Women Peacekeepers of UNIFIL

‎”International Women’ s Day – a time to celebrate the increasing tide of empowerment amongst women worldwide, and to be thankful for the opportunities that have opened up to women over the past decades. The glass ceilings that once halted a woman’s progress in the work place have started to crack, and we now see many more women operating at the highest levels in business and in government, successfully enjoying careers in what were once considered purely male domains. Today, there are no barriers to our education, no limits to our ambitions or aspirations, other than our own intelligence and motivation.

But of course, I speak from a privileged viewpoint, from a childhood that gave me access to education, loving parents who gave me good advice and support, where I had the choice to make my life good or bad through my own action or indecision. Sadly, for some, these freedoms are still so unobtainable.

And so International Women’s Day should also be a time for us to take action and to show solidarity and support for the too many women across the globe who may be suffering violence or abuse, forced into lives of servitude or sexual slavery, having no free will as to the path they are forced to follow due to cultural mores or taboos. We need to speak out for those women who are too frightened to speak out for themselves, we need to give them hope and the courage to fight for their own choices, for the chance to lead the lives that they dream of and deserve and we need to educate and banish ignorance from the societies that seek to enslave and subdue them. Then and only then, can we truly celebrate International Women’s Day. ” — Madeleine Morgan