International Women Day
International Women Day: Today, on 8th of March 2018, Women Day is observed globally. Back in 1909, the day commemorated on 28th February in Newyork to honor the role and contributions of women at social, cultural, economic and political level. It was then adopted by United Nations in 1975. The day is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The day is marked around the world with rallies, networking events, conferences, marches, arts performances, google doodle this year and talks.
In a world where women have bumped into unparalleled success and great setbacks, Women, both at international and national scene, face obstacles and hurdles set up by societal intolerance in all walks of their life. UN theme for Women Day this year “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives’ deeply touches the fact that their contributions in the societal uplift are classical & exemplary. While women at urban societies increase their voice to fight for their rights, women in rural areas still needs a lot of awareness to break the societal shackles.
In our country Pakistan, Women have built milestones stepping out of their traditional roles. They have excelled in diverse fields from engineers, doctors, lawyers, social and human rights activists, legislators, educationists, disaster relief, corporate executives, diplomats, rulers, military, airforce pilots, technicians, sports, athletics, trekker and media to beat the male domain. They have courageously supported their families going through all the rigors and regimes. However, with a ranking of 143 out of 144 on the Gender Gap Index, literacy rate of just over 45%, 10,000 women per year suffering violence and 18 women per day are subject to murder, rape and honor killing, there is a colossal room and need to work on girl’s education and gender equality.
From Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah uptill now Pakistani women have created a mark in all the fields and become prominent to depict Pakistan proudly on International map. In the words of the founder of this country Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah ““No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women”.
Pakistan is on the journey of bringing forward strong, inspirational women who can serve as a spur for a progressive, brighter and a more successful future of this country.