IWD-2020

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN DAY 2020

“A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.”

Almost every country around the world is celebrating International Women's Day , today ,Sunday, March 8. It is been celebrated as a day not only recognizes the achievements made by women, but also brings awareness to the obstacles that still stand in their way. International Women's Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights. Since the commemoration of International Women's Day today ranges from being a public holiday in some countries to being largely ignored elsewhere. In some places, it is a day of protest; in others, it is a day that celebrates womanhood.  The earliest Women's Day observance, called "National Woman's Day," was held on February 28, 1909, in New York City, organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel. There have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8, 1857, but researchers Kandel and Picq have described this as a myth created to "detach International Women's Day from its Soviet history in order to give it a more international origin". The International Women's Day date was moved to March 8 in 1913.

The day is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. However the day is celebrated on a larger scale in all other countries of the world where it’s not a public holiday. In Pakistan, the Aurat March has challenged misogyny since 2018.

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” –Hillary Clinton

International Women Day aimed to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women. It also focused on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development. International Men's Day is also celebrated on November 19 each year. International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

The UN theme for International Women's Day was: 'I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights' with hashtags as #IWD2020 #EachforEqual. The United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day in the International Women's Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace. However in the twenty–first century, in the West, the day was increasingly sponsored by major corporations and used to promote feel–good messages, rather than radical social reforms. In 2009, the British marketing firm, Aurora Ventures, set up a "International Women's Day" website with corporate sponsorship. The website began to promote hashtags as themes for the day, which became used internationally. The day was commemorated by business breakfasts and social media communications that were reminiscent of Mother's Day greetings

Since 1996 the United Nations provides an official theme for the International Women’s Day and for 2020 International Women's Day campaign the chosen theme is #EachforEqual. An equal world is an enabled world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. So let's all be #EachforEqual. This year 8 March, International Women’s Day is a time to

✔ Challenge gender norms,

✔ Empower each other,

✔ Celebrate diversity,

✔ Break stereotypes,

✔ Reject the binary,

✔ Mobilize, and

✔ Take action.

From the word of slogan of “Generation Equality” we simply focus on issues facing women across generations, with young women and girls at the centre. The benefits of gender equality are not just for women and girls, but “for everyone whose lives will be changed by a fairer world”, the chief of UN Women said in her message for International Women’s Day (IWD) at UN Headquarters on Friday, being celebrated in New York, ahead of the official day.

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee said “It is time for us to own our issues, we must own our agenda, and we must own our narrative…the struggle for equality is a long way ahead, but with young women on our side, we can surely win”. While supporting the gender equality the youngest female Prime Minister in the world, Finland's Sanna Marin said that her country promotes gender equality as a cornerstone of society and the only way to change this is “to get more girls coding, more women into tech, and more women into office where they can exert influence. In support of all women and girls’ rights, she said “I will not walk back on the progress we have made…and I will push back on anyone who claims that women do not need to be present in government changes and boardrooms”.

In addition to these statements UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “I am a proud feminist , Only through the equal participation of women can we benefit from the intelligence, experience and insights of all of humanity, he further said It is more important than ever for men to stand up for women’s rights and gender equality”.

This year hundreds of events had been mobilized to demand progress on closing the gender gap in countries worldwide. A global comic and cartoon competition, around the theme Beijing+25 and Generation Equality was launched in partnership with Belgium, France, Mexico and the European Commission, calling on the younger generation to envision how they see gender equality. It is also important to mention here that growing up, International Women Day has felt like a celebration, and while it is one, it’s also important to recognize the day as a marker. An indication of how far women have come, and how much further they need to go.

“To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” –Spanish Proverb

In the end I would like to say that supporting and celebrating women’s rights is a year-round responsibility. As we all know that March has been the designated time frame used to draw special attention to the remarkable ladies in our country who have made incredible contributions to our society. Between remembering and appreciating Eleanor Roosevelt’s inspiring career, Maya Angelou’s vision and voice for justice, groundbreaking female pilots like Amelia Earhart, the fearless leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, and thousands of other exceptional examples, from which we can gain a lot of inspiration and learn from their efforts and experiences. The revolution hasn’t stopped and even today, history continues to be made through the efforts of influential females like Carmen Perez, co-founder of the Women’s March, Brené Brown, research professor, speaker and best-selling author Ava DuVernay, and so many more. So I hope that next year when any of us will be writing a blog about IWD name of few of my blog readers will be there in this list of greats.

“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.” –Malala Yousafzai

ALL THE BEST LADIES & HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN DAY.

BY: OVAIS ASAD KHAN