114 years ago, a proposal by Clara Zetkin to celebrate March 8 as a day of solidarity of women from all over the world was adopted at a women’s socialist conference in Denmark in the fight for rights and total freedom of all people. Three years after the Conference, in 1913, about 2000 women from Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrated this day in Sarajevo. On that day, the political, social and gender equality battle began in our region.
Have we already forgotten the values celebrated on March 8? It is one of the days in year, not the only one, when we speak loudly and request solidarity, sensibility and common effort of both men and women in achieving an equal society – as Isabel Allende says: “We only have what we give!”
Good results can only arise from common work in solving problems, such as violence, wage differences for equal jobs on a gender-based labour market, hardened progress in the political sphere, etc.
More than 47% women are victims of domestic violence and the price for that is a damaged society through a loss of labour force and social capital, increase in health and social security expenses, investments in law-implementing agencies and court processes expenses and sanctions expenses.
Global women labour force is 66%, and their incomes are 10% of world incomes and they own 1% of global properties. Analyses show that 90% of women’s incomes are reinvested in the family and the community.
Gender-based discrimination is of a great damage for the society for it loses a great potential of young women for which a fertile basis was not created. Developing countries take least care of health, assets, and rights of young women.
On March 8, we remembered the beginnings and the first successes of gender-equality and different needs battle. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, we continue to build a society of a greater value – a gender-responsive society that creates an environment for achieving equal rights regardless of sex and gender.
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