100th International Women’s Day Report on the event 2011

We joined women worldwide in celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8th March 2011.  Soroptimist International partnered with Women for Women’s Join Women on The Bridge campaign, so we met on the bridge over Princes Street in the centre of Swindon. Jan Sharpe made a banner and included the logos of Soroptimist International, Women for Women and International Women’s Day as well as the Join Women on the Bridge logo.  We were delighted to welcome representatives from Amnesty International, Swindon Feminist Network and AAFDA to our event which had been advertised on a number of websites.  We read the message from  UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and discussed the purpose of International Women’s Day and what it means for women globally.  We also read some poetry written by women in Iran and the “Red Light Child” poem by Malika Ndlovu.  The situation in Afganistan for women and the need for them to be included in peace negotiations,together with violence against women and girls was the main emphasis of the event.