We all are aware that there are a few days and months that are observed annually specifically for women’s right. The most common days that are celebrated in our part of the world include International Women’s Day, Mother’s Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But did you know that there are several days and months that are observed all around the world that we are unaware of? Yes, that is true! These special observances are created by the United Nations (UN) in order to promote international awareness and actions on specific issues. The majority of observances have been established by resolutions of the UN General Assembly, although some have been designated by UN specialised agencies. Usually awareness dates help raise awareness regarding health conditions, medical illnesses and social issues that are considered a taboo. Read on to find out more about these observances...
Observance Days:
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year all around the world. This day has been observed since the early 1900’s. 1975 was designated as ‘International Women’s Year’ by the United Nations. It was during this year that the UN began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political, and social achievements. In many regions, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2015 was ‘Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!’ And the theme for 2016 is ‘Make It Happen’.
Observed on 10th of March, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an annual observance to recognize the impact of HIV on women and girls. The day was first observed in the year 2006. This day of recognition serves to raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls in the United States and throughout the world. In the early days of the pandemic, relatively few women were infected with HIV. Today, however, women and girls represent one of the fastest growing groups affected by HIV/AIDS.
April 11, the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, is a day for celebrating the incredible progress made worldwide to improve maternal health and rights all over the world. According to the No Ceilings report, there has been a 40 per cent reduction in maternal mortality rates in at least 76 countries since 1995. Yet, sadly, this is not enough. Not only are maternal deaths still too high - with a woman dying from pregnancy or childbirth every two minutes - but we are far from having universal rights and access to maternal health and family planning.
International Midwives’ Day
International Day of the Midwife was first celebrated on May 5, 1991, and since then this day has been observed in over 50 nations around the world. The idea of having a day to recognize and honour midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands. In 2014 it was celebrated in Iran and New Zealand among other places.
Celebrated on the second Sunday of May in our part of the world, Mother’s Day is a modern celebration honouring one’s own mother, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers on the society. The celebration of Mother’s Day began in the United States in the early 20th century and now it is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. This year Mother’s Day will fall on 8th of May.
International Day of Women’s Health
May 28 is the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. This day has been commemorated by women’s health advocates and their communities since 1987 and has been crucial in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) movement building. May 28 is a special day as the women’s health takes a centre stage. It is therefore an occasion to remind the Ministries of Health, ruling presidents, governors, parliamentarians, as well as internationals agencies and for-profit companies of their commitments to women’s health and rights. This includes, in particular, the recognition of the concepts of sexuality, sexual rights and reproductive rights and health frameworks at national, regional and international level.
Menstrual Hygiene Day
Also called MHD or MH Day, this day was first celebrated on 28th of May 2014. This is an annual awareness day that aims to break taboos and raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for women and adolescent girls worldwide. It was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2014. The initiative for Menstrual Hygiene Day has received the support of over 270 global partners who are committed to making good menstrual health and hygiene a priority worldwide. May 28 was chosen for its symbolism since May is the 5th month of the year and most women average 5 days every month and their cycle is approximately 28 days.
September 26 is designated as World Contraception Day, devoted to raising awareness regarding contraception and improving education about sexual and reproductive health, with a vision of ‘a world where every pregnancy is wanted’. World Contraception Day is an annual event which gives voice to the millions of people across the planet without access to contraception and family planning. At present, an estimated 225 million women living in low- to middle-income countries have an unmet need for contraception. It is important that contraception is widely available and accessible through trained health workers to anyone who is sexually active, including adolescents.
International Day of No Prostitution is an awareness day that was first observed in the year 2002. The day is celebrated annually on October 5 as a manner of opposing prostitution. Locations at which IDNP was observed in its inaugural year included the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Many organisations specifically call on men to stop buying girls and women in prostitution. This day is part of a much larger struggle for an end to violence and oppression based on gender, race and ethnicity, class, religion, disability, age, size, sexual orientation, nationality, and species.
In our part of the world, mostly women opt for the education sector and become our teachers and mentors, hence we have chosen World Teachers’ Day that needs to be celebrated in order to honour our teachers. This day held annually on October 5 since 1994, commemorates teachers’ organizations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. Over 100 countries observe World Teachers’ Day. According to UNESCO, World Teachers’ Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.
