When most of the foundational activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) reached a crescendo on March 8th, I took a deliberate decision to keep an eye on social media platforms just to catch a glimpse of what different groups were doing to make this year’s IWD their day, undertaking what they could in their own way to help forge a gender equal world.

Spurred by the universal female suffrage movement, IWD originated from labour movements in Europe and North America during the early 20th century. This year’s theme – “For ALL Women and Girls:

Rights. Equality. Empowerment”, was an apt reminder to humanity of the inter-connectedness of the three fundamental principles, the word ‘ALL’ appearing intentionally in capital letters, to emphasize the mantra of ‘leaving no one behind’, a critical cog in the realization of Sustainable Development Goals.

Rights are the foundation upon which equality is built; while equality is essential for the empowerment to happen. IWD is one of the most important days of the year, dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements, educating and raising awareness about women’s equality, and calling for positive legislative and policy reforms that advance and accelerate gender parity.

According to the UN, “everyone, everywhere can play a part in helping forge gender equality”. From a wide range of IWD campaigns, events, rallies, lobbying, and performances to festivals, parties, fun runs, and celebrations – all IWD activity is valid, including fundraising for women-focused charities. And that’s what makes IWD inclusive.

Having been in human rights protection and promotion for decades and counting, I had a bias on whether there are younger generations of women out there taking up the mantle to build onto the foundation that veterans in the women’s rights movement like Phoebe Asiyo, Martha Karua (People’s Liberation Party), Daisy Amdany (Crawn Trust), Sophia Abdi Noor (Womankind) and Beatrice Kamau of Women in Leadership have put over the years.

From the outset, it was clear that there are women (and probably men too) of valour, doing everything within their individual and organizational capacities to inspire other women and girls to explore andrealize their full potential socially, economically and politically. Purity Jebor, a programme officer at Oxfam GB had an inspiring post on her WhatsApp update, indicating that with 390 000 posts, #InternationalWomenDay trended for the better part of the day in Kenya, not a mean feat by any standards.

Oxfam Kenya is one of the international organizations that has invested heavily in women empowerment, and was leading from the forefront in this year’s events to mark the IWD. In a radiant poster, Oxfam made a passionate entreaty to Kenyans to invest in women, and in their equality. Over the years, Oxfam has advocated for women’s empowerment, calling for adoption of policies that recognize, reduce, represent, redistribute, and reward unpaid care work for a just and inclusive future.

Better known as C189, the Domestic Workers Convention No. 189 of 2011 calls on members to take measures that ensure the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of all domestic workers within their jurisdiction. On matters unpaid care work, Oxfam has no better champion than Purity Jebor whose social media posts are a thesis in the making on the the rights and welfare of the womenfolk in Kenya and world.

Far afield in Tanzania, Jerusa Kitoto of Sauti Ya Mtoto Foundation restated that “a just society begins
with empowered women and girls”, and called on the society to “take action, break the barriers and create a future where every woman thrives”.

As the Executive Director of Sauti Ya Mtoto Foundation, Kitoto will be a panelist on March 17 in a
virtual conference alongside Mary Moyo Kachitsa (Malawi) of Woman Arise UK, and Gisele Dang (Cameroon) of Destiny Hive Global Network, to celebrate young women already breaking barriers and building futures for fellow women and girls.

— The writer is the Executive Director of the Kenya National Civil Society Centre, and Chairperson of the Horn of Africa Civil Society Forum