“For International Women’s Day 2017, we’re asking you to #BeBoldForChange Call on the masses or call on yourself to help forge a better working world – a more inclusive, gender equal world”
International Women’s Day, 2017.
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a world day that aims to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
“International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since in the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women’s Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women’s network or media hub is solely responsible for International Women’s Day. Many organizations declare an annual IWD theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more widely with relevance than others.”
International Women’s Day, 2017.
This years International Women’s Day marks a special event in Mangamanuthu, India where our partner St Marcellin Higher Secondary school has overseen the completion of the school’s first all-female toilet block.
Safe drinking water and better sanitation can help transform lives in the world’s poorest communities and are essential to helping families break the cycle of poverty.
“The impact of lack of access to clean water and safe sanitation is perhaps greatest on women and girls. Clean water and safe sanitation underpin almost everything else we are trying to achieve. Investing in community-based sanitation and hygiene programs is one of the most effective ways to improve the health, self-esteem, education prospects for girls and women.”
Minister For Foreign Affairs – Hon Julie Bishop MP, Address to the 10th Anniversary of WaterAid Australia 25 March 2015
Saint Marcellin Higher Secondary School is situated in the very poor village of Mangamanuthu in Southern India. Most families living in this area are referred to as Dalits, or ‘untouchables’—the lowest caste of India’s outdated caste system. The school’s population has grown rapidly since it first opened its doors to secondary students in 2002. It now caters for 836 secondary students, almost half of which are girls. Due to the rapid growth of the school, three female toilets are insufficient for the current needs of the students.
Now, thanks to the generous support of the staff at Sacred Heart College Adelaide and those who supported the mid-year India appeal, the school has been able to build a new 83-square meter female amenities block, which will significantly improve standards of health and hygiene at the school.
While every school supports and promotes sanitation and hygiene to the students through the curriculum, it is essential that the students are also provided basic sanitary facilities such as toilets, safe drinking water and clean surroundings.