International Women’s Day – Green Cross is actively engaged!

Today, 8 March, marks the anniversary of International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day was established in the USA in 1908. The women’s organisation of the Socialist Party of America (SPA) created this day to organise demonstrations for women’s suffrage. The first Women’s Day was held in 1911, and the idea of Women’s Day spread to Europe in the following years.

Under the slogan “For Bread and Peace” during World War I, Russian women further promoted the popularity of International Women’s Day in 1917. The strike under this slogan was seen as the start of the Russian “February Revolution”, with the demonstration taking place on 8 March 1917 according to the Gregorian calendar.

As part of the “International Women’s Year” in 1975, 8 March was declared “International Women’s Day” by the UN. Despite the institutionalisation and internationalisation of Women’s Day, the social, economic, socio-political and cultural situation for women in various countries can still be described as inadequate or poor.  For example, girls and women are more frequently affected by hunger, poverty or a lack of healthcare. In addition, women generally earn less for the same work and have worse educational opportunities.

Green Cross Switzerland would like to take this day as an opportunity to thank women worldwide and the employees of our foundation for their commitment to a better society. At the same time, we would like to draw attention to the fact that a great deal of commitment is still needed, both for the emancipation of women and girls and for improving their living conditions.

It is important to us to actively contribute to improving the living conditions of women and girls. This has already been demonstrated in our project work to date. The family clubs in the region around Chernobyl focus on supporting girls and women. In these clubs, women and girls are trained in nutrition, education and health issues. In addition, the clubs promote the employment of women and motivate and empower them to become entrepreneurs. It is also important that the clubs serve as a platform for women and girls to get to know each other.

Unfortunately, the family club activities in Ukraine had to be suspended due to the war. However, they are still taking place in Belarus. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all helpers and supporters for their commitment!

In Vietnam, women – health experts, project managers and volunteers – are making an important contribution to the care and support of Agent Orange victims and to the further development of the programmes. Without their commitment, the good results of our project work in Vietnam would not have been possible. Thank you very much!