Though there are now open discussions on the status of women in our society, there has been little change in the conditions faced by women. This makes it imperative that the importance of days such as International Women’s Day needs to be highlighted again and again until things actually improve for women around the world.
Women’s struggle for rights does not belong to either a single feminist or any one organisation, but to the collective efforts of all who care about humanity. Improving overall living conditions, including health, education and work, removing all sorts of disparities in the form of exploitation, fear or harassment, and promoting impartiality in all aspects of life for women have been the aim of collective efforts worldwide.
Though only partially achieved, most of the goals have been at least addressed well. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of challenges in terms of income parity and involvement in political and economic decision-making processes. Besides, there are issues like domestic violence and workplace harassment that need considerable attention and commitment to the cause.
In order to ensure sustainable development, it is imperative to follow the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Of specific attention should be SDG 4, which is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, SDG 5, which targets gender equality, and SDG 11, which aims at creating sustainable cities and communities. It is significantly critical to make enhanced and focussed efforts for women’s participation in all these areas.
The theme for 2023’s International Women’s Day was ‘Digit ALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’. Undeniably, through innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age, it is possible to achieve gender equality and women empowerment. Bringing women into the domain of technology is an artistic approach to solving the gender equality issue, as the lack of women’s inclusion has resulted in immense loss of revenue, especially for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the last couple of decades.
In the areas of activism, efforts by women have been leading to positive actions and results. It is also being seen that younger women are now emerging as major agents of change and doing constructive actions to help combat issues not just related to women, but global issues such as climate change, poverty and social justice. Women are using their voices, especially through social media and other forums, to bring attention to issues that were once only vaguely whispered about in conferences and boardrooms. Angkhana Neelapaijit is a Thai human rights activist and winner of the prestigious Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which recognizes those who have contributed to advancing human rights, democracy and peace. Women are participating in all sectors and many of them have excelled in their respective fields not only in at National Level but also on the international level.
However, the ground realities in third world countries, hasn’t changed much. Many women, even in educated and urban households, do not have a say in matters related to themselves, be it their own health, education and marriage. In fact, equal rights to men is a farfetched dream for many, what they wish for is just that the injustice and suppression they face should stop.
Things will not change in the real sense by just focusing on women and girls. What is needed is to focus on the men, making them treat women in a better way. It is said that don’t teach your daughters to be careful, teach your sons to be respectful. So the basic need is not just to make women aware of their rights, but to make men understand that they have to let women have these rights.
So on this Women’s Day, why don’t we all look at our mindset and behaviour, and see what we can do as individuals to stop the injustice, discrimination and bias that is so rampant against women. Why don’t we start from our own homes? Let us look at our own behavior toward other females in our family, if we are women; and the males should ask themselves if they are really treating their mothers, sisters, daughters and wife in the right way?
(The Author can be reached at: [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @agasyedmuntazir)
