International Women's Day 2010
Each year International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated around the world on 8th March as a day to honor women’s actions and achievements and recognize continuing challenges in achieving equity and fairness. The theme for International Women’s Day for 2010 is ‘Equal rights, equal opportunity: Progress for all’.
In Nepal
UNDP Press Release: March 8, 2010
Joint Statement by the UN on International Women's Day
In Afghanistan
UNIFEM Afghanistan Country Office (ACO) is supporting various activities to celebrate International Women’s Day.
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The ACO is supporting the participation of government delegates to the CSW 54 and its side panels.
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The head of delegation, OIC Minister Hussn Banno Ghazanfar is among the main speakers on the panel on Women’s Participation in the Peace Process that is being held at the UNICEF office on 5th March.
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The Government Report on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) was prepared with technical support of the ACO and was published in three languages through the support of the Government of Norway. Copies of the report will be distributed to selected delegates of the CSW 54. It will also be published at the MOWA website.
6th – 11th March: UNIFEM is holding a photo exhibit depicting women’s participation in the August 2009 elections, featuring women from the provinces of Herat, Mazar e Sharif, Nangarhar and Kabul. The exhibition captures the many challenges confronted by women in exercising their electoral rights as well as the options they took to be able to vote and run for public office.
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In partnership with CARE International, the ACO is holding a film show, featuring films on violence against women and girls’ struggle to attain education.
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The ACO is producing a VAW data base publication which it plans to launch in the big event that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is organizing for women with President Hamid Karzai as guest of honor on 8th March.
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The ACO is assisting the Gender Donor Coordination Group, a network of donors and international agencies working for gender equality, to prepare and sign a joint statement on the promotion of women’s participation in Afghanistan’s peace processes and the upcoming Kabul International Conference on Afghanistan. The joint statement is expected to be signed by all members and handed over to the President for consideration and action.
Bangladesh
UNIFEM in Bangladesh is commemorating International Women’s Day with MoWCA (Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs) by erecting billboards in 6 divisional towns and in Dhaka city. The billboards reiterate the UN theme for International Women’s Day this year - “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All". 30,000 posters wqith the same theme will be distributed to different districts through MoWCA.
In India
CSW 54
UNIFEM South Asia has supported the participation of 19 members of civil society groups to the Global NGO Forum and CSW 54. South Asia Women’s Watch, UNIFEM’s partner for Beijing + 15, is organizing a Side Event: “Revisiting Democracy: Relocating Women's Political Space”. Two panel discussions have been planned (a) an Asia Pacific panel on Climate Change and Food Security to be coordinated by Dr. Pam Rajput of India (b) a panel on Conflict to be coordinated by Dr. Sepali Kottegoda of Sri Lanka.
10th March, 2010, New Delhi: The UNIFEM Regional Programme Director will participate in the Panel Discussion on Re-integration of trafficked survivors in the Women’s Day celebrations being organized by the Alliance Francaise of Delhi. The panel discussion centres around the exhibition of the ‘Another Me’ photographs, which will be on view from 8th – 13th March, 2010 at the Gallery Romain Rolland of the Alliance Francaise.
19th March, 2010, Chennai, South India: UNIFEM South Asia Regional Office in partnership with the Standard Chartered Scope International is planning to commemorate the International Women's Day, on the 19th of March, 2010 in Chennai. The theme for the event in 2010 is:
“The power of corporate governance: Transforming corporate social responsibility for women's empowerment and equality and to stop gender based violence”.
The two organisations will reach out to Corporate Institutions, other Banks, Financial Institutions, International Organisations, other UN Agencies as well as SME (Small and Medium Enterprises). The planned event is a half a day Corporate Communication Event in Chennai targeting stakeholders from across the nation.
The event seeks to:
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Strategically communicate with and inspire varied stakeholders to promote women’s empowerment, inclusion and substantive gender equality initiatives across the nation
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Share case studies of success by Standard Chartered Scope International, UNIFEM and other stakeholders to inspire and motivate those present
UNIFEM and Scope International will sign a Memorandum of Understanding focusing on “Enhancing social security for excluded single women (widows) in India”.
Pakistan
A joint event is being organized by development partners under the umbrella of INGAD, will be held on or around International Women’s Day with a focus on legal framework to protect women. A panel of experts will be invited to hold consultations on various aspects of recently passed and under process legislation which deals with VAW. These are Sexual Harassment at Work Place, Domestic Violence Bill and Acid Crime and Prevention Bill.
This will be held on 8th March, in a half-day function (10am to 1pm) at the Islamabad Club. Almost 300 participants will be invited for this event from different sections of society. These would include:
- NGOs/CSOs
- Lawyers
- Govt. officials
- Academicians
- Women activists
- Development agencies
- Media
It is hoped that the initiative will assist in the:
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Identification of challenges and opportunities with new laws in place;
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Formulation of a set of recommendations on operationalization of Sexual Harassment Act; and Increased momentum for the approval of the Domestic Violence Bill and Acid Control & Acid Crime Prevention Bill
Pakistan-IWD- INGAD Event-I details
3rd March, 2010: Launching Ceremony of Annotated Bibliography on Gender in Education
The Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan is inviting leading UN agencies, non-government organizations, national research and educational institutions on 3rd March 2010 on the launching ceremony of Annotated Bibliography on Gender in Education in Islamabad. The bibliography will be published as part of the Gender in Education Policy Support Program, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen policy planning and implementation through strategic interventions at the national level.
Presentations on the communication strategies that worked for gender projects and linkages of CEDAW concluding observations with special focus on gender disparities in education will also be given by UNESCO, UNIFEM, UNICEF, White Ribbon Campaign Pakistan and Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP).
Pakistan-IWD- UNICEF-UNESCO and UNIFEM (Event-II)