Women at the centre of charge for social and political change: Reflections on 2019 – Kate Cerna
Perspectives
International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8 every year since 1911, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This day is not country, group or organization specific. As Gloria Steinem (feminist, journalist, activist) once explained: “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
Women’s Day is the day when we should all recharge our commitment to gender equality. This day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action. In this reflection, I want to celebrate all women and especially the amazing strength of women who have stepped up as individuals, as part of communities and made their voices heard. Reminding us that our individual actions, conversations, behaviour and mind-set have an impact on our entire society.
Reflecting on 2019, women and allies of all genders have been leading the charge for social and political change. From the streets of India and Iraq to Lebanon and South Africa, women have been at the forefront of protest movements against crippling gender and economic inequality, corruption and inept government, braving rubber bullets and live fire, arrest and even death.
Last year has also been a year of amplifying alliances between feminist and LGBTQ communities, from legal battles over transgender rights and same-sex marriage in Kenya and India to movements pushing for more inclusive, gender-neutral language in places such as Germany and Argentina.
It has been a year of loss and pain, too: the countless women hurt or killed by their husbands, brothers and acquaintances; the tragedies of gender-based violence that are estimated to affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime worldwide. Stories of few briefly generate international headlines before all too often fading from public memory.
Let’s take a look back at some of the key events, wins, losses and patriarchy-smashing moments for women’s rights and gender equality in what has been a roller coaster ride of a year.
In January 2019, in one of the biggest moments for women’s rights in India, around 5 million women formed a 385 mile long ‘women’s wall’ in protest of gender equality. This was one of the largest ever congregations of women in the world – young and old, rural and urban, farmers and academics, activists and actors – standing shoulder-to-shoulder along the highways and together taking the pledge to fight for gender equality.
Women in South Africa came together to demonstrate against the scourge of femicide in South Africa. The demonstration came after a series of violent attacks against women and the release of official crime statistics showing a countrywide murder rate of 58 a day, a 3.4 percent increase in a year. The South African government has declared gender-based violence a national crisis. The women called on government and the private sector to provide funds to fight the scourge. The action plan President Cyril Ramaphosa presented includes setting up a $68 million fund, beefing up the criminal justice system, improving the legal and policy framework around sexual offenses and other forms of gender-based violence, and empowering women economically.