Daily News Editorial

The rise of women

08 March 2017

Today, women all over the world celebrate the International Women’s Day (IWD), a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. IWD has been formally celebrated by the UN and countries around the world since March 8, 1975, which was the International Year of Women, although its roots can be traced to 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours. March 8 is an official holiday in more than 25 countries.

The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. The UN defines IWD as “a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.”

This year’s theme of IWD is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. The idea of this theme is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. The theme will also focus on new commitments under UN Step it Up Initiative and other commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.

Key targets of the 2030 Agenda include: By 2030, ensure that all girls (and boys) complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes; By 2030, ensure that all girls have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education; End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere; Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

The world of work is changing, and with significant implications for women. A large number of women are working in all sectors, but in both developed and developing countries women get lower salaries or wages compared to their male counterparts. There are only a few Government or commercial entities that have truly achieved a 50:50 male to female ratio in terms of employee numbers. The reference to Planet 50:50 is a nod to that ambition which has to be achieved by 2030, now less than 15 years away. But it won’t be easy – the World Economic Forum predicts that the gender pay gap will not close until 2186.

Apart from the pay gap, there is increased focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Sri Lanka is one of the few developing countries with impressive statistics on girls and women, with virtually zero discrimination on the education of girls. Indices such as maternal mortality are almost on par with those of the developed world. Sri Lanka also has the distinction of producing the world’s first woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, whose daughter Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was also elected Executive President.

Yet, the number of women in local politics in Sri Lanka is extremely low even by South Asian standards. The prevailing electoral system has been partly been blamed for this situation and we hope the new Constitution will grant a better place for women in politics. Sexual and physical violence against girls and women is a major issue in Sri Lanka – in fact, a recent nationwide study commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed that 90 percent of women and girls in Sri Lanka have been subjected to sexual harassment on public buses and trains with only four percent seeking help from the Police. UNFPA in partnership with the Ministry of Women’s and Child Affairs, Ministry of Transport Civil Aviation, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Sri Lanka Police, launched a public advocacy campaign titled ‘Does she travel safe?’.

Equal attention should be paid to domestic violence, both physical and sexual. It is a known fact that perpetrators of such violence are almost always known to the victim – either a relative or guardian, not a total stranger. This is a black mark on our society and culture and steps should be taken to purge such violence from our midst.

There is a long way to go before we can say that women have been truly empowered all over the world, yet progress is being made on many fronts. Women have shattered the “glass ceiling” in many sectors and have equalled or even exceeded the achievements of their male counterparts. This IWD is likely to be a catalyst for further progress on these lines.