March 8th is the day in which people especially women all over the world come together to celebrate the international women's day. It is a huge step from the odd days, were women's roles in the society were highly limited. we have came a long way from the time when women were only seen as instrument of pleasure and their roles were only to bear children, taking care of their husbands at home. In old days women were not allowed to vote, they were not allowed to voice their own opinions when men are discussing something even if the issue concerned their well-being. Girls were not given access to education; it is only boys who were allowed to go to school. But now the roles and contribution of women all over the word have changed and it is now seen and appreciated more.
I cannot say that these practices have completely disappeared among all communities, because there are some communities were these practices are still very much practiced. That is why Tai is working hard to improve learning environment for girls and boys through its education scholarship program, which helps to provide learning materials for boys and girls this effort is to maintain balance and encourage girls to stay in school. So international women’s day is there to celebrate and raise awareness among women concerning their abilities and roles in their communities. Women have so much potential to achieve their dreams and make a significant contribution to the community.
In celebrating international women’s day this year, the theme is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”. The theme will focus on innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure. Balance is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. For the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage and the list goes on and on. Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive. Most of the poor communities have some or all elements of gender inequality. There should be equal opportunities among men and women in the society because Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Now most women have realized their roles and contributions in the society which has made them to step up. There are families where a mother is the only provider socially and financially. Some women have become powerful in the world and act as role models to young girls. These powerful women in the world are such as; UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany. Hillary Clinton, Presidential candidate of the United States. Melinda Gates, Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the list goes on and on. Through the Darubini project Tai which uses 3D Animations for training and educative story telling; we aim to reduce the number of girls drop out of school due to teen pregnancies. These will help these young girls at school to reach their dreams and be successful.
Although I would say that, gender balance is more in developed country rather than in developing countries. But there are efforts made by activists and different organizations to bring about the balance we hope for concerning gender. I call upon all people on this day to celebrate with women and make them feel special and that. They can do whatever they put their efforts to. As Kofi Annan once said; there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.