Indigenous women from the Guaquitepec Region in Chiapas, Mexico, commemorate International Women’s Day with a march in the community to raise awareness about gender violence. Photo: Marisela Garcia Reyes
On International Women’s Day, March 8, Canadian Jesuits International pays tribute to its partners who work hard so that women and girls can avail of their legal and human rights, have equal access to education, be guaranteed equal economic and political participation, and live a life free from violence.
In Zambia, women farmers help put food on the table for their families and contribute to development. And yet, many of them face huge barriers in securing title deeds for the land that they till because of legal and traditional structures that discriminate against them.
In many parts of the Global South, many women and girls are denied education because of poverty and cultural biases.
These are but two examples of the challenges that women and girls continue to face and how the struggle for gender justice is far from over. Everyone, regardless of gender, need to work together and commit ourselves to social justice.
CJI’s Jesuit partners contribute in many ways to address gender inequality. In Zambia, the Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC) trains women farmers in organic agriculture. In Chiapas, the AC Indigenous Rights Centre (CEDIAC) strengthens the role of women leaders in conflict resolution based on the Tzetzal Indigenous legal system. In India, the Human Life Development Research Centre (HLDRC) makes tea plantation workers, most of them women, aware of their rights.
