Why 2016 Is the Year to Leap, Not Shuffle, Towards Gender Equality

International Women's Day is an opportunity to address the enormous forces working against women's rights and preventing true gender equality. It is a chance to petition governments, to challenge, to campaign, to take action. It is also a time to celebrate, to reflect on the achievements that have been made.

Despite being the year that the United States may be set to welcome its first female president, the first year that Saudi Arabia's female residents will live under municipal governments that they were able to vote in, and the year that more than 90 countries answered the UN Women's call to "Step It Up For Gender Equality", 2016 has not been an easy year to be a woman in many parts of the world. Far from it, in fact. Headlines of progression for women's rights are scarce and a quick scan of the top news stories over the last two months confirms that we have a long way to go before equality is achieved - approximately 117 years according to the World Economic Forum, based on indicators of health, education, economic participation and political empowerment. Even more worrying, this estimate increased by 38 years between 2014 and 2015, due to a slowdown in the rate of progress.

But it is not just about the figures - so far this year has seen women suffering disproportionately in conflict zones around the world, with groups such as Isis and Boko Haram using sexual violence as a weapon of war and suppressing women's rights in areas under their control. Many fleeing war torn homes report assault, exploitation and harassment on their journey to safety (Amnesty International, 2016) with little protection or security being provided to these already vulnerable people. The battle against Female Genital Mutilation rages on, with an estimated three million girls at risk of undergoing it every year (WHO, 2016). Human trafficking remains an international issue - the most common form being sexual exploitation and victims predominantly being female. And, although women may have been given the vote locally (still not nationally) in Saudi Arabia, they continue to face sanctions, such as the lack of freedom to drive to the polling station, which render a historical development less of a leap and more of a shuffle in the right direction.

International Women's Day is an opportunity to address the enormous forces working against women's rights and preventing true gender equality. It is a chance to petition governments, to challenge, to campaign, to take action. It is also a time to celebrate, to reflect on the achievements that have been made and to salute the fantastic work that is being done, as well as to recognise how much further there is to go. The headlines are bleak, but they are not ineradicable.

This International Women's Day we will be celebrating some of the many women who have inspired us - in the opportunities we have had and the choices we have made. Our mum, who made being a feminist the norm and led by example in encouraging us to expect and strive for parity in both our personal and professional lives. Harriet Harman, who Emily was lucky enough to see being honoured at last year's Labour Women's Conference for bringing what had previously been seen as "women's issues" - childcare, for instance - to parliament. She was often mocked or ignored and we are grateful that she refused to concede. Finally, Malala Yousafzai, whose courage in the face of unspeakable adversity and dedication to advocate girls' right to education worldwide drives progress forward, and to whom we give the closing words. "I raise up my voice - not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back."

Let's all raise up our voices, in whatever ways we can, this year.

Emily and Katie are supporters of the Labour Campaign for International Developmenthttp://lcid.org.uk.

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