On March 8, the world will commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) with the   theme s “Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all." The theme seeks to highlight the importance of ensuring equal human rights and opportunities for the progress of nations and communities.

Without respect for women, there can be no equal rights and consequently no progress for nations and communities.
In a society where women are still beaten and battered, where some of them are being forced to marry men they have not chosen and where the majority of them are not empowered enough to negotiate for safer sex, International Women’s Day should serve as a wake-up call to governments, civil society, communities and families about the work that still needs to be done to ensure progress for all in southern Africa.

According to UNAIDS in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, women account for approximately 60% of estimated HIV infections (UNAIDS/WHO 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update).   The organisation says women’s vulnerability to HIV in sub-Saharan Africa stems not only from their greater physiological susceptibility to heterosexual transmission, but also to the severe social, legal and economic disadvantages they often confront. A recent comprehensive epidemiological review undertaken in connection with the modes of transmission study in Lesotho found that sexual and physical violence is a key determinant of the country’s severe HIV epidemic. According to a recent survey, 47% of men and 40% of women in Lesotho say women have no right to refuse sex with their husbands or boyfriend.

Key Issues:

• International Women's Day is a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion when women look back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, look ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women. There is need for the media to look at their own countries analytically and come up with feature stories of how far their countries and the continent have come and the gaps that still remain 
• The media has the opportunity to highlight some of the negative traditional and cultural practices, such as girl pledging and widow cleansing, that societies practice which are fuelling HIV infection and violence against women. Media practitioners should re-inforce the message that traditional and cultural practices that cause harm can be changed while those that promote development and bring about positive results need to be upheld 
• IWD is a big day on the calendar of events. It is usually associated with gatherings and speech-making. There is need for the media to go beyond the commemorations and bring to the fore real and everyday issues that women are faced with as they go through life. Media monitoring shows that women are not given enough prominence in the media. This is an opportune time to allow women’s voices and their stories to be told
• Some countries come up with local themes to commemorate International Women’s Day. There is need to find out local themes and give them prominence and publicity. Media could also find out what has been planned for IWD in their countries and share it with audiences. If nothing is happening, again it is important for the media to highlight this and bring out the importance of commemorating the day.

Sources:
www.safaids.net
www.unifem.org
www.ilo.org/gender
www.un.org/womenwatch
www.internationalwomen’sday.com
www.unaids.org
(UNAIDS/WHO 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update)