IREX Observes International Women’s Day

IREX marks International Women’s Day, March 8, by focusing activities around women who positively impact their communities.

While the world community confronts trafficking in persons, a grave threat to women and the object of several IREX-administered women’s empowerment programs, the broader contributions of women to community development are often overshadowed. At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, UN member nations agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals, including eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality, and ensuring environmental sustainability. But many development experts agree that gender equality is not merely a goal unto itself but is critical to achieving each of the eight goals. Indeed, one World Bank report cites a deficit in per capita income of 0.1 to 0.3 percentage points in countries not meeting the Goals’ gender educational target. The UN’s 2002 Arab Human Development Report concludes that low empowerment of women is one of three deficits that have hampered regional development over three decades. And in no region of the world—regardless of the level of economic development—have women achieved full gender parity.

In observance of International Women’s Day, IREX undertook numerous activities—detailed in a comprehensive country-by-country activity list—to support women who contribute to their communities. Highlights include the following.

Discussion with the First Lady of Georgia. Sandra Rulovs, wife of newly elected Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, will meet with USG alumni to discuss how women are represented in the political and social life of Georgia.

Meeting with Kyrgyz legislator Oksana Molevannaya. Known for her contribution to the investigation of the Aksy Tragedy, when police opened fire on demonstrators, Oksana Molevannaya of the Moya Strana party shared her professional and leadership experience in the Kyrgyz parliament’s Legislative Assembly, as well as her vision of womanhood, with USG alumni.

Internet communication training for Azerbaijani gender-focused NGOs. IATP administrators in Azerbaijan conducted step-by-step trainings for Azerbaijani NGOs that focus on gender issues, including the Women Journalists’ Association of Azerbaijan, the Society for the Defense of Women’s Rights, and the AREAT Research Center for Contemporary Social Processes, on presenting information online. Two-month trainings are assisting the organizations in creating actual websites.

Workshop on formulation of gender-sensitive government budgets. IREX and the Lviv Business Incubator presented a workshop for USG alumni to summarize the role of gender-sensitive government budgets as a tool for advancing gender equality. For governments to be sensitive to the needs of women, not only their programs, but also the budgets that carry out these programs, must be gender-sensitive. The workshop used the case study method to look at the Lviv City budget from a gender point of view.

The Role of Media in Women's Empowerment. IREX's Media Development Division has undertaken numerous activities in the past year to promote women's empowerment. In Montenegro, IREX has supported Ksenija, a women's program on the independent MBC television station. IREX has implemented numerous media projects aimed at reducing and preventing trafficking in women, including in Croatia, Tajikistan, Serbia, and Macedonia. These projects aim to bring attention to this issue, inform women of their rights and the true nature of trafficking, and engage the community in fighting this crime. In Kosovo, IREX has sought to promote women in the media through a series of roundtables with leading female civic, business and media figures.  Trainings in various countries, including Montenegro, Ukraine, and Kosovo have focused on training journalists to cover issues of importance to female audiences. These are just some of the activities that IREX undertakes throughout the year to harness the power of the media to empower women. More on IREX's media programs can be found here.