INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: ESSAY COMPETITION

Introduction

Achieving gender equality is not about degendering males or superimposing women above men. It is rather about shedding centuries-old deep-rooted gender imbalances whose impacts are still felt today. The world could have been a better place if women in ancient Greece were permitted to take part in decision-making. Again, it could have been a better world if women had titles to land in the days old. Even in modern days, women still struggle to have allodial titles to lands and properties. The world could have also been far better if women had civil and political rights and did not have to protest and declare their sentiments and resolutions. When women had stood up, the course of history changed for the better. Women like Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Elizabeth I & II, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, and many others have made significant contributions to human civilization. In modern African history, women like Queen Nanny of Jamaica, Yaa Asantewaa, Miriam Makeba, Wangari, Maathai, and Winnie Mandela became the wind of change that we still enjoy today.

Since women celebrated the past and planned for the future in 1996, each year’s celebration of International Women’s Day has inched women all over the world closer to achieving gender equality. From the Millennium Development Goal 3 to Sustainable Development Goal 5, promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls have seen significant progress. Yet, progress is ever than before threatened with more complex and unique challenges. The recent covid-19 health crises and disruptions in education have eroded the gains made in achieving gender equality and exacerbated gender disparities even further. Job losses and reduced working hours due to supply chain interruptions have disproportionately impacted women. During the lockdowns, women took on a larger share of unpaid care work. This has furthermore worsened income inequality and slowed progress toward gender equality.