World Marks March 8: International Women's Day

[Guest guest]

BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 9, 2007 (AP): German Chancellor Angela Merkel

-- the first woman in more than 20 years to chair a European Union

summit -- marked International Women's Day by calling Thursday for

gender equality.

 

Merkel, opening a photo exhibition of prominent women, said Europe

cannot remain content with the position of women in the society.

" Something must change, " she said, noting that women are

underrepresented in top positions in politics, science and economy.

 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said more needs to be done to close

the pay gap between men and women. And while the situation for women

has improved in Britain, women in many other countries still are not

treated as equals to men.

 

" Things are not so great ... for all sorts of reasons -- cultural,

traditional and historic, " he said in London. " There are real problems

for women in getting equality and to fulfill their potential in the

way they wish to do so. "

 

People around the world marked International Women's Day by honoring

women -- and pledging to improve their status.

 

In Bangladesh, men -- celebrities, athletes, students -- vowed to

fight the disfiguring and often deadly practice of attacking women

with acid as a means of punishment.

 

In Mumbai, India, a company launched a new taxi service for women with

female cabbies at the wheel, and in Vietnam, men bought their wives

and girlfriends bouquets, turning Thursday into the communist nation's

version of Valentine's Day.

 

In Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with women lawmakers.

 

" I want to take this opportunity to send my regards to you and hope

you are all successful in your career and have a happy life, " Hu said,

shaking their hands in the Great Hall of the People.

 

However, in Iran, women released after being detained for holding a

peaceful gathering earlier in the week were warned Thursday not to

attend a women's day protest outside parliament.

 

Women in the Islamic republic have been pushing for equal rights and

the nullification of a law allowing men in Iran to have four wives.

 

And in Afghanistan, 2 million girls have returned to school since the

fall of the ultraconservative Taliban regime -- but widespread

discrimination and domestic violence persist, experts said.

 

At least one out of three Afghan women has been beaten, coerced into

sex or otherwise abused, the U.N. Development Fund for Women said.

 

In Kabul, one woman laughed at the idea of women's day.

 

" No one will bring me flowers. My husband won't even bring me a

stone, " said Qamar, a 45-year-old woman who goes by one name, as she

recounted her woes and the beatings by her husband. " March 8 is for

foreigners because they have good lives. I don't know anything about

March 8. "

 

The United Nations called for an end to pervasive violence against

girls and women during armed conflicts and demanded that perpetrators

be punished.

 

" Violence against women is both a cause and a consequence of

discrimination against women, " said Rachel Mayanja, a special adviser

to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on gender issues. " It is based

on social and cultural practices that hold women and girls as

subordinate to men. "

 

In Brussels -- where Merkel became the first woman to host a summit of

EU leaders since then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in

1986 -- the EU pledged to fight discrimination and domestic violence

against women.

 

Merkel said women must be treated as equals to men if Europe wants to

become the world's most dynamic economy by the end of the decade.

 

Gender gaps in employment and education are narrowing but the gap in

paychecks remains around 15 percent across the 27-nation bloc. Women

account for just 32 percent of managers, 10 percent of board members

and 3 percent of CEOs of large companies, the EU said.

 

Women are more likely to be unemployed than men, said a report by the

EU's statistical agency Eurostat compiled from national data gathered

between 1998 and 2006.

 

In Paris, France's presidential candidates pledged greater attention

to women's grievances such as child care -- especially Socialist

Segolene Royal, who has made her gender a key part of her bid to

become France's first woman president.

 

And Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to win the endorsement

of one of France's most prominent women politicians, Simone Veil, and

name her head of his support team.

 

SOURCE: China Post. World marks Women's Day by pledging to improve

status. By Jan Sliva

URL:

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/international/200739/104204.htm