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

In the lead-up to the day, GADC alongside Women Peace Makers partnered with local artists to produce the song and performance art piece, "She”. In the artists’ own words, this is the message behind the piece:

You can watch the powerful performance art piece here.

GADC rounded up their IWD activities by taking part in a number of radio shows highlighting women’s engagement in public life in Cambodia. On 7 March, GADC’s Advocacy Program Officer Ms Ngon Sievmy took part in an episode of the radio program ‘Break the Silence’ exploring the topic of young women’s leadership in the country’s current political context. The organisation's Head of Advocacy Program Ms. Sonva Phoungvina took part in a special IWD program hosted by Women’s Radio on the topic of women and leadership in the digital era.

To mark IWD, the staff of Rainbow Community Kampuchea (ROCK) came together to share their messages of support to their community via their social media channels. These messages included advocating for more opportunities for women, celebrating the women that give them strength and the importance of backing up calls for equality with action. You can find some of their messages in Khmer below.

Fiji Women’s Rights Movement held their fifth ‘If Women Stop, the World Stops’ concert held in Suva. The concert highlighted the way in which unpaid care work perpetuates and exacerbates gender inequality and discrimination – acting as a symbolic strike action for the organisation and their partners in the region.

The free concert offered a platform for representatives of women’s rights and human rights groups in Fiji to call for the recognition of unpaid care work, the elimination of violence against women and girls and the protection of marginalised groups in their communities. For the time of the concert, the hall became a space where FWRM’s community could come together, share their lived realities and experiences all while having the chance to sit back, enjoy music and take a day off from the everyday ‘work’ of being a woman.

Speaking at the event, FWRM’s Executive Director Nalini Singh underlined the true cost of unpaid care and domestic work for women and girls:  

“While all the men are at important village and communal meetings, the women are at home taking care of the children, cooking, washing, looking after the elderly and having no input into discussions and decisions that will impact their own livelihoods.”

For her first IWD as Executive Director of femLINKPacific, Fay Volatabu shared a special message of support to their community on social media.

In addition to celebrating the strong women breaking barriers for a more equitable world, she highlighted the importance of going beyond recognition in championing true gender equality – calling for gender-responsive curriculums, policies and laws in Fiji alongside more equality for women in terms of opportunities, treatment and education. Hear Fay Volatabu’s message through here.

For their celebrations, Brown Girl Woke hosted a Youth Climate Leaders event with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. The event brought together passionate local youth representations of various organisations working in the climate space in Samoa to share their projects, goals and dreams for climate justice in Samoa and the Pacific. As part of the event, young climate leaders were invited to share with the Duchess their thoughts on the prompt, “If the world granted my island one wish in my lifetime, mine could be…”. You can watch their inspiring responses here.

Over in Honiara, Women’s Rights Action Movement, West ‘Are’Are Rokotanikeni Association and Family Support Centre took part in the city’s annual International Women’s Day celebrations. This involved meeting with community members and sharing information about their work to address gender-based violence before taking part in a parade through the streets of Honiara alongside other women’s rights organisations.

This year, Covalima Community Centre celebrated IWD in the community of Fatululik in Covalima. The event was attended by 190 community members and was an opportunity for the village to mark the day and make clear the importance of investing in women to achieve true gender equality.