International Day of the Girl Child
International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of the Girl and the International Day of the Girl. This day was first observed on October 11, 2012. The observation supports more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender. This inequality includes areas such as right to education/access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and ending child marriage. Each year’s Day of the Girl has a theme; the first was ‘ending child marriage’, the second, in 2013, was ‘innovating for girl’s education’, the third, in 2014, was ‘Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence.’ and the fourth, in 2015 was ‘The Power of Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030’.
The idea of honouring rural women with a special day was put forward at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995. It was suggested that October 15 be celebrated as ‘World Rural Women’s Day’, - the eve of World Food Day - to highlight rural women’s role in food production and food security. ‘World Rural Women’s Day’ was previously celebrated across the world for more than a decade before it was officially a UN observance. This international day was finally established by the General Assembly on December 18, 2007. It was on October 15, 2008, that the first International Day of Rural Women was observed. This day is celebrated globally to recognise the role of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. A staggering one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime - a pandemic of global proportions. Unlike an illness, however, perpetrators and even entire societies choose to commit violence - and can choose to stop. Violence is not inevitable. It can be prevented. The premise of the day is to raise awareness regarding the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. Furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.
Awareness Months:
Formerly known as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, the name was updated a few years ago to recognize women diagnosed with non-cancerous cervical diseases that still require follow-up and, in some cases, treatment. Cervical cancer is a disease that starts in the cervix, the lower, narrow end of the uterus. It is almost always caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common virus that can be passed from one person to another during sex. An age-old issue is that cervical cancer remains mainly a disease of poverty: poor women are diagnosed more often with the disease, and are more likely to die as a result. Approximately 80 per cent of all cervical cancers occur in the developing world. No woman should die of cervical cancer. The most important thing you can do to help prevent cervical cancer is to get screened regularly starting at age 21.
April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month is an effort to educate women about the steps they can take to prevent blindness and preserve their vision. According to a recent world health report, women have a higher life expectancy than men, hence women suffer more from age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, the four leading eye diseases in the country. The causes are believed to be due to longevity and hormonal factors. Also, potentially devastating vision complications can arise from autoimmune diseases as well, such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis - diseases that are found to be more prevalent in women than in men.
This awareness campaign is all about empowering women, no matter where they work, to commit to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding doesn’t come easy to many mothers. Challenges such as the baby latching on wrong, clogged milk ducts for the mother, supply issues, the baby being tongue-tied, infections, weight concerns of the baby, and other challenges can be enough to derail your efforts in breastfeeding. However, researches show that babies who are exclusively breastfed for six months are less likely to develop ear infections, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses, and may be less likely to develop childhood obesity. This camp
September - Ovarian Cancer Month
Ovarian Cancer is one of the most deadly of women’s cancers. This month long campaign aims to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and to recognise women, their families and friends affected by ovarian cancer. It is estimated by the World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) department that there are over 238,000 new cases diagnosed annually and nearly 152,000 deaths worldwide. This cancer - in which some of the cells in one or both ovaries start to grow abnormally and develop into cancer - occurs in women in their fifties and sixties with the median age being 63. Many women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer may have a genetic history. Unfortunately many women don’t seek help until the disease has begun to spread, but if detected at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is more than 93 per cent.
October - National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast cancer is the second most common kind of cancer in women. National Breast Cancer Awareness Month aims to raise awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer, education and research. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same. The good news is that many women can survive breast cancer if it’s found and treated early. A mammogram - the screening test for breast cancer - can help find breast cancer early when it’s easier to treat.
Breast cancer is a group of cancer cells (malignant tumour) that starts in the cells of the breast. The damaged cells can invade surrounding tissue, but with early detection and treatment, most people continue to lead a normal life. Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older, but breast cancer also affects younger women. In Asia every 9th woman is at a high risk of getting breast cancer at some point in her life. How can National Breast Cancer Awareness Month make a difference, you ask? We can use this opportunity to spread the word about steps women can take to detect breast cancer early.