Women gathering for International Women’s Day
Ezaz-e-Niswan celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) with rural women. The program was started by welcoming all in this interfaith activity on a grassroots level. A Muslim prayer was offered by Mrs. Sughran, a local volunteer, and a Christian prayer was offered by Mr. Naveed, the EDO team member. After prayers, the preamble was recited with the group. Then Miss Naseem George (Coordinator of Seeds of Peace CC in Sargodha, Pakistan) took over the session on IWD, introducing the day that is “empowering humanity: picture it.” She said today is the day to realize the contribution of women in the field of development: their hard work and contributions to place society where we are today. Today is the day to salute women’s courage, confidence, lasting effort and their achievement.
Looking at the theme of the day, Miss Naseem George said progress of the past two decades has proven the enduring value of the Beijing World Conference on Women, but we have a long way to go to achieve the full-equality agenda. Since the adoption of the Beijing Conference deceleration and platform for action, more girls have access to more education than ever before. The number of women dying in childbirth has been reduced. More women are in business, government, and politics; more work as doctors, nurses and other meaningful actions, including humanitarian aid, psycho-social services, and support for livelihood and efforts for advancement of women’s rights. Still, discrimination remains a thick barrier, which is a great challenge. We need to expand opportunities for girls and women in many other many fields of life. We need to change mindsets, especially among men, and engage them in becoming active agents themselves. We need to focus and invest in gender equality, generate economic progress, social and political inclusion and other benefits that would foster stability and human dignity.
At the end of her talk, Miss Naseem George invited women to take a new stance for further development and progress of women’s rights. Further progress depends on our struggle for equality. Then women were invited to identify women that are role models in our society. We all saluted Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Dr. Ruth Fao, Asma Jahangir and others. After this sharing, women and young girls sang a few songs expressing their freedom and ambitions for life. During this, women shared and talked about the Beijing Conference, its conclusion, and the agenda where the leader committed to a future where women are equal. Women exchanged their views on upbringing of their girls and boys on a level of equality, providing opportunities to their children for entering into schools, services, and taking up responsibilities as equals.
At the end, Miss Naseem George concluded by asking the women’s group to develop a new stance in society and change how they treat children within their families. If every woman will do this, soon we will see the change in our society and secure our future for all.
