International Women’s Day: Raise A Family That Respects Women - November 2024

A simple question to kickstart your day - When is the International Women's Day? You are right! International Women's Day falls on 8th March every year. How about the 'why' we celebrate the International Women's Day then? The International Women's Day is a day to call out for awareness and expand support for women who deserve an equal and more sustainable future. No more stigma, stereotypes and violence! Here is a true story that hurts me a lot whenever I heard from my mother. Both my grandmothers are illiterate. Therefore, they were involved in hard labour such as construction work to earn a living to support their families. However, no matter how hard they worked, they did not receive any respect and appreciation, especially from their husbands. What they got instead were scolding and vulgar words from their husbands. Did they deserve this? CERTAINLY NOT! We women deserve equal rights and opportunities! Wish to know how women had fought for their right? Check out the interactive timeline from UN Women for more information. International Women’s Day 2021 Theme Statistics from UN Women indicates that women are badly underrepresented in leadership. (Photo credit to UN Women) In 2021, the theme for International Women's Day is ''Women in leadership, Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world''. Besides celebrating women's effort in shaping a better future and supporting the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is to highlight the gender gap in decision making. Despite our active involvement in decision-making and leadership, women are still alarmingly underrepresented. Here is what you need to know how underrepresented women are in leadership: Women are the head of government only in 22 countries. Women only represent 24.9% of national parliamentarians. Women are paid 11% lesser globally than their male counterparts, with the equal workload. If we do not take actions now, we will need 130 years more to promote gender equality among heads of government. Is this what we want for ourselves and more importantly, our daughters, granddaughters and many more generations to come? If not, we need more women at every decision-making table. We need to fight for more women’s right in all areas of life, including equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work. We should also fight for an end to all forms of violence against women and girls, and more importantly, health-care services that respond to our needs. To realise this aspiration, we can start at home. Here are 3 simple yet life-changing ways we can implement at home to raise a family which respects women. International Women’s Day Exclusive: 3 Ways to Raise a Family Which Respects Women #1: Role model behaviours of respecting women Show your children how they can respect their partners in the future through share housework. (Photo credit to UN Women) Children form their individual and global perceptions mainly based on what they see, hear and experience at home. Thus, it is crucial for both you and your husband to exhibit positive and empowering behaviours that show respect towards women. Start with verbal interactions. Always encourage discussions among family members and get your husband to value your opinions during the decision-making process. Next, involve your husband to share out the added burden of unpaid household chores every day. Every family member should involve in cleaning and cooking; household chores were never meant to be done only by women! Let's roll over the statistic which shows women are involved in unpaid household and care work 3 times more than men! #2: Encourage both daughters and sons to be themselves Educate our children to believe that men and women are equal and they can be whoever they want to be. (Photo credit to UN Women) Here's what my mother used to tell me when I was young, "Be like a girl!" "Sit nicely! You are a girl!" "How can a girl be messy? Tidy up your room!" "If you can't cook, you are not a girl!" Do you notice that these expressions are encouraging girls to be someone who is obedient and are only measured against how well they can complete household chores? Stop saying these to your daughters at all cost! We should never exert any limiting beliefs on our children, especially on our girls. Instead, we should encourage our children to express and believe in themselves to succeed in any areas of their lives. You must believe that your daughter can be successful, even in man-dominated careers. On top of this, train both sons and daughters in completing the household chores. Cooking is not a skill that only girls should master. Boys can also cook for their families too. During the family bonding sessions, you can initiate conversations about gender equality with your children too. Get them to know about equality between all genders and what is needed to reach an equal world. Your children can certainly contribute to a society that respects women more. #3: Show that all women are able to succeed International Women's Day calls out for women to believe in themselves and strive to succeed. (Photo credit to UN Women) It is time to break through the notion that women need to sacrifice their career for their families! Be a good example to your children that women can excel in their career and at the same time, be present for their families. To do so, you need to master effective time management so that you are certain with the amount of time you spend on enhancing your career and caring for your family. More importantly, affirm your children on how much you love them through your consistent support and daily actions. Make them feel loved and appreciated even though you might not be able to be by their side at certain times. Why is this so important? I have heard grandparents or relatives telling the younger ones (even toddlers) that since their mothers are out to work, they do not love them. Never let this break your relationship with your children! Prove them wrong through your care and never sacrifice what you love to do for the stigma! However, this does not mean that you need to fight alone. Seek help from families, friends and support groups whenever you need it. Take a break whenever you feel stressed and overwhelmed. Schedule some 'me-time or connect with others to find some moments of happiness. Check out more tips for women empowerment through our interview with Dr Yasmin Rasyid. Happy International Women's Day to All Mothers On behalf of Motherhood Malaysia, we would like to shout out to every mother who has been working extremely hard to take care of their families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you so much for cooking, cleaning, supporting your children through online learning and taking care of the elderly at home to stop the spread of COVID-19. Let's take little actions daily to challenge norms and transform habits to create a world with gender equality. We can be the change for the world we want our daughters to thrive!

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