International Women's day - 8th March

International Women's day - 8th March 

International Women's Day 2015 Theme: MAKE IT HAPPEN

All around the world, International Women's Day represents an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.

Make It Happen is the 2015 theme for our internationalwomensday.com global hub, encouraging effective action for advancing and recognising women.

Each year International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.

Various organisations identify their own International Women's Day theme, specific to their local context and interests. Many charities, NGOs and Governments also adopt a relevant theme or campaign to mark the day. For example, organisations like the UN, Oxfam, Women for Women, Care International, Plan, World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and more - run exciting and powerful campaigns that raise awareness and encourage donations for good causes.

The UN has been declaring an annual equality theme for many years.

Why purple?

From 1908, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Great Britain adopted the colour scheme of purple, white and green to symbolise the plight of the Suffragettes. Purple symbolised justice and dignity - two values strongly associated with women's equality. The three colours were used for banners, flags, rosettes and badges to show solidarity.

For more background on International Women's day, visit www.internationalwomensday.com

Christian Aid: "Keep promises to realise women’s rights"

Posted on: March 6, 2015 11:55 AM

Governments meeting for the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York (9-20 March) must commit more resources and greater determination if they want to make significant progress towards gender equality over the next five years, says Christian Aid.

In 1995 promises were made to realise women’s rights as part of the Beijing Platform for Action, which prioritised 12 critical areas for action. The agreement highlighted the need to eliminate violence against women, promote women’s economic rights and ensure their full participation in power structures and decision making.

Whilst some progress has been made, 20 years later one in three women still experience sexual and domestic violence, make up just 22 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide and continue to be excluded and exploited in many parts of the global economy.

In a new briefing paper, Realising the vision for gender justice: what needs to change in 2015, Christian Aid asks why so little progress has been made and highlights the vital need for financing and long-term commitment if action is to be effective.

Christian Aid argues that governments need to provide adequate financing and investment for essential services for women and girls, release funding within the justice systems to ensure laws and policies are fully implemented, and support women’s rights organisations in order to make a real impact.  They also need to consider how wider economic decisions, such as tax policy, can contribute towards achieving gender equality.

In addition to resources, long-term commitment is required to address the damaging social norms that underpin discrimination against women and girls. This will require governments to work with women’s organisations, communities, faith leaders and the media to challenge attitudes that hold half of the world’s population back, trapping many in poverty.

Helen Dennis, Christian Aid's Senior Adviser on Poverty and Inequality said: “In September world leaders will agree new global development goals, but without increased resources and the determination to tackle damaging beliefs and attitudes, commitments to achieve gender equality will just be warm words.”

“Our research shows that although some progress has been made over the last two decades a huge ‘implementation gap’ remains. The promises made in Beijing 20 years ago remain relevant but women and girls around the world need to see more rapid and tangible changes in their lives.”

“2015 could be a water-shed year if governments recommit to the Beijing Platform for Action, put women’s rights at the centre of the new Sustainable Development Goals and prioritise resources for gender equality.  Then, and only then, we may start to see the changes that are so desperately needed by the millions of women and girls who are being left behind."

Anglican Communion women advocate at UN for gender equality

Tatiana Ribeiro, representative of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, at CSW59

Photo Credit: Terrie Robinson

A delegation of 19 Anglican Communion women is in New York this week to call for strong action to remove blocks to gender equality.

The women, from 17 Communion provinces, are attending events associated with the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which this year is focussing on a review of the declaration from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 20 years ago. It is also looking at developing a new platform of action for the future.

The Anglican/Episcopalian delegation is taking part in a programme of UN and parallel events organised in the CSW59 forum for non-governmental organisations under the call, “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.”

Many of the women will visit their permanent country missions at the UN to advocate for the lifting of barriers to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life as equal decision-making partners, the core aim of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The women can speak to progress that has been made to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in their own contexts – and where there still are gaps.

“Anglican women are present in urban and rural communities all over the world”, said Ann Skamp, convener for the International Anglican Women’s Network (IAWN) who is accompanying the delegation. “They know what is happening at grassroots and bring valuable local knowledge and insights to the table. They also bring the values of their faith and bright hope for the future.

