It is 2020 and you would be shocked to know the number of countries who have achieved Gender Equality – 0. On every continent, there are countries where women are denied basic rights like education and healthcare. There are countries where women are married off at an early age against their will. Five decades ago, humans landed on the moon and then there are countries where female infanticide is still rampant. No doubt, progress is being made to empower women but it is too little to change the situation on the whole.
Talented women are being discriminated against and about 2.7 billion women don’t have access to the same jobs as men. One in three women have experienced gender-based violence and the actual figure might be way more than this as many societies are way too patriarchal. When it comes to parliaments, only 25% of the members are women. International Women’s Day is celebrated as a public holiday in some countries while some countries completely ignore this day. For some women, it is a day of protest while for some it is a day that celebrates women.
International Women’s Day 2020: Date
The International Women’s Day is observed every year on the 8th of March to celebrate the women struggle for equal rights as men. The United Nations started celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975. In 1977, the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) encouraged member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace and since then this day is celebrated all over the world.
International Women’s Day 2020: Theme
The theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is #EachforEqual – I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.
According to UN Women, The Generation Equality campaign is bringing together people of every gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion and country, to drive actions that will create the gender-equal world we all deserve.
There should be no gender-based violence. Everyone should have equal rights and access to opportunities as well as equal sexual & reproductive health and rights.
The UN Women envisages Generational Equality as a campaign which brings together “PEOPLE” all over the world to take actions which will lead to a “gender-equal world we all deserve”. An equal world is an enabled world and we can choose to challenge stereotypes, fight gender bias, improve conditions day by day and celebrate women’s achievements.
Significance of International Women’s Day 2020
This year women’s day marks the 25th anniversary of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is claimed by the UN Women as the “most visionary agenda for women’s rights and empowerment everywhere”. It also marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of UN Women. In the developed world, women are fighting to keep the hard-won rights. This year represents a golden opportunity to undo what has been perpetrated against women. The world has come way too far and there should be no place for discrimination again people just because they are women. If the world has to develop the right way then it has to become more inclusive and ensure that women are treated as equal if not higher beings.
