Introduction

The International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March every year to celebrate gender equality and women’s well-being.

Evolution of International Women’s Day:

• Origin: The International Women’s Day was celebrated by the United Nations for the first time in 1975. Since then, it has been celebrated every year.
  • It can be traced back to the activities of labour movements in North America and Europe in the twentieth century. 
  • United States of America celebrated the National Woman’s Day on February 28, 1909, to commemorate the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York.
  • International Women’s Day became a mainstream global holiday after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1977.
• Theme: The theme for 2024 will be ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’.

Significance of International Women’s Day:

• Gender Equality Awareness: The day serves as an occasion to raise awareness about gender equality issues and move towards a more equitable world. 
• Understand Challenges Faced by Women: The day also helps society to understand the challenges women face and work towards solutions.
• Inclusiveness: The day has been publicised as an event to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create conditions where all women get respect.
• Empowerment and Leadership: The International Women’s Day looks to empower women to encourage women to take on leadership roles for societal welfare.

Challenges and Disparities: The Status of Women Worldwide

• Enjoyment of Rights: In many parts of the world, women do not enjoy equal rights when it comes to education, health services, economic opportunities, and political participation. 
• Literacy: According to the UN, women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.
• Wealth Ownership: Only 1% of the world’s resources are owned by women and they earn only 1/10th of the world’s income.
• Health Conditions: Women spend 25% more of their lives in poorer health conditions compared to men.
• Political Conditions: As of 2023, 11.3% of countries are led by a woman Head of State, and 9.8% have women Heads of Government.

Status in India: Challenges in Literacy, Health, and Economic Equality

• Literacy: As of 2011, the rate of literacy among women is 65.46 per cent. This is significantly lower than the world average of 79.7%.
• Health Status: About 24%of Indian women are malnourished and 54% women are anaemic. The mortality rate of women due to health issues is also higher than men.
• Gender Pay Gap: Indian men earn 82 per cent of the labour income while women earn only 18 percent of it. 

Addressing Global Challenges Faced by Women in the 21st Century

• Gender Pay Gap: In the majority of the countries of the world, women do not enjoy equal pay with men. They are paid less for the same amount of work and the same position.
• Lack of Budgetary Support: There is limited women-centric spending in the world. This reduces the scope of women’s development.
• Sexual Violence: Women are subjected to sexual violence, both in homes as well as outside. This creates a sense of fear in their minds.
• Poverty: According to the UN, 75 million people have fallen into poverty due to the pandemic and immediate action is necessary to save 342 million women and girls from poverty by 2030.  
• Pregnancy and Familial Responsibility: Women are expected to bear the familial responsibilities along with career aspirations.
• Gender Bias: Gender bias in decision-making is a common sight in the world that has plagued progress of society towards egalitarianism.
• Dowry: In many parts of the world, families of women are expected to pay dowry for their marriage, putting an economic burden on them.
• Glass Ceiling: Progress of women in the organisational ladder does not go beyond a point due to the glass ceiling.
• Geopolitical and Geo-Economics Impact: Increasing prices and conflicts worldwide may result in 75% countries restricting public spending by 2025, which may adversely impact women being able to access essentials.

Factors Contributing to Gender Disparities

• Poverty: Poverty is still the most important reason for inequality across the world. It is poverty that prevents society from self-introspection.
• Lack of Representation in Decision-making: Women still make up a very small amount at decision-making positions. This affects the introduction of women-centric measures.
• Patriarchy: The patriarchal setup in many parts of the world contributed to the fundamental inequality between men and women.
• Misogyny: The practice of misogyny, which is the feeling of hatred or prejudice against women or girls, is another reason for gender bias.
• Social Beliefs: Social customs and beliefs play a major role in keeping women at lower places in the society.
• Lack of Awareness: Many women are still unaware of their rights and their ability to achieve equality. This has enabled decision-makers to ignore women’s demands.

Strategies for Addressing and Resolving Women’s Issues Worldwide

• Political Representation: Political empowerment of women can go a long way in addressing the issue of gender discrimination in the world.
• Sensitization: There is a need to create a sense of awareness among the population to be empathetic towards issues faced by women.
• Gender Budgeting: Gender budgeting analyses the unique and diverse needs of women and ensures a fair distribution of resources.
• Educational Initiatives: There is a need to promote education among women to make them empowered and strong.
• Protecting Rights: Making laws and also taking measures to implement them will ensure that women’s rights are not violated.

Government Initiatives Empowering Women Across Spheres of Life

• Political Steps:

• • Reservation in Legislature: The Parliament of India passed the 106th Constitutional Amendment act to provide 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies.
  • Reservation in Local Bodies: The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts provides a reservation of one-third of seats for women in Municipalities and Panchayati Raj institutions.
  • National Commission for Women: It is a national level statutory body in India with the mandate of protecting and promoting the interests of women.

• Health:

  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): The scheme was introduced with an intention of promoting institutional delivery among pregnant women especially with weak socio-economic status.
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan: The scheme provides conditional cash transfer in order to promote institutional delivery.
  • Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA): This initiative provides pregnant women free assured and quality post-birth check up on the 9th day of every month.
  • LaQshya: This initiative seeks to improve quality of care in labour room and maternity operation theatres, ensuring quality maternity care.
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): It is a wage compensation scheme for wage loss so that a pregnant woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.

• Sexual Harassment:

• • SHE Box: SHE box portal has been developed with an objective to facilitate the registration of complaints related to sexual harassment of women at workplace.
  • Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act: The law was introduced to punish workplace sexual harassment in India.  

• Education:

• • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme: The campaign was intended with an aim of creating awareness and improving the delivery of welfare services intended for girls.
  • Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: This savings scheme encourages parents of a girl child to build a fund for the future education of their child.
  • CBSE Udaan Scheme: Launched by Central Board of Secondary Education, the scheme aims to empower female students of lower socio-economic status.
  • National Scheme of Incentive for the Girls of Secondary Education: The NSIGSE seeks to support higher education for young women by incentivising them. This increases enrolment ratio in higher education.

• Research:

• • WISE-KIRAN: WISE-KIRAN has been introduced to enhance their participation in the field of Science and Technology (S&T) with the ultimate aim of bringing gender parity.
  • Women Scientist Scheme: The scheme aims to provide opportunities to women scientists to pursue research careers in the field of Science & Technology (S&T), especially those who were on a career break.

• Economic:

• • Support to Training & Employment Programme for Women (STEP): The STEP scheme was introduced to extend training for upgradation of skills and sustainable employment for women. 
  • Mahila-e-Haat: Mahila-e-Haat scheme was introduced to empower women entrepreneurs and artisans across India. It provides an online marketing platform for women entrepreneurs.

• Social: 

• • Swadhar Greh Scheme: They will be set up in every district to address the primary need of food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment, and care of the women in distress, who do not have any social and economic support.
  • Women Helpline (WHL) Scheme: Under the scheme, women affected by violence will be able to seek Digital Complaint Registration System.
  • One Stop Centres (OSC): It was introduced to facilitate women affected by violence with a range of integrated services such as Police facilitation, medical aid, legal aid and legal counselling, all under a single roof.

Conclusion

The International Women’s Day is an event for celebrating the achievements of women. It also raises awareness about gender equality issues that are currently plaguing the world.