COVID-19 fails to halt women's march in some countries

A Chinese symphony orchestra played a piece online on International Women's Day, dedicating the music to female healthcare workers in Hubei province, the place worst hit by the COVID-19 outbreak that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization last week.

Some 28,000 of 42,600 medics sent to the province are female, according to official data.

While gender should be of little consequence to the work of disease control anywhere, due appreciation is welcome. There are other women working behind the scenes who deserve equal praise－in sanitation (356 tonnes of medical waste was collected in Hubei in two months), delivery services and transportation.

Observed by the United Nations since 1975, the theme of International Women's Day (March 8) this year was "generation equality", a campaign for deeper reform.

March is also being celebrated as "women's history month" in the United States, where a century ago women got the right to vote. Six female lawmakers ran for the Democratic Party nomination for the US presidential election to be held later this year. A record number. None made it.

The coronavirus disease, which has killed more than 5,700 people and infected upward of 150,000 globally, with the majority in China, did not affect women's day activities in some countries.

Protests were also held in places: in Mexico, for instance, where reportedly 10 women are killed daily, to France, where domestic violence has reportedly increased, to Pakistan and Turkey where society is very conservative. In Latin America, at least 80,000 people participated in marches that day.

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced by a US court to 23 years in prison for sex crimes, on Wednesday, in a win for the Me Too movement.

Why does the world need women's day?

It is important to call attention to gender issues, especially the underrepresentation of women in politics and leadership across sectors, even at a time when March 8 is used for commerce by some who sell pink merchandise.

Excluding nearly half of humanity from institutions of power and governance or decision-making, targeting women with violence and paying them less than men for the same work simply cannot continue.

It has been 25 years since 189 UN members states signed the "Beijing declaration", considered the most comprehensive global policy framework on advancing women's rights, during a meeting in China. But ahead of the International Women's Day, UN Women, a relatively new agency, painted a still-grim picture in its latest report.

Only one in four seats are held by women in national parliaments. Women aged 25 to 34 are 25 percent more likely to live in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 a day) than men. Women are paid 16 percent less on average than men and only one in four managers are female. While 39 percent of employed women are working in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, only 14 percent of agricultural landholders are female. Less than 40 percent of women who experience violence seek help of any sort, suggesting their lack of confidence in justice systems or barriers to seeking justice.

There have been some gains since 1995. About 131 countries have enacted 274 legal and regulatory reforms to support gender equality. More girls are in schools today.

Fun fact: In Saudi Arabia, where women were allowed to drive cars as recently as 2018, the stock exchange in Riyadh sounded a "bell for equality" this women's day.