March 8 is International Women's Day, an annual observance that has been marked for nearly 100 years. In its earliest years, International Women's Day was used to rally support for women's right to work, vote and hold office — opportunities in which much of the world has made significant progress over the past century.
I am buoyed by that progress, and pleased that so many women and girls today can take for granted their right to pursue education and a career of their choice, make their own decisions about whom to marry and when or if to have children, and speak their minds about the issues that matter to them. This is cause for celebration, and part of International Women's Day should be recognition of the progress we have made toward more equitable societies.
But in the true spirit of our foremothers, we must also use this day as a reminder of ongoing struggles and a call to action on behalf of the billions of poor women who continue to see their rights systematically denied. We who have benefitted from advancements in women's rights — men and women alike — must not forget our responsibility to women and girls whose potential remains thwarted by discrimination. They are girls whose parents see no reason to send them to school because they are just going to "belong" to another family in a few years. They are women with HIV who won't seek treatment for fear of the repercussions their children will face. They are mothers who risk their lives by giving birth because their societies do not invest in the simple measures that help ensure their survival.
At CARE, we know these women well. We know their determination and ingenuity. But sometimes it takes a movement to create real change, and that's what CARE is working for. This International Women's Day, join the movement to empower women in the fight against poverty.
