International Women’s Day

by Nadia Ramoutar  MMM Communications Coordinator     Ireland          08.03.2024     

Being a woman in our modern world is not easy, but talking about why it is challenging can also be – well, challenging.

In the middle of the night last night my son woke me up vomiting. I am a working single mother and such a sound was like a nightmare. The next blurry hours were a challenge I somehow staggered through but managed to make work. Such a challenge is minor compared to the difficulties other women faced last night. Some were in a warzone or a refugee camp, a domestic violence situation or living on the streets. I am fortunate to have a place to live and running water to wash clothes and electricity to keep my son warm and safe. Like many women I work hard to overcome challenges daily and balance it with the guilt of my complex feelings.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is often misunderstood and used as a marketing ploy with is denigrating. It began by a large group of working class women who were protesting for safer working conditions, better pay and basic rights like voting that at the time they were denied globally. The women back on the first IWD created in 1911 sought to seek equality for women. I wonder if they could see the condition of women in the world would they feel we have come far enough? What more can we do?

The statistics for women in the world now reflects things like 70% of the poor are women when women make up 51% of the population, many of those poor are abandoned with children. At least one in four women will experience sexual violence in her lifetime. In reality there have also been many ways in which women have been empowered and women empower one another, but the trend is still uninspiring.

When I look at the pioneering work of the MMM women I am truly inspired to continue to strive for all mothers with sick children or women facing poverty, violence and hunger. I am motivated far beyond my own conditions to work for the best for all women, those with children and those without, those with jobs and those working at home. My appreciation for all women’s resilience grows as I have compassion for the limitations we all face globally, but still carry on.

For 2024, the IWD the theme is ‘let’s Inspire Inclusion’. The messaging is that ‘when we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment. The aim of the IWD 2024 #InspireInclusion campaign is to collectively forge a more inclusive world for women.’

My wish for the world is that we honour all the women who went before for pioneering the way for us, and we work together for women in the future that they may be more free and experience more equity than we do today.