Refugees International: Articles: International Women's Day 2007

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International Women's Day 2007

Liberia 2005: Former combatant
03/07/2007

International Women's Day 2007
Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls

As Refugees International (RI) celebrates the 97th International Women’s Day, we take this day to reflect on the ways that armed conflict impacts women and to join with others in the international community to demand an end to impunity for violence against women and girls.

Life for all displaced people is too often reduced to a minute-by-minute struggle for survival. Displaced women face additional threats and problems – and are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence in the chaos of forced displacement. Too often, their need for justice is overlooked.

Refugees International has written extensively on issues facing internally displaced and refugee women. From the problems that women face in Darfur trying to access healthcare after rape to the trafficking of women on the Thai-Burma border, issues that impact displaced women have been a long-term priority for RI.

For the women of the world, International Women's Day has a wider meaning: It is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.

Over the past year, Refugees International has successfully expanded resources, opportunities and protection for women displaced and hurt by war. It is time to end impunity for violence against women and girls. With awareness, involvement, and effective solutions, RI is trying improve the lives of millions of women worldwide.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we invite you to take a look at some of our work on gender-based violence and to take action to end impunity.

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The Purpose of International Women's Day

International Women's Day is intended to recognize the role of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war. In 1917, with two million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women chose the last Sunday in February to strike for “bread and peace.” Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway. Four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women the right to vote.

More recently, in 2000, sick and tired of the failure of peace efforts in Sierra Leone, women’s groups mobilized the people of Sierra Leone to rebel against Foday Sankoh, the brutal leader of the Revolutionary United Front, leading to the eventual peace agreements in 2002. In October of 2004, women from seven countries in the Eastern Africa and the Great Lake regions (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) met in Kigali and resolved to create a women's network as their instrument for conflict resolution. 2005 saw the democratic election of Africa’s first woman president in Liberia – an inspiring moment for all women everywhere.

These courageous women are the motivation for our unceasing commitment to generate lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people around the world, and to work to end the conditions that create displacement.