Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives”. Join us in celebrating activists all over the world who are working to protect and advance women’s rights. Then join us in advocating for change, on issues that directly impact women, including equal pay, access to adequate health care, and protection from violence and discrimination.
Are there ways you can lift up women’s voices in your community and empower women to tell their stories? How can we work together to advocate for the advancement of women’s rights in our state, nation, and world?
Visit the UN International Women’s Day website to learn more about the history of this day, and to read about women who are hard at work to impact their communities for the better: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/international-womens-day
Also consider the following Action Alert from the Sisters of Mercy’s Institute Justice Team:
“March 8 is International Women’s Day, and as the Sisters of Mercy we raise up our special concern for women and girls and lament where society falls short in attending to their needs.
To commemorate this day, we invite you to view the first in a series of videos for National Catholic Sisters Week, where Sister Claudia Cano explains how her ministry as a nurse engages her in concern for women and children each day.
Current policy decisions around immigration are not reflective of this same priority and special concern. The Trump Administration and some lawmakers are calling for increased funding for immigrant detention and deportation, which breaks families apart. Far too often, women and their children are separated at the border or through immigration enforcement.
Please call Your US senators and representative and tell them:
‘My name is XXX and as a person of faith I am calling this International Women’s Day out of concern for women being separated from their children through detention and deportation. I don’t want Congress to write a check to deport and detain members of my community, and urge you to cut funding for actions that break families apart.’”
