Women across the globe still face barriers unimaginable in Australia. Listening to the radio I was struck by one caller, who said that she celebrates on this day because she was born, she received an education and she can make a living.
It is easy to forget that other countries and cultures still practice gender selection, with girls killed or abandoned because they are seen as a burden; that education for women and simply having work in some countries is illegal.
Those fundamental rights remain out of reach for so many women across the globe.
That is not to diminish the problems women still face in Australia. We know that preventing family violence starts with promoting equality and respect for women. 1 in 4 Victorian women still face family violence. Women still face a pay gap that should have been closed long ago, but remains.
Women have long campaigned for change, from 1908 when 15,000 women marked through New York city demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
Modern versions of these bold moves have been replicated in the campaign for women’s sport, with those campaigns seeing strides for women’s equality, with women’s sport launching onto the Victorian stage this year though the women’s AFL.
That type of bold action is exactly what its needed to surmount these continuing barriers.
#iwd2017 #internationalwomensday”