International Women’s Day is on the 8th of March and our theme this year is Women know how.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come and challenge where we have left to go for gender equity.
At CARE International in Cambodia, we know that women hold the key to transforming our world for the better but despite being filled with the drive and skills to support themselves, their families, and their communities, women are constantly obstructed by gendered stereotypes and barriers of access.
International Women’s Day is a global reminder to continually strive for a world that is equal for all genders.
We put women and girls in the centre because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities, which means we cannot eradicate poverty and achieve social justice while gender inequality persists.
CARE works with women to raise consciousness, self-esteem, confidence, and aspirations to change their world. Individual agency is a key part of empowerment whereby conscious and empowered individuals take steps to achieve their rights, but this is not enough on its own. We need to ensure women are supported and empowered by their communities by engaging men and boys and transforming unequal power relations and social, political and economic structures.
In both CARE program areas and throughout all projects, we see every day that women know how to lead change in their families, their workplaces and their communities.
This International Women’s Day we are celebrating and spotlighting the empowered leaders and change-makers in Cambodia because for a better world, women know how. Read their stories below.
Women Know How: Improving citizen’s rights and community services through social accountability
Women Know How: Empowering students through information and communication technologies
Women Know How: Sexual harassment stops with us.