International Women’s day is celebrated on the 8th of march around the world, recognizing and appreciating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women from all backgrounds. International women’s day also calls forth in advocating for gender equality and calling out gender disparity. Why do we celebrate it? Because it is a day to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women. It also focused on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development. A direct cause that the women at Daraja are supporting.
Gender inequality is a well-known issue that has been recognized across the world. It is not uncommon to find gender pay gaps in the workplace, harassment on the streets, or predjudices in typical society. One difference, particularly affecting individuals at Daraja, is the belief, in parts of Kenya and beyond, that Women should not be attending school beyond a particular age, of which, is a fundamental human right, education, simply because educated women they were not prioritized or needed, and are better of conforming to ‘those’ gender norms. Daraja, thankfully, has decided to actively go against that stereotype and offer these women another chance to go against their societies influence and continue to study to help change minds and beliefs along the road of a better future.
That’s why we, along with Daraja students themselves, who have first hand suffered the disparities that Women face, have celebrated this international women’s day to educate and bring awareness to students here at UWC about why this is a day that has been celebrated since 1908, and why it continues to be such a big issue even now, and likely years to come.
That’s why, instead of typically highlighting all the barriers women face, we have bought light to the many strong independent women who are making a difference to fellow women by raising awareness and taking action against discrimination on the basis of sex. We are celebrating the capabilities that strong women are able to do given the opportunity.
As part of Daraja GC, A GC dedicated to leading the next generation of strong independent women capable of change, our part of this was to create posters of many women and on those posters, we showcased the many successes they have achieved, along with their various backgrounds inspirations. We hope that these posters aspire more people to take action, to take a stand, like what those many women did, or become involved in women empowerment.
We are celebrating International Women’s Day to tell not only our community but the entire world that women and men deserve equal opportunities in life. The whole aim is to achieve gender equality for all.
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