International Women’s Day: A Call to Action for ALL Women and Girls
Written for Sahar Education by Danna Solomon
Today is International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and a call to action to defend equal rights in the face of discrimination and oppression. This event has its origins in the activities of labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th Century and was codified by the UN as an international celebration in 1975. It persists as a reminder for all of us to pause and think about the accomplishments that women and girls have made in the 20th century, but it’s also a moment for us to reflect on the hard-earned journey we’ve taken to get where we are, and how much more work we have left to do to achieve true equality for women across the globe.
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is “For ALL Women and Girls.” The theme feels especially pertinent at this moment, as we witness conservative reactionism diminishing women’s rights all over the world. Even here in the United States, settled rights for women like our right to reproductive freedom and even our right to vote feel precarious. As our schools and higher education system are attacked, funds for everything from basic services to research and innovation are eroded, all while a convicted rapist presides over the dismantling of our federal government, we question what the future will hold for us as women and as people.
This Women’s Day also comes just after a new UN report was presented to the Human Rights Commission detailing how oppressive legislation in Afghanistan has continued to increase, deteriorating the human rights of women there even further, diminishing their safety and well-being to levels that should be sparking international outrage. The escalating draconian legislation coupled with a retraction in aid from the international community, is devastating Afghan families.
“the continued neglect of the Afghanistan human rights crisis is a failure that will reverberate through the lives of the country’s citizens, particularly women and girls, and across borders.”
The new legislation from the Taliban referred to in the report, the “Law on propagation of virtue and prevention of vice,” reaffirms and consolidates many of the established repressive policies that have been in place since the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021, but one regulation that struck me was the newly enhanced prohibition of women’s voices in public spaces. The law as written disallows women from singing or reading aloud in public and instructs enforcers to ensure that women’s voices are not heard outside of their homes. While we celebrate women today, and tell tales of girls’ accomplishments, women in Afghanistan will be silent by law, unable to share stories.
Perhaps luckily, next week will bring the start of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women conference, which will take place from March 10-21. The ongoing situation in Afghanistan will be discussed and evaluated during this time, and the topic will be at the forefront of the UN Security Council meeting on March 10th. It seems expected, and is my hope, that the proximity of this UNSC meeting to International Women’s Day will shine a light on the significance of the issue, and motivate the International community to act with more solidarity and strength. Conceptualizing empowerment and equality for ALL women and girls certainly includes the resilient, courageous women of Afghanistan, who risk their lives daily to resist oppression, learn, grow, and imagine a better future for themselves and their daughters.
In today’s media landscape, the danger of falling into a cycle of hopelessness lurks behind every headline. But it is through community building and collective action that we can keep working for a better world in the face of adversity. Action helps me hold onto hope, and today, I’m thinking that this is what International Women’s Day is for - calling us together to celebrate the accomplishments of our sisters and siblings, but also recognize the work we have left to do, and look forward with an eye towards progress and reform.
As we join together this International Women’s Day to reflect on where we are now compared to where we were when this tradition started, I encourage you to think about what you can do to help achieve equality and empowerment #ForAllWomenAndGirls. Whether you’re marching for justice and equality, finding an organization to volunteer with, or making a donation to support an organization working to empower women, take today to act or make an action plan. This year, perhaps more than ever before, we cannot take our progress for granted. We have come a long way, but we are not there yet.
Sahar Education is fighting for equality on the ground in Afghanistan through clandestine education programming to reach all women and girls. Donate now to join this fight. Just $100 provides a laptop for a girl in Afghanistan and could be the first step in empowering her to take control of her future.
Together, we can stand up to patriarchal oppression and achieve equality, and if the past few years have been any indicator of where things are headed, this fight will take all of us. But today, against the backdrop of all women have accomplished over the last century, I choose to believe that we can empower ALL women and girls, and create a more equal, just, and peaceful world.