Join us on March 8 – International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the incredible achievements of women and girls around the world, but also call for renewed commitment to advancing rights, justice and equality.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” The theme calls for equal rights and justice to be effectively enforced, exercised and enjoyed. According to UN Women, women currently possess only 64 percent of the legal rights that men have globally. If progress persists at the current rate, it will take approximately 286 years to fully close these legal protection gaps – a timeline that is unacceptable. This year’s theme urges action to remove the structural barriers to equal justice. 

At PWS&D, we are committed to a world where every woman and girl has rights and is empowered. Through our projects:

• • In Guatemala, PWS&D works with local partners to support Indigenous women as they fight prejudices about their leadership abilities. Through workshops, women gain greater self-esteem and strengthen their voices to participate at community and municipal levels.

• • With our local partner in India, PWS&D supports outreach to women and girls to provide them with the tools they need to access appropriate health care, address issues of gender, empowerment and sexual and reproductive rights, and address child marriage. 

• • In Malawi,  PWS&D provides scholarships for girls to attend Neno Girls Secondary School. These scholarships enable girls to stay in school and access a quality education. According to the United Nations, every additional year of school a girl attains increases her eventual wages by 10-20%. Greater educational outcomes encourage girls to marry later and have fewer children, increasing opportunities for gender equity to be realized. 

• • In Pakistan, PWS&D is supporting a project to improve girls’ access to education. This initiative incentivizes school enrollment and retention by providing nutritious meals in regions heavily impacted by food insecurity. The project also engages communities and local leaders to highlight the critical importance of girls’ education and its impact on families and societies. 

Discover how PWS&D is bringing this year’s theme to life and turning it into action.

Meet Debora from Malawi

Read about Ankhu from Nepal

Learn about Raunak from India

As we continue to work towards an equitable world, we must remember that progress for one must also mean progress for all.

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