The Unseen Struggle: International Women’s Day Beyond the Rhetoric
Siby Kollappallil Joseph
March 8 2025 marks the 50th commemoration of International Women’s Day by the United Nations. The year 2025 gives us an opportunity to evaluate 30 years of progress since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most visionary roadmap on women’s rights. The “Women’s Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing”report,
published ahead of the UN 50th International Women’s Day on 8 March, draws on feedback provided by 159 Governments to the United Nations Secretary-General. It acknowledges the progress made in the last three decades “Since 1995, parity has been achieved in girls’ education and maternal mortality has dropped by a third. Women’s representation in parliaments more than doubled, and countries continue to remove discriminatory laws, with 1,531 legal reforms between 1995 and 2024 in 189 countries and territories. ” The report also features the new Beijing+30 Action Agenda, a roadmap to achieve gender equality. The agenda focuses on 6 key areas a.A digital revolution for all women and girls b.Freedom from poverty. c.Zero violence d.Full and equaldecision-making power e.Peace and security and f.Climate justice.
The UN Secretary General speech on 7 March 2025 at the UN commemoration event for International Women’s Day began by acknowledging the progress made since the Beijing declaration 30 years ago including more girls in school, women in positions of power and digital activism igniting global movements for justice. However, what is important is the persistent challenges and threats to women’s rights including violence discrimination and economic inequality. The following words were culled out from the UN Secretary General’s speech at the UN commemoration event.
“Every ten minutes, a woman is killed by her partner or a family member.
612 million women and girls live under the shadow of armed conflicts – where their rights are too often considered expendable.
Less than two-thirds of women worldwide participate in the labour market – and those who do earn far less than men.
At this pace, eradicating extreme poverty for women and girls would take 130 years.
And as we see in every corner of the world, from pushback to rollback, women’s rights are under attack.
Centuries of discrimination are being exacerbated by new threats.
Digital tools, while brimming with promise, are also often silencing women’s voices, amplifying bias, and fuelling harassment.
Women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds.
And online violence is escalating into real-life violence.
Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are witnessing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny.”
It really depicts the harsh realities faced by women worldwide which never comes to the forefront and is often ignored by the governments and political leaders of different hues and colours. The statistics are alarming and it needs deliberation and immediate action. The struggle for women’s equality is far from over. Despite some progress, women still face significant barriers in the labour market. The moot question is should we wait for 130 years to eradicate extreme poverty for women and girls. The rise of digital tools has also introduced new challenges, including online harassment, biased algorithms, and the silencing of women’s voices. The UN Secretary General’s words serve as a stark reminder that women’s rights are under attack, and centuries of discrimination are being exacerbated by new threats.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s essential to acknowledge the unseen struggles that women face daily. We must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete actions to address these issues, ensuring that women’s rights are protected and their voices are heard.
About the Author
Dr. Siby K. Joseph is Director, Sri Jamnalal Bajaj Memorial Library and Research Centre for Gandhian Studies,Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan, Sevagram,Wardha- 442102, Maharashtra (INDIA)
Email: directorjbmlrc@gmail.com
