History teaches us that the early 20th century was a time when women were becoming more active in their protests against oppression and gender inequality, leading marches and campaigns to demand equal rights. During the International Conference of Working Women in 1910, a visionary woman, Clara Zetkin of Germany’s Social Democratic Party proposed that a day be set aside every year across the world to celebrate women and reinforce their demands.
The proposal was ultimately accepted and put into practice, starting in Germany and Europe and spreading across the globe over the years. International Women’s Day has celebrated the economic, cultural, political and social achievements of women for more than 100 years. The day isn’t simply a celebration — it’s a call to action for everyone to continue to push for complete gender equality.
We are in an important time in history to do everything possible to help forge a more gender-balanced world. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s achievements and challenging biases, we still have very disturbing facts about women especially in developing world:
In nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries, women are more likely than men to suffer from hunger and food insecurity.
In many low-income countries, women farmers comprise more than half of agricultural labor. Giving women farmers more resources could decrease the number of hungry people in the world by 100-150 million people.
Women who participate in household decisions produce and earn more, which raises family income by as much as 20 percent. And, women tend to use more of their earnings to promote proper hygiene and feed their families more nutritious foods.
Women have come a long way, yet there is still more to be achieved. From grassroots activism to worldwide action, we are entering an exciting period of history where we expect a fair and gender-balanced world. There is still a long way to go to achieve what we want to achieve.
WAs the saying goes, if you empower women, you empower your family, society, nation and consequently the world, which will be a better and kind world to live in and prosper.
HAPPY WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL DAY!!
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