Dear Signatories,

8 March - International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated globally to bring attention to:

v  Women’s Rights such as Gender Equality & Reproductive, Property & Marital Rights;

v  Ending Sexual Harassment / Violence/Abuse of women; &

v  Honouring  Women Achievers & Celebrating their Successes.

The credit for the formal recognition of IWD goes to Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) who tabled the idea of an IWD, at the 2nd Int’nl Conference of Working Women (Copenhagen, 1910), attended by over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, working women's clubs, political parties - including the first three women elected to the Finnish Parliament. All greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval & so IWD was born.

Following the decision at Copenhagen, IWD was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on 19 March 1911. More than one million women & men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, hold public office & end discrimination. The global feminist movement espoused IWD in the late 1960s.  IWD became mainstream when the UN adopted it during International Women's Year – 1975 – and formally declared 8 March as IWD.

The UN has selected the theme: ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’, for IWD 2022, to highlight the following: 

v  70% of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women;

v 40% of the poorest household are headed by women;

v Women constitute 50 to 80% of the world’s food production, but own less than 10% of the land;

v 80% of those displaced by climatic disasters are women.

#BreakTheBias is a IWD 2022 Movement for: A gender equal world;

A world free of bias, stereotypes & discrimination;

A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

A world where difference is valued & celebrated.

#BreakTheBias invites all women to break the bias in our communities, workplaces, schools, colleges and universities.

Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough, action is needed to level the playing field.

Finally, our CFN Initiative #ChooseNonviolent Defence calls upon women who are mothers to join & support our initiative, because every soldier killed at the front in war, is the son of a mother. For a mother it is an unbearable loss to lose her child. Ask any mother and she will tell you how much effort it takes to first bear a child and then bring up the infant to be a worthwhile citizen, contributing to society and nation. Whether these women are Russian, American, Pakistani, Indian or of any other nationality, their pain at losing their loved children in war is the same.

On 8 March 2022 CFN did the following activities:

1. Created Awareness of the IWD 2022 pose,

2. Asked all to work towards a sustainable eco- system,

3. & to Follow the #MothersForPeace for a World Beyond War!