Happy International Women's Day from the Gender in Agriculture Partnership!
International Women’s Day (IWD) is commemorated globally on March 8th. UN Women, the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, and Partner in GFAR with a seat on the GFAR Steering Committee, is celebrating IWD with the theme: “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives”.
Now more than ever before, people across the world are mobilizing, with marches and campaigns like #MeToo, #NiUnaMenos, or #Ana_kaman, for a future that is more equal. Rural and urban activists continue to mobilize, disrupt the status quo, and influence a broad range of policy, legislative and social reform; from founding projects to end violence at the workplace to providing access to services for ethnic, immigrant and minority women, working every day to leave no one behind.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the tireless work of activists who are central to the global push for gender equality. It is a unique moment to join the efforts, to empower women in all settings, rural and urban, and celebrate the activists who are striving to claim women’s rights. It is also an occasion to advocate for change in the agricultural sector by working to bring the voices of women farmers and producers to the forefront.
For the programme of the commemoration event, click here. Join the online conversation on Twitter using the hashtags #IWD2018 #TimeIsNow, and by following @UN_Women. Access the social media package in English, French and Spanish here.
More from UN Women:
- In her message for International Women’s Day, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka draws attention to the work of rural and urban activists who have fought for women’s rights and gender equality.
- UN development entities, led by UN Women, back progress towards the objectives of gender equality, ending poverty and hunger, achieving decent work for all and combatting climate change, through assisting implementation of national and local programmes. These directly engage women and girls in rural areas, supporting their efforts to access all the elements fundamental to their rights and well-being, whether health services or land, financing or climate-smart technologies, among others. In a photo essay entitled "Rural women, human rights", UN Women shares some of these stories of women's empowerment.