The 8th of March marks the day of International Women’s Day. The theme selected for International Women’s Day 2020 is, “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. The campaign theme of this day is #EachforEqual. The theme of this year is based on UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign. This campaign is widely known as “Generation Equality”. The “Generation Equality” platform marks the 25th anniversary of the “Beijing Declaration and Platforms for Action (BDPA)”. At the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action is recognized as the most progressive and phenomenal roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls.

In Bangladesh, the holistic preparation for celebrating this day started last year on November 01, with the initiation of #orangetheworld themed hashtag on social media by UN Women Bangladesh. This includes the movement of the 10th criteria to reach Global Sustainable Development Goals – the goal of reducing inequality. Bangladesh has been playing a significant role in establishing gender equality and reducing gender-specific acts of violence. 

The History and Context 

On February 28, 1909, the Socialist Party of America organized a daylong program of women in the city of New York. German revolutionary activist and feminist Clara Zetkin proposed at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference that 8 March be honored annually in memory of working women. The day has been celebrated as International Women’s Day ever since. Countries like Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Denmark celebrated the first official International Women’s Day on March 19, 1911. More than one million people attended rallies on that day. The rallies were focused on women’s representation, worker’s rights movements, education, and suffrage. With the spread of the campaigns and gradual progressions made, more countries in Europe marked the holiday on March 8. 

March 8 became a National holiday in Soviet Russia in 1917 after women gained suffrage there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the communist countries and their several socialist movements. Later on, the celebration was adopted by the feminist movement in the year of 1967. Later on March 8, 1975, the United Nations celebrated it as an official holiday and from then it got recognition globally. The holiday henceforth has gained global awareness as a way to recognize women.

Equality-Equity-Inclusivity-Prosperity

An equal and egalitarian world is an enabled world. Individually, we all have free will and the right to exercise it. But, that makes us more responsible, since it depends on our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. That is how, we can actively choose “to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements” – the key motos of IWD 2020. If we think collectively, then we need to think as collective individuals. Because each of us can contribute to creating a gender-equal world. Let’s all be #EachforEqual.

 Equality is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue.” 

Meaning, gender equality is essential not only for communities to thrive but also for the holistic development of economies. A gender-equal world of inclusivity and equality can be healthier, wealthier and excessively harmonious – so what’s not great about that? The race is on for the gender-equal boardroom, a gender-equal government, gender-equal media coverage, gender-equal workplaces, gender-equal sports coverage, and more gender equality in health and wealth. Why not make it happen? 

#EachforEqual pose

The symbolic manifestation of IWD 2020 is the #EachforEqual pose. Put your two hands out in front, holding horizontally and parallel to each other. The parallel symbolism remarks that people irrespective of all gender must have the equality of opportunities, no matter what the outcome is. IWD 2020 sees a number of missions to help forge a gender-equal world. Celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility while calling out inequality is the key.

Bangladesh and IWD 2020 

Many renowned institutions in Bangladesh are working day and night to ensure the end of gender-based violence. Organizations and NGOs namely ASK (Ain o Salish Kendra), Manusher Jonno Foundation, p4p (Partners for Prevention), UN Women, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNODC are conducting training programs and awareness campaigns all around the country. Weeklong social training projects and events like “SASA! Together-Ending GBV (Gender-Based Violence)” organized by UN WOMEN and ASK, medical training boot camp projects like “Dissemination of Web-based CMR (Clinical Management of Rape) module” organized by UN Women, USAID and Ministry of Health to name a few, have been conducted in Bangladesh. The celebration of IWD 2020 in Bangladesh will be done through measuring the impactful transition that these awareness and training campaigns have successfully achieved. A beautiful Bangladesh free from violence is what we need to achieve. 

Championing IWD 2020 Globally     

The year 2020 represents the opportunity to mobilize and foster global action, to achieve gender-equal diversity and the human rights of all women and girls. To champion IWD 2020 globally, a call for collective action and shared responsibility for driving a gender-equal world is key. The 2020 #EachforEqual campaign runs all year long. It doesn’t end on International Women’s Day. The concept of “collective individualism” must run through the entire celebration. To make a change, to make an impact, we need to recognize that we are all parts of a whole. Our individual actions, conversations, behaviors, and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society.

Collectively, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender-equal world. According to UN Women, the collective actions and mission must include (but is not limited to)- 

1. Celebrating digital advancement and championing the women forging innovation through technology
2. Celebrating women athletes and recognizing when equality is achieved in pay, sponsorship, and visibility
3. Championing women of all backgrounds who dare to innovate, lead, and uplift others towards a more equal and inclusive workplace 
4. Supporting women to earn and learn on their own terms and in their own way 
5. Assisting women to be in a position of power for making informed decisions about their health
6. Increasing the visibility of women creatives and promote their work for commercial projects

The campaign theme provides a unified direction to guide and galvanize continuous collective action, with #EachforEqual activity reinforced and amplified all year.”

– UN Women 

The International Women’s Day Logo and Hashtags

The International Women’s Day logo is an arrowed circle with the female (or Venus) gender symbol at the inset and it is looping. #WomensDay is a popular hashtag on Twitter which will automatically generate the female-gender-sign emoji. The same goes for the Women’s Day hashtag on Instagram. This year’s hashtags also include the thematic #EachforEqual, the straightforward #IWD2020, #InternationalWomensDay, and #SeeHer.

Equality isn’t a thing that we have achieved living in a degenerate world of a cis-heteronormative patriarch culture. Let’s deconstruct all the backward ideas and confine them to the dustbin of history. Let’s rebuild a new nation, a new identity, a world with no discrimination, a world of equality. Are you ready to face the challenge and work to build a gender-equal society? Let’s work for prosperity, let’s work for inclusivity. Comment below, and let us know how you are going to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020.