International Women's Day

8 March is the International Women's Day, the day when women gather together to realize their rights and equitable demands against violence, cruelty, and discrimination, and also to fresh their commitments for struggling with challenges. They celebrate the day by helding peaceful demonstrations, marchings, speeches and programs to prove they have equal rights. International Women's Day was set by UNESCO in 1997.

In Afghanistan this solidarity day of women is also celebrated with special programs by the governmental and non-governmental sectors to address the problems and challenges Afghan women are facing and to find key solutions for them. Women in this land are the most deprived and vulnerable class of the society. They are the symbol of injustice and humiliation who meet different kinds of violence.

There are too many considerable problems for women of Afghanistan such as; inaccessibility of women to the education, health services, thier self-relience in the economic arena, the increasing of violence and other social problems; and what have made them far away from their rights are discrimination, illiteracy and existence of superstitious cultures.

Besides, women of Afghanistan count each day as a hope for a bright future and they already have accepted that they will be stronger than in the past. Their presence and promotion in the key governmental positions and other achievements emphasising the empowerment and positive future for them. The role of women in decision-making and community with the government's support convinced women to stand against barriers to defense thier rights.

Although the government and other supportive stakeholders have afforted the development and empowerment of women, it is not enough; and they need more support to have meaningful participation in the politcal, social, economic and cultural arenas. They need access to justice and to become self-sufficient and self-determined.

While 8 March International Women's Day is celebrated in Afghanistan, still the women don't have social and legal protection to have thier rights and the access to the justice. Hopefully, windows are open for them.

 

Photos taken during National Conference in the occasion of 8th March International Woman’s Day Progress Indicator: Sustainable Empowerment of the Afghan Women in Development and Peace, conducted by Afghan Women's Network on 1st March 2017, Kabul.

 

Mohammad Elias Hatimi

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