International Women’s Day 2020
By: Elle Beau
Tags: International Womans Day, Feminism, Equality, Essay, Violence Against Women

Gender equality increases both personal and national prosperity

The UN logo for the Generation Equality campaign

“Imagine a world where all people have equal rights and opportunities. Women and girls are not afraid of walking home late at night, and men and boys are not trapped in oppressive masculinities. In this world, gender equality is the norm. Men and women get paid equally for work of equal value and share the care work at home.

Imagine equality in political leadership and corporate boardrooms and factory floors. Women have equal say in decisions that affect their lives, their bodies, their policies, and their environment, from villages to cities.

Let’s make this a reality. Join UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign to accelerate gender equality actions and mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most visionary agenda for women’s rights and empowerment everywhere.”

March 8 is International Women’s Day and this year the United Nations, as well as other organizations, are continuing to aim for a world where all people have equal rights and opportunities. Although in many parts of the world, we’ve come a long way in this regard, gender-based violence and lack of opportunities for women to be anything other than caregivers are still problems that keep girls and women from true equality.

The World Bank acknowledges gender-based violence as one of the main barriers to equality, but also as a barrier to the eradication of poverty. The 3-minute clip below is of Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director at the World Bank, explaining the role that social norms play in perpetuating violence against women and how the World Bank is working to eliminate this social ill.

YouTube

35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.

Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting.

“Failure to address this issue also entails a significant cost for the future. Numerous studies have shown that children growing up with violence are more likely to become survivors themselves or perpetrators of violence in the future.

One characteristic of gender-based violence is that it knows no social or economic boundaries and affects women and girls of all socio-economic backgrounds: this issue needs to be addressed in both developing and developed countries.

Decreasing violence against women and girls requires a community-based, multi-pronged approach, and sustained engagement with multiple stakeholders. The most effective initiatives address underlying risk factors for violence, including social norms regarding gender roles and the acceptability of violence.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Beijing Platform for Action which identified 12 areas such as ending violence against women, securing girls’ rights, equal pay for work of equal value, women’s participation in decision-making, and climate action. The world has made many strides towards goals in those areas in the past 25 years, but the backlash is strong against any gains and new challenges have emerged.

“An educated girl has a positive ripple effect on her health, family, community and society as a whole.”

“Three quarters of countries worldwide have laws on domestic violence now, yet 137 women across the world are killed by a member of their own family every day; 1 in 10 women in the European Union report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15.

More women and girls can access education, but the gender gap in labour force participation has stagnated. Unpaid care and domestic work is largely shouldered by women everywhere, often at the cost of their career growth and economic participation. And while global poverty has declined, it remains highly feminized: women aged 25–34 are 25 per cent more likely than men to live in extreme poverty.”

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) says that 62 million girls around the world are not in school and that many more are fighting to stay there, facing pressures as they get older to marry or to let money for school fees go to other things. “Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women, and it shouldn’t be a luxury. When girls are educated, they lead healthier and more productive lives. They gain the skills, knowledge and self-confidence to escape the cycle of poverty. They become better citizens, parents and breadwinners. An educated girl has a positive ripple effect on her health, family, community and society as a whole.”

● An extra year of secondary school for girls can increase their future earnings by 10–20%.

● In India, women with no formal schooling are less likely to resist violence than women with schooling.

● In Burkina Faso, educated women are 40% less likely to subject their daughters to genital mutilation.

● Girls with secondary schooling are up to 6 times less likely to marry as children than those with little or no education.

● Each extra year of a mother’s education reduces the probability of infant mortality by 5%-10%.

● If India enrolled 1% percent more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion.

USAID continues to work with the Peace Corps and the Department of State on the Let Girls Learn project, which provides funding and education programs, including in many areas of conflict and crisis. Gender equality is not only in the interests of individual girls and women, but it is in the best interests of the countries that they live in as relates to poverty, health, and GDP.

Support gender equality today and every day in your neck of the woods by

holding leaders accountable

challenging gender stereotypes

learning from female role models

speaking up for human rights

supporting those around you to do these things as well

© Copyright Elle Beau 2020

Elle Beau writes on Medium about sex, life, relationships, society, anthropology, spirituality, and love. If this story is appearing anywhere other than Medium.com, it appears without my consent and has been stolen.