Women Make History

Suffragists march from New York on their way to the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington D.C. in 1913. © AP/PA Photo

On 8 March 1857, women garment workers in New York City, USA, marched and picketed, demanding improved working conditions, a 10-hour day and equal rights to men. Their ranks were broken by the police.

Fifty-one years later, on 8 March 1908, 15,000 New York women garment workers marched again, this time demanding the vote and an end to sweatshops and child labour.

International Women’s Day is marked on this date by women’s groups around the world. It is commemorated at the UN and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.

The landscape for women’s rights has changed dramatically over the past century. In many countries, women are active participants in the political process and have made significant strides towards economic equality. Globally, there are legally binding agreements to protect and promote women’s rights.

While women make history, they do so in circumstances they have neither chosen nor created. Women face heightened levels of sexual violence in times of conflict, insecurity and in the context of poverty.

In Sierra Leone, it is estimated that one in every three women and girls were raped, or suffered some form of sexual violence, during the armed conflict that raged from 1991 to 2002.

Sexual violence is also closely related to the cycle of insecurity and poverty. In Haiti, many girls cannot afford to pay school fees and can be forced into sexual abuse or exploitation in exchange for gifts and money for their education. Others have been raped in streets no one could afford, or chose, to light properly.

Women living in Kibera, Kenya, one of the world’s largest slums, go about their daily lives lacking access to basic necessities such as water, education and security. People have few opportunities to break out of poverty, and women and girls suffer the most.

Girls’ education is often considered a luxury and those lucky enough to go to school are more likely to find themselves burdened with extra household responsibilities such as caring for sick relatives or looking after younger siblings. Lack of security in Kibera makes it harder for women to improve their situations. The alleyways through which women must pass to get buy food or travel to work are often unlit, and can be dangerous places.

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