women’s Day to promote equal rights, including suffrage, for women worldwide.

The first official International Women’s Day was celebrated on 19th March 1911, in several European countries. However, it wasn’t until 1913 that it was officially moved to 8th March and this date has been recognised as International Women’s Day ever since.

Over the years, International Women’s Day has grown in significance and is now celebrated globally. It provides an opportunity to reflect on progress made, to call for change, and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played extraordinary roles in their communities and countries. The day also serves as a reminder of the work that still needs to be done to achieve gender equality worldwide.

Fact

The Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 granted women the right to own and control their wages, gifts, and inheritance as individual property rather than their husband’s. However, initial loopholes, such as excluding property owned before marriage, were addressed in 1882, ensuring that married women retained control over assets acquired prior to marriage. 

It wasn’t until 1975 that women could open a bank account in their own name. Single women still couldn’t apply for a loan or credit card in their own name without a signature from their father, even if they earned more, as recently as the mid-Seventies.   

Currently women need an average of twelve times their annual salary to be able to buy a home in England, while men need just over eight times. (Habito)  

*Sourced mostly from Amnesty International website

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