Celebrate International Women’s Day with Women’s Rights Nights!

Emerging from the movement for equal rights, shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights for women, International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900s.

On 8th of March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to empower women, celebrate the progress and remind of the remaining gender inequalities. In Skopje, for the sixth time this year, the City marks this important international day with the organization of the Women’s Rights Nights between 6-8th of March. Women’s Rights Nights is a result of the cooperation between the UN Women office in Skopje, the City of Skopje, the Institute for Gender Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and the University of Audiovisual Arts – ESRA. The event aims to offer a cultural alternative to the traditional celebrations of International Women’s Day in the country.

Through art, documentary films and thematic debates, Women’s Rights Nights encourages both women and men to critically reflect upon pertaining gender inequalities, while celebrating the gender equality achievements that have been made in the past. The event gathers experts, gender advocates, representatives from institutions, parliamentarians, civil society, students and the broader public.

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, this year is dedicated to review the progress made in the past two decades since the Adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Under the umbrella of the Global Beijing +20 campaign, the Women’s Rights Nights features several cultural and outreach events, including a National Conference aimed to remind us about the vision and the aims of the Beijing Platform for Action, the national progress in meeting its objectives and the way forward towards its full implementation.

Through the screening of the documentaries “Kismet”, “The Mask you live in” and “Happily ever After” the public will have the opportunity to reflect on the impact of Turkish soap operas on gender relations in our society, to discuss masculinities and how they influence the development of boys and young men, but also to deconstruct the myth of eternal love and happiness that women and girls are being brought up with.

In line with the global UN Women advocacy initiative “Planet 50:50 by 2030 – Step it Up for gender equality”, a short bicycle tour on the 8th of March is also organised on the streets of Skopje to call for joint action to advance gender equality.

We welcome everyone who has interest and willingness to take part in an alternative celebration of International Women’s Day.

More information about the programme is available at: www.womensrightsnights.net

Dominika Stojanoska, Gender Specialist/Head of Office, UN Women Macedonia