Move womankind forward on International Women’s Day

By: Sarin Istanboulli, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Pawprint

International Women’s Day is the time to celebrate women’s achievements and to also take action. CNN’s “Impact Your World” has identified multiple ways where people can help out for important causes for women everywhere.

Gender Equality

The International Women’s Day 2022 campaign called #BeakTheBias has been asking people to call out any gender bias, discrimination, as well as, stereotyping. The purpose of this is to help break down all the biases that can be seen and make it difficult for women to move ahead with their lives. 

The World Economic Forum has discussed how equality is actually in retreat, and it might take another century for both genders to be equal. 

Education

Education is known as the key to unlocking multiple opportunities, however, according to the UN, only two-thirds of countries around the world achieved gender parity in primary school enrollment. Around the world, 129 million girls are unable to attend school. 

Child Brides

Around 15 million girls each year become child brides, which destroys their childhood, kills their freedom, and prevents opportunities for the future. The nonprofit organization, Unchained At Last, had reported that girls who are married at age 18 or younger are more than 50% more likely to drop out of school, are more likely to earn lower wages, as well as, three times more likely to be beaten by their spouses than those who get married as an adult. 

The top 5 countries with the highest number of child marriages are India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, and Ethiopia. There are about 26.62 million child marriages in India, in Bangladesh, it’s 3.93 million, in Nigeria it’s 3.31 million, in Brazil it’s 2.93 million, and lastly, Ethiopia has around 1.97 million child marriages. 

Violence against women

Safety is a paramount concern for women. The World Health Organization has estimated that 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced either sexual or physical violence. 

Women also face the threat of being kidnapped. According to the United Nations, Office of Drugs and Crime said that at least 71% of human trafficking victims are women and girls who are usually sold into marriage or sexual slavery.