By Lucy Morrell | Director of Development and Communications
"A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let's all choose to challenge". - International Women's Day
This year's International Women's Day theme is "Choose to Challenge" - an international call to action for all of us to challenge the biases, stigma and misconceptions against women in the interest of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal world.
This year, we’re balancing the call for celebration with the recognition that this month was borne from centuries of systemic sexism, hegemonic masculinity, and the inequalities that women face across social, economic, and political spheres. For too long, women and girls around the world have been disproportionately impacted by the social domination of men over other genders, impeding the achievement of gender justice. We stand with all who are fighting for the de-hierarchisation of the gender system and its insidious impacts on the lived experiences of women. With your ongoing support, Creamos commits to challenging the status quo in the following ways:
1. We believe that organizational sustainability must be derived from participant leadership. For this reason, we're creating a Community Advisory Council made up of elected women from the Creamos community who will be responsible for identifying programmatic goals, outcomes and indicators, which are incorporated into the organization’s monitoring and evaluation plan at the beginning of each program year.
2. We believe that no woman should be afraid to access legal support in response to domestic and intimate partner violence. 95% of Creamos participants have been the victims of violence throughout their lifetime, yet only 10% report ever having sought legal support. This year, Creamos brought a lawyer onto the team to provide free and immediate access to legal consultations in hopes of dismantling the structural barriers that have led to rampant cycles of gender-based violence within our target community.
3. We believe that women don't have to choose between being mothers, students, or workers. Women and girls experience lower educational attainment, increased economic exclusion and high poverty rates as a result of disproportionate childrearing responsibilities. Creamos is providing free childcare for all mothers enrolled in its programs to eradicate this obstacle and encourage women to pursue their education and professional interests.
On behalf of the entire team at Creamos, thank you for your belief in us, and your complicity in the ongoing battle towards a more gender-equal world. We couldn't do it without you.
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