International Women’s Day

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow

International Women’s Day 2022

International Women’s Day (IWD), which is celebrated around the world on 8 March, is an occasion to acknowledge the crucial role that women play in the home, in the workplace and in society. It is also an opportunity to highlight the many disadvantages, prejudices and outright violence they face on a daily basis in their quest for better empowerment and equality in society.

Data from various sources show that 70 percent of the 1.3 billion global population living in conditions of poverty are women. Women predominate in the world’s food production (50-80 per cent), but they own less than 10 per cent of the land.

Moreover, 80 percent of those displaced by climate related disasters and changes around the world are women and girls. The theme for this year’s United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day is aptly enough on, ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’.

Empowering women and girls to have a voice and be equal players in decision-making related to climate change and sustainability is essential for sustainable development and greater gender equality.

Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach. So from this year’s IWD let us commit ourselves to supporting greater gender equality in every sphere of life and ensure a sustainable, equitable future for everyone.

Here, we take a look at some thoughts on women’s empowerment by several opinion-formers and women diplomats accredited to Kuwait, as well as their answers to a questionnaire we sent out to them ahead of this year’s IWD.