International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, is a global day acknowledging the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Not only does it celebrate the achievements and progress women have made, but it also highlights the ongoing struggles for equality and the need for continued advocacy and action worldwide.
On this day, several events take place globally to highlight the collective efforts of everyone who cares about human rights in the ongoing struggle for gender parity.
The United Nations has designated the year 2024’s theme as ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ with a focus on addressing economic disempowerment, while the campaign theme for this year is ‘Inspire Inclusion.’
It highlights the significance of diversity and empowerment across all sectors of society. Through this campaign, there is a strong emphasis on recognizing the importance of diversity and empowerment in various spheres of society and underscoring the pivotal role of inclusion in advancing gender equality.
UN women says the world needs more than 360 billion dollars a year for developing countries to address gender equality under the goals of sustainable development
Although increasing women’s share of property and finance is important to their economic empowerment, building institutions that promote public investment in social goods and sustainable development is also important.
The significance of International Women’s Day lies in its ability to bring attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. It provides a platform for collective action and collaboration in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment. All in all, this day is a reminder that gender parity is still far from being achieved, with the World Economic Forum estimating that it will take over a century for gender equality to be attained.
International Women’s Day is not just a day to celebrate the achievements of women; it’s also a call to action for gender equality, hereby encouraging reflection, advocacy, and action to continue breaking down barriers for women and girls around the globe.
This celebration comes at a time when Kenya is struggling for gender equality and thus President William Ruto has assured Kenyans especially women that finally this nation will achieve gender equality according to the proposals from the ruling party under his leadership.
While addressing the women Governors conference in Nairobi, President Ruto said despite the issue being faced with challenges for a long time, finally the government and the ruling party through the report of the joint panel of the famous consensus NADCO has come up with an appropriate method to achieve gender equality in the country.
Additionally, the president emphasized that the gender equality will not be achieved immediately but will be achieved processively over time, a move that was supported by governors; Kirinyaga Anne Waiguru, Cecily Mbarire of Embu and Johnson Sakaja of Nairobi
The president added that going forward the ruling party will have a female candidate for presidential running mate in order to achieve gender equality in the Country.
By Winnie Wanyonyi