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Women's rights group appeals for global solidarity

As the world prepares to celebrate the upcoming International Women's Day on Tuesday, an international nonprofit organization called on all women to band together to effect social change with unflinching solidarity.

"Never has there been a time when advocacy for women's rights is more paramount than today," said Olivia Ferry, president-elect of Zonta International. "And yet, much work still needs to be done, as there are still those who continue to be marginalized and are left out in decision-making and allocation of resources."

Zonta International is a nonprofit organization founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, that is dedicated to advancing the status of women.

As part of the events leading up to Tuesday, Zonta International Taiwan held a charity luncheon yesterday to raise an estimated US$200,000 to be used to assist women in gaining better healthcare, education and economic status.

Part of the fund will go to a project that addresses the long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of tsunami-ravaged areas, particularly Sri Lanka, with an emphasis on economic independence and personal growth for women, the organization said.

"We've witnessed steady progress in the empowerment of women in Taiwan," said Susan Wu (吳碧礽), Taiwan branch president of the organization. "However, 40,000 domestic abuse cases happen in our society each year. We are still facing countless cases of discrimination and violence against women."

Each year an estimated four million women and girls are bought and sold worldwide. Over 40,000 women in developing countries die from pregnancy-related causes every month. In addition, two-thirds of the illiterate adults in the world are women, according to the organization.

"We have to provide women with better education and help them get better jobs, so women can help themselves and get their voices heard," Ferry said.

A business leader and longtime women's rights advocate from the Philippines, Ferry stressed the need for women to speak up and bring the issue of violence and discrimination against women to the attention of governments.

"Women only make up 10 percent of heads of the government around the world. There have to be more women participating in the male-dominant world of politics," Ferry said.

The organization aims at supporting a health education project for HIV-positive women in Niger, and an anti-trafficking program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the organization's Taiwan branch director Amy Lai (賴惠美).

The organization also plans to lobby for more support for their efforts from men.

"The ultimate goal of gender equality cannot be achieved without support from men," Ferry said.
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