Dr. Sapna Sangra
International Women’s Day is here again. Before I delve into its theme, let me share my experience of how we have started looking at it over the years.
I was invited by a very reputed organization a few years back to speak to their women employees, and this group also included the wives of their male employees. The other panelists included a colleague from another university and a gynecologist. As always, I had a framework of my talk in mind; no PowerPoints and slides, and thankfully so for not giving up on my sleep to achieve what looks like a herculean task. I was warmly welcomed, but something about the atmosphere didn’t sit well with me.
Are we really serious? This was my first thought upon seeing all the women beautifully dressed in pink, including myself (I was asked to wear pink too), waiting for the DJ to play. I instantly thought of maneuvering what I had to share and how I had to share and it turned out to be more of a Bhashan than serious reflections of women’s critical issues. Another thing that I couldn’t ignore was the complete absence of men. A couple of them had accompanied their distinguished Head, who delivered opening remarks, heard the first speaker and then vanished as if women’s issues were not their issues.
How could we reduce the significance of such an important day to merely a celebration of sorts? International Women’s Day is more than just a date on the calendar or a ritualistic reminder of unfulfilled dreams of gender equality. It is a call to action, a moment to reflect on hard-won progress, and a rallying cry to dismantle the barriers that persist. Each year, we measure how far we have come and how far we still have to go. It’s bizarre to reduce it to fun and frolic, a mere item on institutional checklists, only to put it on the back burner until the next year. Women and gender issues deserve more serious reflection.
Coming back to my first argument, I wondered whether these women were in the frame of mind to discuss anything that I or my co-presenters had to offer. And bear with me; I am not blaming them, not at all. I am also not against having informal conversations. Informal conversations often yield better and more effective results. When I am in the field with my women folks, there is hardly a meeting that goes by without us singing our Dogri Suhaag. It brings such solidarity, our connections become stronger, and our goals become more collective. My intention in raising this issue is to point out its objectification. It is ridiculous to have reduced the significance of such a historic and relevant day to a few discounts offered by the consumerist world, a few lectures here and there, awards and honors handed out by flimsy NGOs, a few games, and maybe half-day leaves for women in some organizations.
I strongly believe women should come together and advocate for their rights, the infringement of their rights, their exclusion, violence against them, and the continued undermining of their contributions to the care economy. The list is long. These serious issues cannot be overshadowed by free lunches offered to keep women silent. While these are critical concerns surrounding International Women’s Day, let me briefly touch upon why 2025 is a landmark year for gender equality.
This year serves as a checkpoint in our collective journey toward gender equality. Only five years remain until the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework that envisions an equitable world. It is also the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, a landmark declaration acknowledging the vital role of women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Additionally, 2025 marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the blueprint that established gender equality as a global priority.
Against this backdrop, International Women’s Day carries more weight than ever. It sets the stage for the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (Beijing +30) at the United Nations (March 10-21), where global leaders will assess whether commitments made three decades ago have translated into real, transformative change.
This year’s theme: For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. – is an urgent appeal to unlock equal rights, power, and opportunities for all, ensuring that no one is left behind. Central to this vision is the empowerment of youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls, as catalysts for lasting change.
But policies alone do not guarantee change. Institutional biases, deep-seated power structures, and cultural resistance continue to undermine efforts to achieve equality. Drafting progressive laws is not enough if their implementation is stalled by systemic discrimination. While celebrating milestones is easy, ensuring they translate into action is far more difficult. The Beijing Declaration recognized the need for systemic changes in political participation, economic justice, and violence prevention. Yet, thirty years later, women’s representation in leadership remains inadequate, the gender pay gap persists, and gender-based violence continues to be a global crisis.
The road to equality has never been linear, nor has it been easy. But if we truly believe in a world where all women and girls can thrive, we must do more than just celebrate International Women’s Day. We must make it a turning point. It is time we recognize women’s unpaid and unprotected work. It is time we acknowledge that, at the current rate of progress; it will take another 137 years for women and girls to be free from poverty. We cannot and must not wait that long. And above all, we cannot and must not allow any backlash to women’s rights.
(The author teaches Sociology at the University of Jammu and is a UN Women CSO Steering Committee Member for the Beijing +30 Review).
Follow our WhatsApp channel
