International Women ’s Day at the Women and Children’s Clinic – the focus on a fairer world

Claire, Women’s and Children’s Health Lead The first organized Women’s Day was held in 1909 in the United States. In 1914, we saw the first march in support of women’s right to vote in London. In the following years, many other countries started to celebrate women’s contributions to society. In 1975 the United Nations started to celebrate International Women’s Day, proclaiming March 8th the day for Women’s Rights and World Peace. Over time, International Women’s Day has shifted its focus, drawing attention to the hardships women endure in different places around the world, to women’s right to vote, to women’s contributions to society and their extraordinary accomplishments. Every year the theme of IWD changes, and this year we celebrate and call for action for a fairer, more gender-balanced world (#BalanceforBetter). From a medical perspective, being a woman can have a significant impact on health. This is due to biological factors, but also due to gender related factors. Internationally, the health of women and girls continues to be particularly concerning as they are often discriminated against because of their gender. Doctors of the World envisage a world without barriers to health, where healthcare is recognised as a fundamental right, for all. On International Women’s Day, I want to take this opportunity to highlight our work with women in the UK. Doctors of the World opened its London clinic in 2006, and has run w...
Source: Doctors of the World News - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Uncategorised Source Type: news