Today, March 8th, 2011, International Women’s Day, we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of promoting women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality. As we look back on the struggle and achievements for women’s rights, we note also the solidarity with other movements and other struggles. Over the course of 100 years, the world has changed in dramatic and unimaginable ways, but we see that the desire for freedom and the fight for human rights lives on. We’ve seen it in the demand for change and the hope for a better world. We’ve also seen how women have played a brave role in charging for democracy. We can reflect on how this 100 year celebration provides an opportunity to increase awareness of the links between struggle for peace adn democracy, decent work and gender equality, poverty and the need for fundamental change.
See video The Journey of Women’s Rights: 1911-2011
At the UN, this year has seen a sea-change with regards to women. The UN‘s creation of UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, marks a new era for women not only at the UN but around the world. The new women’s entity is now in the midst of its first 100 days and in the process of developing its strategic plan. For us, March 8th is a day of taking action, so now is the time to provide inputs and suggestions to UN Women on how it can best serve the needs of women and girls around the world.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day this year on March 8th, and the first 100 days of the new UN women’s entity, the “100 Days → 100 Ways” for UN Women e-camp@ign is being launched to collect over 100 contributions from around the world on how the UN Women can better serve women, promote women’s human rights and be a champion for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. What type of new UN Women are you envisioning? What concrete suggestions can you provide to Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the new Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women? These contributions will be directed to, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, and delivered to the UN Women. March 8th will be a day of action for the “100 Days → 100 Ways” e-camp@ign.
Take action today by providing your input into the “100 Days-100 Ways” e-camp@ign:
Go to http://100days100waysforunwomen.blogspot.com/
Sign in using your own email—click on top right hand “sign in.”
Go to the bottom of page. Click on the word: comments at the bottom of the page near the words “Posted by Feminist Task Force.
Write your entry or have it ready to clip and paste in this section.
Add your name, title, organization, affiliation to the FTF, country—whatever you want just don’t forget to add your name and link to your organization.
You can preview your entry or just click Post Comment—Done!
– Or send an email to feministtaskforce@gmail.com with your inputs.
Also, you can print out or check out the attached information with more details.
Read about the focus areas of UN Women, and make concrete suggestions based on these focus areas: Violence against Women; Peace and Security; Leadership and Participation; Economic Empowerment; National Planning & Budgeting; Human Rights; Millennium Development Goals. Share your ideas and recommendations on this blog or by email.
→ For more information on UN Women, click here. –See message from Michelle Bachelet
→ For more information on the civil society campaign which helped catapult the creation of UN Women, click here: Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign
→ For more information on the Feminist Task Force and the launch of UN Women.
Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day!
In sisterhood,
Global Coordinator
Feminist Task Force 