Are woman truly able to claim their rights equally?

Women and children in Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, and Syria are victims of violence in ongoing conflicts. Throughout the history, women have been facing prolonged discrimination globally, which persists till today. In every field including science, technology, healthcare, engineering, and also in Nobel Prize winning, women face discrimination.

With women comprising 49.6 per cent of the world's total population, societal advancement, and global development are inherently impossible without their

equal integration. To commemorate the contributions of women in the present civilization, International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th in various countries worldwide. It is commonly abbreviated as IWD. According to the International Women's Day website, the colors associated with the day are pur-ple, green, and white. Purple symbolizes justice and dignity, green signifies hope, and white represents purity.

IWD is an occasion to recognize women's accomplishments across the globe in social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. We often engage in discussions about women's progress, but the question remains: are women truly able to claim their rights equally in all aspects of society, including economical-ly, socially, politically, and technological-ly?

The foundation for today's conversations about women's potential and challenges was laid many years ago. The idea of International Women's Day emerged from labor movements. Later, it gained recognition from the United Nations and has since been celebrated globally each year. The concept of International Women's Day was first introduced in 1900, stemming trom the women's rights movement. In 1908, approximately 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and voting rights. The first official declaration of International Women's Day came from the Socialist Party of America in 1909, and it has been observed annually since the end of February 1913. It evolved from the Second International Conference of Working Women in 1910 and has been celebrated on March 8th since 1911.

Over time, this day has become internationally recognized as a time to acknowledge women's achievements and struggles through sacrifice and activism.

While many women celebrate their suc-cesses, there are still countless others who face extreme oppression and injus-tice. Their struggles often begin within their homes and extend to society and the world at large. The consequences of this inequality are stark: every 10 min-utes, a woman or girl becomes a victim of familial or intimate partner violence, and every two minutes, a woman dies due to pregnancy-related causes.

Numerous national studies indicate that nearly 70 per cent of women experience physical or sexual violence from their partners. UNICEF reports that glob-ally, almost 15 million adolescent girls are forced into sexual activity at some point. The violence women endure intensifies their suffering. Today, nearly 200 million women worldwide face various health risks, including anemia, infertility, and severe pelvic pain, complications during childbirth, HIV, mental trauma, and even death. Child marriage remains a damaging form of violence. While progress has been made in ending 25 million child marriages in the past decade, girls who marry young still face greater risks of violence from their partners and higher chances of death during childbirth.

Conflicts, such as wars, exacerbate violence against women. Women and children in Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, and Syria are victims of violence in ongoing conflicts.

Throughout the history, women have been facing prolonged discrimination globally, which persists till today. In every field including science, technology, healthcare, engineering, and also in Nobel Prize win-ning, women face discrimination.

A 2016 report revealed that 71 per cent of all human trafficking victims are women and girls, with 75 per cent trafficked for sexual exploitation. Women have been marginalized and overlooked for generations in male-dominated societies where religious conservatism and social biases perpetuate oppression. The intellectual and physical labor of women in household work is often undervalued.

In Bangladesh, like in many other coun tries, efforts are made through various events and ceremonies on International Women's Day to promote women's rights.

During the liberation war in 1971 led by the Father of the Nation,

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, women also made remarkable contribu-tions. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in Bangladesh is actively working to ensure women's full participation in all areas, including poverty reduction, ending violence against women, preventing human trafficking, ensuring workplace safety for women, and promoting self-empower-ment across all fields.

Under the leadership of the Honorable

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in Bangladesh has been ensuring women's full participation in all sectors, including poverty alleviation, and ending violence against women, preventing human trafficking, establishing workplace safety for women, and promoting self-empowerment in all areas.

Human rights activists in Bangladesh have stated that despite having strict laws against violence against women in the country, violence against women has not decreased; rather, in recent years, violence against women in families and online has increased. Just as physical violence against women for dowry has increased, women are also being subjected to violence in the workplace and online. Although organizations like the Human Rights Commission and Legal Aid Centers are working towards resolving all forms of violence against women, their actual implementation is not so evi-dent. Even though there are laws against violence against women, many of those against whom allegations of violence are made often escape punishment, making it difficult to enforce these laws in prac-tice.

This occasion serves as a forum to endorse the endeavors of laborers global-ly, fostering awareness about their contributions and the impediments they encounter. March 8th, International Women's Day 2024, stands as an invitation for all women to stand resolute in their capacities, amplify the voices of women, extend support to their endeav-ors, and strive towards a more inclusive and equitable global community.

International Women's Day 2024 heralds a call for collective action in the pursuit of inclusivity and justice for the advancement of women worldwide.

The writer is the Senior Human Resource Manager at Uttara Crescent Hospital and Former Lecturer at South East University