Today is International Women’s Day. The International Convention to Eradicate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), regional protocols (Maputo Protocols) and national laws (Women’s Act) have all been crafted to raise concerns regarding all harmful and oppressive conduct against women. This day is therefore not to celebrate but to remind ourselves how far our countries have gone to eradicate all forms of discrimination against and oppression of women.
In our view the assessment of the condition of women should not be one sided. The assessment should include women as income earners, decision makers, girls and women as procreators of the human family.
In our country the poverty rate is 53.4 percent. Girl children and women in general constitute most of the poor in our country. The number of women living in abject poverty without adequate drinking water, labour saving devices, opportunities to move to secondary and tertiary institutions and proper health care is increasing.
Many policies are made but not implemented to free women from drudgery and oppression. We need to make genuine commitment to what is clearly stated in international conventions and domestic laws. That is the purpose of dedicating a day to address the condition of women.