“Whilst there has been considerable progress in many areas, we are now encouraging our governments to accelerate opportunities for achieving gender equality in the post-2015 development agenda,” she said.

Delegation members noted that challenges such as poverty, climate injustice, violence and discrimination, and inadequate resources for education and healthcare had a disproportionate impact on women and girls.

“The number one challenge for women and girls in Swaziland is poverty”, said Revd Dalcy Dlamini, school and university chaplain in the Diocese of Swaziland in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. “I mean poverty in all its senses – physical, educational and so on. I want to tell people about our culture in Swaziland and how our churches have tried to support the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.”

CSW59 also is an opportunity for the members of the delegation to equip themselves for further ministry in their own contexts.

“I hope to use what I learn to help my Church and even my country”, said trainer of teachers Reem El Far from Jordan, co-ordinator of the Ladies’ Committee of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem & the Middle East. “When I return home I plan to organise intergenerational activities to help engage our younger people in the issues being discussed here.”

The Anglican Communion delegates are from Australia; Hong Kong; Jordan (Jerusalem & the Middle East); Malawi (Central Africa); Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia; Brazil; the Scottish Episcopal Church; Japan; the Church of Ceylon; Swaziland and South Africa; The Episcopal Church; Canada; Ghana (West Africa) and England.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) Center in New York has provided a space of welcome and hospitality for the Anglican Communion delegates alongside TEC’s own church-wide delegation to CSW59.

CSW59 will conclude on Friday 20 March, with the adoption of a political declaration on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Contact for further details: The Revd Terrie Robinson, Director for Women in Church & Society, Anglican Communion Office, terrie.robinson@anglicancommunion.org

Link to original article in Anglican News - Click here

Must the news always be doom and gloom?

Click here for the original article in the Independent on Sunday

We think not. Today we report the good news that a cheap, British-invented device could save the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world. Coincidentally, this is a good news story for women, on International Women’s Day, because the invention detects problems during childbirth and could thus save mothers’ lives in Africa, India and Pakistan.

We hope that today’s content proves that “women’s stories” do not have to be negative, depressing or tokenist. Of course, there are many serious subjects concerning women that are not cheerful, and we report on them too. Today, for example, we report on new evidence from the TUC that women have tended to bear more of the cost of recession than men, and that refuges for women suffering from domestic violence are under new financial pressure.

These are important stories, but we also cover many stories about people who happen to be women, such as Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, and Vivienne Westwood, still designing clothes.

And, because it is International Women’s Day, we have a number of special reports about the campaign for equality. That is why we feature Dame Carol Robinson along with six other women who have confounded expectations about gender roles. Dame Carol, a professor of physical chemistry at Oxford University, will be recognised this month as a role model and mentor in the drive to persuade more young women to study “Stem” subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths.

She says: “I thought it would be better for my daughter’s generation but it really hasn’t changed a great deal. It is still the case that there are too few women in senior positions.” So it may take longer than many people had hoped, but role models such as Dame Carol are important and inspire changes to attitudes. Those changes should start with young girls themselves who, as John Mullin writes, need help to build their self-confidence.

As with so many social changes, the three most important things are education, education, education. If girls at school choosing their GCSE options realise that science is for them, then that is the first battle won.

That is why we present The Independent on Sunday guide to women of power and influence worldwide. This is not a definitive selection, or an objective league table. The definition of “power” is contestable, and that of “influence” even more so, but our purpose is to show, in graphic form, that there is nothing in the field of social endeavour that women cannot do. One of the striking features of the map is how the United States really is a land of opportunity for women. Whatever else we might think of America, it is a remarkably open society for women who want to make it to the top. Next year, it might even elect a woman president.

We hope that this positive approach is the right complement to the more serious coverage of the injustices which tend to be experienced by 52 per cent of people. As well as the good news about the British invention that could save lives, we also report on how women are changing the military, why ambulance-chasing lawyers do more for women’s pay than unions, and how Norman Lamb, who wants to lead the Liberal Democrats, would force the party to choose more women MPs.

These are not women’s subjects, and the campaign for women’s equality is not a women’s campaign. They are people’s subjects, and the campaign for quality is a campaign to bring out the best in everyone, for the benefit of everyone.