This International Women’s Day, COFEM joins feminist actors and leaders across the world in celebrating 25 years of progress under the Beijing Platform for Action. We honor the dedication and resolve of our fellow feminists, and look forward to continued solidarity and progress in meeting commitments under the Generation Equality Forum and beyond.
We also take this opportunity to remind ourselves and others that achieving true equality requires ending men’s violence against women and girls.
To be #EachforEqual is to understand that women’s and girls’ subordinate status in relation to men and boys in society exposes them to violence throughout their lifecycle. To be #EachforEqual is to work towards dismantling the patriarchal power structures that produce and condone such violence.To be #Eachfor Equal is also to magnify the experiences of many women and girls living at the intersection of multiple oppressions—including women and girls from racial and ethnic minorities; those living with disabilities; impoverished women and girls; and many other women across the world who suffer double and triple discrimination.
As COFEMinists, we are #EachforEqual by speaking out in support of survivors. We are #EachforEqual by advocating for structural change to end gender discrimination. We are #EachforEqual by insisting that women and girls are centered in all efforts to end men’s violence against them. We are #EachforEqual by asserting, time and again, for as long as we need to, that a life free from violence is a non-negotiable right of every woman and girl.
