International Women’s Day: events highlighting gender inequality take place around the world

David Schneider, co-writer of the screenplay for critically acclaimed comedy Death of Stalin, has poked fun at those complaining about the existence of IWD.\

The Australian government has announced a number of new policies to support women in an IWD announcement.

The federal government revealed the identity of the country’s first Ambassador for Gender Equality. The role will be held by Julie-Ann Guivarra, a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and replaces the role of Ambassador for Women and Girls, a position that had been held by former Liberal MP Sharman Stone since 2017.

As part of her role, Ms Guivarra will “work to ensure that gender equality, and empowerment of women and girls, is a central focus of Australia’s diplomatic, development, and regional security efforts,” Minister for Women, Senator Payne, said.

The government has also pledged $20 million into an interest-free loan program to help victims of domestic violence pay for basic goods, such as furniture and bills.

The scheme would make loans of up to $2000 available to women who have experienced domestic violence, Social Services Minister Anne Ruston announced on this years IWD day.

“Women leaving violence often face financial hardship and we hope these loans go some way to help them meet the costs of the basics,” she said.

The announcement also revealed that women leaving abusive relationships would be given individual financial counsellors to help them get back on track. The government also said it would be providing $2.8 million over two years for local support services in each state and territory, including shelters and crisis help.

Senator Ruston said with Sunday marking International Women’s Day, it was important for Australians to reflect on what they could to stop family violence.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves in Australia that we have the kind of domestic violence perpetration that we’re seeing,” she told Sky News. “Until we change people’s behaviour, we’re just going to be responding to domestic violence and we have to start preventing it.”

France

Members of the women’s movement FEMEN have staged a protest on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, calling for an end to patriarchy.

The demonstration appears to reference the current outbreak of coronavirus, with some placards saying “stop the patriarchal virus” and “stop the patriarchal pandemic”. Whilst topless, the activists’ outfits resemble hazmat suits.

Russia

The youth section of Russia’s ruling party, United Russia Young Guard, has organised marches marking IWD.

Kyrgyzstan

A demonstration on Victory Square in the capital of Bishkek has led to the arrest of several protesters from the women’s movement, FEMEN.

FEMEN are known around the world for their protests, which are usually conducted topless by women with slogans written across their bodies.

In 2015, studies showed that 11,800 women in Kyrgyzstan are kidnapped to be married, a process known as bride kidnapping, every year. One fifth of these are victims of violence including rape.

You can read more about gender inequality and the fight against it in Kyrgyzstan and other former USSR countries in this article from Joanna Lillis, published on IWD five years ago.

Chile

More than a million women in Chile are set to take to the streets today, as IWD demonstrations build on a wave of social unrest that took off in October last year.

The unrest began in response to rising metro fares, but has grown to address wider issues of social injustice, inequality and costs of living.

Mexico

Femicides in Mexico have more than doubled in the past five years, and this is set to be a theme of IWD events in the country. A march in Mexico’s capital is expected to bring record numbers of women on to the streets. They’re heading to the public square across from the national palace to call for an end to violence against women.

“I’m going to march for each and every woman in this country, for the dead and the living, for the victims of violence,” Carmen Rojas, 52, in Mexico City, told Reuters. “We have to raise our voices.”

Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2020. We’ll be looking at the IWD events taking place around the world.

According to the United Nations, who sponsor the event, IWD is “is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.”

IWD has taken place each year on March 8 since 1977, when the UN General Assembly invited member states to announce the day as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.

This year’s theme is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights”.

UN coverage of the day highlights the obstacles still faced by women around the world, reminding us that women earn 23% less than men globally, and make up just 24% of parliamentary seats worldwide.