International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8th March around the world. On this day, the African Union (AU) joins the international community to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also reviewing past progress of women’s development and looking ahead at future opportunities for women, especially in the African continent .
The IWD celebration creates an opportunity for women and men to come together, network and organize themselves for social transformation, anchored on values and principles that ensure enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. The commemoration of this day, therefore, accords nations the opportunity to marshal efforts to strengthen women’s rights and their participation in social, economic and political development.
This year, the United Nations has adopted two themes to guide the global IWD celebrations, namely: “Pledge for Parity” and Planet 50 – 50: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. Following these guiding themes, the AU’s IWD commemoration theme will focus on “Agenda 2063: A Pledge for Gender -Equality and Women’s Empowerment. This year being the African Year of Human Rights with a specific focus on the Rights of Women, provides another opportunity to celebrate African women and share best practices, but also to remind the continent to implement its commitments to address persistent gender inequalities that hinder women from fully enjoying their human rights.