ODE TO WOMEN FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2012

[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Happy International Women’s Day!

Thank you all for being role models.

For championing the cause of girls;

For inspiring and motivating them to

Have hope and believe in themselves

To excel and achieve and to know that

All things are possible to her that believeth in Herself.

There will be successes and setbacks

Causes for celebration and causes for sorrow

We celebrated the release of Aung Yun San Suu

Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1991),

from house arrest on the 13th November2010.

A universal symbol of courage, endurance and peaceful resistance.

2011 was a remarkable year for women.

We celebrated Nobel Peace Prize Laureates

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and

Tawwakul Karman in 2011 “for their non-

violent struggle for the safety of women and for

women’s rights to full participation in peace- building work”.

We celebrated the elevation of women to

top positions in two major international institutions.

Christine Lagarde assumed the position of

Head of the International Monetary Fund,

(IMF), the first time a woman occupied this position.

Fatou Bensouda was appointed Chief

Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court

(ICC), the first African to occupy this position.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago, was appointed to

be an ICC Judge.Both women are from

developing countries and strong advocates and

supporters for women’s rights and gender equality.

On the 25th September 2011 we mourned

The passing away of Wangari Mathai

The first African Woman to win the Nobel Peace

Prize in 2004.We mourn for Marie Colvin the

Sunday Times foreign affairs correspondent

killed in Homs on the 23rd February 2012 and all female journalists who are victims ofkillings,

state reprisals, abductions and kidnappings.

We witnessed many atrocities

against women in the horn of Africa, the Arab

Springs and other places of conflict.

Millions of Girls are still out of school and

gender based violence is still the living reality of

many women and girls.Women are still being

excluded from decision making in the public and private spheres.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day

today we want to show appreciation for their

immense contributions and achievements in the

cultural, economic, environmental, political,

peace and security and social spheres.

In spite of all odds they forge ahead

demonstrating courage, strength and versatility

in face of adversity and vicissitudes.

Trekking long distances to find safe havens for

their families in times of war and natural calamities.

Going hungry to feed their families and pay for

their education in times of hunger and food insecurity.

Living gracefully as survivors of violence andtrauma.

As emerging leaders, they play a critical role in

supporting other women, and teaching their

peers how to address their practical and strategic needs.

Informing institutions on their needs, and

demanding accessible services and raising

consciousness of shared experiences.

Thank you all for “Connecting Girls and Inspiring

Futures”.Without the dynamism and input of

the individual champions like yourselves;

Organisations and initiatives such as ECOWAS

Gender Development Centre (EGDC), Forum for

African Women Educationalists (FAWE), the

Green Belt Movement, Global Call for Action

Against Poverty (GCAP) and the United Nations

Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI), UN Women, the Media

to name a fewwho are touching and changing

the lives of so many girls and women and

transforming societies we would not have come

so far.

As we celebrate today let us keep up the

momentum and renew our commitments to

gender equality and the struggle against

inequity and injustice.