How activists across Asia and the Pacific marked International Women’s Day

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

International Women’s Day.

It's a time that has come to mean a lot of different things to people - whether that’s morning tea at the office, a personal celebration of the women in your life or a reminder to support a local, women-focused organisation.

For feminists and women’s rights activists across the world, IWD is a time to join voices and make our message for equal rights loud and clear – “Women’s rights are human rights!”

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future’. It is based on the United Nations 67th Commission on the Status of Women priority theme ‘Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.’ At a time where the digital gender gap keeps growing all while our lives become increasingly digitised, this year’s theme highlighted the many gaps that still exist and the opportunities available to us to ensure women and girls are not left behind in this new digital era.

Here’s how some of our partners across Asia and the Pacific marked this year’s International Women’s Day - celebrating how far we’ve come towards gender equality while shining a light on how far we still have left to go.

Cambodia

Banteay Srei and Gender and Development Cambodia took part in the ‘Amplify Women Leader’s Voice for Gender Justice’ forum. The event - co-hosted by CCFC Cambodia, Banteay Srei, Silaka Cambodia and Gender and Development for Cambodia - provided a space for women leaders across diverse sectors to share their experiences of leadership and draw on each other’s insights to address the challenges they face. With honorary speakers from the government, civil society organisations and youth communities, the event also celebrated the success of women leaders in fields spanning the community sector, small-scale business and the arts.

GADC receives support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

A group of performers on stage dancing and singing. Behind them is the 'Amplify Women Leaders' Voices for Gender Justice.

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

A man writing a message in Khmer on a whiteboard.

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

A group of forum participants posing together for a photo while holding up signs in Khmer

Credit: Banteay Srei

Credit: Banteay Srei

A social media post by Rainbow Community of Kampuchea marking International Women's Day

Credit: Rainbow Community of Kampuchea.

Credit: Rainbow Community of Kampuchea.

For Rainbow Community Kampuchea Organisation, the day was marked with an acknowledgment and celebration of the many women who have stood with Cambodia’s LGBTQ+ community and participated in advancing LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance in the country.

Fiji

IWD activities in Fiji kicked off with a #ReclaimTheNight March in Suva on March 7^th. Organised by Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, the event was attended by IWDA partners Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) and femLINKPacific. The march was a strong show of support for women’s rights and freedom as hundreds took to the streets demanding safer homes and public spaces for women and children.

People looking to the camera as they hold up signs at the Reclaim the Night march. One poster reads, 'What causes rape?'. Below are empty checkboxes that read, 'a skirt, drinking, flirting', with the only ticked checkbox saying, 'rapists'.

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

A group of people holding up signs while marching behind a black and white banner that reads, 'Reclaim the Night'

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

The following day was marked by FWRM’s annual ‘If Women Stop, The World Stops’ concert. Now in its fourth year, the concert brought together hundreds of women human rights defenders and advocates alongside representatives of civil society and non-government organisations. Women across generations and backgrounds came together on the day to discuss issues like unpaid care and decent work, violence against women and girls, disability rights and patriarchal ideologies that perpetuate all forms of gender discrimination and injustice

A woman dressed in a red t-shirt and shirt speaking on stage. Behind her is a banner that reads, 'Women's Global Strike: International Women's Day - March 8'.

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

A woman in a wheelchair wearing a purple t-shirt and matching flower in her hair speaking on stage.

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

A seated crowd of people wearing matching 'If Women Stop, The World Stops' red t-shirts. They are holding up their hands and looking towards the stage.

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Credit: Fiji Women's Rights Movement

A group of five women posing with a selfie frame as they smile at the camera. The frame is full of slogans relating to International Women's Day and women's rights, including this year's theme 'Innovation and technology for gender equality.'

Credit: femLINKPacific

Credit: femLINKPacific

Nalini Singh, Executive Director of FWRM, summarised the day as being a time “for women to demand their rights and this concert is our symbolic strike action against the systematic structures and the patriarchy that continues to be a barrier to women’s progress and gender equality.”

This financial year, FWRM was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

An extract from the Fiji Times of femLINKPacific's special issue for International Women's Day

Credit: femLINKPacific

Credit: femLINKPacific

In addition to attending the concert and march, femLINKPacific also created a newspaper supplement about IWD for the Fiji Times. The issue covered issues like women’s central role in ensuring food security for their communities, the role sports can play in creating safe spaces for women and the importance of rural women’s health and support services.

Myanmar

In Myanmar, Shan Women’s Action Network took part in a march organised by Women’s League of Burma. The march was followed by activities designed to celebrate IWD while calling out persisting patriarchal issues like the existence of ‘manels’ (panels made entirely of men) when discussing matters of importance to all Burmese.

A group of people in the streets holding up signs during the International Women's Day march.

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

A group of four performers dressed in red dancing on stage for Women's League of Burma's International Women's Day event

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

A display of posters tracking the number of 'manels' ran during the year

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

People participating in Women's League of Burma's International Women's Day march. Some are wheelchair users with people carrying banners and flags behind them.

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

Credit: Shan Women's Action Network

Papua New Guinea

This year, Eastern Highlands Family Voice (EHFV) celebrated IWD with events hosted by two communities in the province - the Foi community of Lower Bena in Unggao Bena District and the Fore Kamamo in Yagaria LLG Lufa District. This is the first time an IWD event of this kind was organised and celebrated in their communities but on that is sure to have ripple effects in the community. A large part of EHFV's work is built around the power of community events just like these one. Through events that make it possible to openly talk about issues like gender equality and gender-based violence, EHFV is laying the foundation needed to bring about a broader change in attitude around these issues and create safer communities for women and girls in the Province.

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

A banner at one of East Highlands Family Voice's International Women's Day event that reads, 'International Women's Day - "Embrace Equity", March 8 2023. Venue: Foi Village, Lower Bena LLG, Unggai-Bena District E.H.P.'

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

A woman speaking in front of a crowd at East Highlands Family Voice's event

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

A woman speaking in front of a crowd at East Highlands Family Voice's event.

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

Credit: East Highlands Family Voice

Samoa

For this year’s IWD, Brown Girl Woke launched their first annual High Tea. The idea for the event came out of the High Tea tradition of bringing together multiple generations in conversation to listen and learn from each other. The inaugural event had a special focus on giving young girls, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences on topics that impact their lives while demonstrating their leadership and advocacy skills in these spaces.

Women from all walks of life came together to celebrate IWD and mark the important role women play in Samoan society. A number of speakers were invited to share their experience of being women leaders in the country, including the current Deputy Commissioner, Papalii Monalisa Tiai-Keti who shared the challenges she faced as a woman in such a male-dominated field.

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Four women seated at a table. They are deep in conversation.

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Participants at Brown Girl Woke's High Tea event posing for the camera. One of the participants is a wheelchair-user.

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Four women seated at a table posing for the camera

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

Credit: Brown Girl Woke

One of the event attendants shared that she had learnt a lot from the event, which has now motivated her as a Samoan woman to achieve her dreams and goals.

Getting to see feminists across Asia and the Pacific come together in this way to amplify the voices of women and girls in their communities is undoubtedly inspiring. March 8th has always been an important time for feminists, women’s rights activists and grassroots movements across the world to join voices and advocate for a more just and gender equal world. It is a day that has revolution at its core – one that every year should prompt us to reimagine the structures of our world and how they could be rebuilt for the better.

Rather than finding ways to incorporate women into structures that were never built to include us, our partners work is transforming this system and demanding better for women and girls in Asia and the Pacific – not just on International Women’s Day but every single day of the year.