International Womens Day 8 March is an incredibly amazing day.
Millions of people around the world come together celebrating achievement or fighting for justice.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is a pledge to end violence and abuse against women.
UN research has revealed that about 603 million women worldwide currently face the risk domestic violence.
Close to 70 per cent of women face such abuses at some point in their lives. Indeed, violence against women causes more deaths and injury among the global female population (aged 15 to 44) than cancer, malaria, road traffic accidents and war.
With such a serious subject on the agenda, it might seem frivolous to ‘celebrate’ IWD. But opinion is divided.
For many, this is a political day, designed to highlight the struggles faced by women worldwide. For others, it’s a sentimental occasion, in the same league as Mother’s Day. Some nations have long-held traditions to uphold, while others arrange a series of original events each year.