International Women’s Day celebration at SPARC

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International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated every year on March 08 to recognize women’s rights and celebrate their achievements. Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) participated in various activities at various places to celebrate the day.
At head office, SPARC organized a cake cutting activity to recognize the efforts and hard work of all the female staff. In addition, they also had a special surprise for the female staff; written compliments were prepared for the female staff with their names on it. It was placed in a box and picked randomly and read out loud; this was beautiful and inspiring. Also, all the policies and manuals on gender rights, role and behavior were shared with the staff of head office as well as regional staff. And all the staff gathered for a group photo and stroked the “Each for Equal” pose.

SPARC's regional staff striking the #EachforEqual pose
IWD's campaign under the theme #EachforEqual

 
In Islamabad, SPARC participated in a round table conference on “Impact of Corporate Activity on Women”.  The areas under discussion were harassment at the workplace and women’s participation in the informal sector. SPARC also attended a session on the adolescent girls’ education and vocational training having a focus on “leaving no girl behind”. The event reflected on girls’ literacy rate and their participation in the country’s economic activities and development.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, SPARC’s social mobilizers went door to door to raise awareness in the communities about International Women’s Day and women’s rights. The people living in the area did not know that there is an international day that is observed every year to promote gender equality. In both of the regional centers, the inspirational quotes and messages on IWD shared by Girls Inspire were displayed in placards as well as the posters made by girls themselves.
Inspirational messages on IWD shared by GIRLS Inspire displayed in placards
Girls showing the posters made by themselves

 
Furthermore, a guest lecture was organized at SPARC’s training centre in Multan in which the girls were sensitized about women’s roles, rights and responsibilities; they discussed opportunities for females in the country. The girls were motivated to work on themselves, get groomed and take charge of their lives. Important issues like domestic violence, sexual harassment, early and forced marriages, menstrual hygiene and maternal health were also discussed. During the lecture, the girls were educated about achievements of Pakistani women. As a nation, we must celebrate their achievements to encourage not only the achievers but to inspire other women and girls to work hard and achieve their goals.