Gender is an intersectional and cross-cutting aspect of our health and lives and it needs to be recognized as such. Gendered and racial inequities and marginalizations often get normalised and are not visible as such. This perpetuates the existing socio-political and economic power structures across the board. Gender and health intersections are critical to be located across diverse contexts, regions, and countries including humanitarian crises, pandemics, conflict, and war settings.
Gender-based violence globally is a glaring example of these inequities and injustices. GBV forms a persistent violation of the health rights and human rights of millions of survivors worldwide. GBV affects every 1 in 3 women. It affects their health, their lives, and curtails their freedom. Yet it remains vastly under recognized as a public health issue. This Women's Day we call for committing to strengthening this recognition and to recognize GBV as a public health issue.
This #8March, let us commit to strengthening our Feminist solidarity and health activism!
Here are some recent PHM resources addressing various issues of gender inequality and oppression.
Video on upcoming march on Women's Day in Argentina
This year’s International Working Women’s Day in France holds special significance because of a nation-wide call by trade unions and people’s movements to bring the country to a standstill from March 7
Featuring Sarojini Nadimpally, coordinator for Health for All Campaign of the People’s Health Movement and a founder of SAMA Resource Group for Women and Health, an India based women’s organisation.
Health workers, mostly women, around the world, have dedicated their lives to care for others defending human rights and people’s health at a time when there are deep struggles defending the right to health globally.
For these women, social leaders, health rights activists and advocates, their work has come at a high price, exposing themselves and their families to threats, imprisonment, attacks, and, in some cases, assassinations.
We advocate for them, we celebrate their lives and struggles, and call to action to stop attacks against health workers and the end of impunity in violence against them.
We will continue to update this space in March as we receive more and more photos, videos and texts from different parts of the world.