OPINION
Editor, On March 8th every year, the world celebrates the International Women’s Day in recognition of the Russian women who protested against World War 1 under the Julian calendar (which corresponded to March 8th in the Gregorian calendar that was used elsewhere.
Although the 1917 Russian Women’s protest played a significant role in solidifying March 8th as International Women’s Day, the contributions from socialist movements worldwide such as the Socialist Party of America cannot be undermined. The movement celebrated the first National Women’s Day in the US in 1909, and gained international momentum through the efforts of socialist and communist movements, particularly at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, where German activist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an annual Women’s Day.
Nevertheless, this day reminds us of the great impacts of women to national development and call us to celebrate celebrate women’s achievements, increase awareness of gender equality and promote women empowerment. The day continues to highlight the ongoing fight for gender equality, women empowerment and social justice in the world. President Barack Obama said, “International women’s day is a chance to pay tribute to ordinary women throughout the world and is rooted in women’s centuries-old struggle to participate in society on an equal footing with men.
While enormous progress has been made, there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity. Women suffer diverse injustices by men; they are usually identified as marginalized and men seeing themselves as kings in every aspect of life.
For gender equality to be archived, men must be educated on perspectives, experiences, challenges women face, and the engaged as their crucial allies working hand in hand to transform the world into a place where men and women can thrive equally. This must be done starting with men in privileged positions within diverse social, political and economic fora who may use their influence to echo messages of equality and lead by example among their peers, catalyzing their impact and triggering truly transformative change towards gender equality and make it everyone’s responsibility.organisations should be formed that work more closely with men in power to challenge the biases such as the notion that the political realm is unstable for women and make systematic investments to work with men in conflict and crisis contexts. Men should also share responsibilities s at home to end gender-based violence.
There has been a tendency in most rural homes where men have their specific chores and benefits that women have no advantage of. This needs to be addressed that not only does gender equality benefit only women but also men. When women and girls have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed, it is a win for everyone, everywhere.
According to the UN, educating the youth of the next generation, especially women and the teenage girls is essential in archiving gender equality since women and girls represent half of the world’s population. Education campaigns should be funded to curb cultural practices like female genital mutilation and change harmful laws that limit the rights of women and girls and prevent them from achieving their full potential. In addition, gender equality prevents violence against women and girls and is essential for economic prosperity. Men should work alongside women to archive gender equality and embrace healthy and respectful relationships.
By Ahereza Stephen.
Email: Steveahereza98@gmail.com
