International Women's Day 2019

Text: Linda Roemer & statements of Roxanne, Linda K., Thomas

Photos: Linda Roemer & Dale Klippenstein

In line with this year’s theme for International Women's Day “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, all our women, girls, staff and volunteers came together to call for change and raise awareness in breaking the walls of gender inequality. We marched to show the world that girls and women are powerful and strong, have courage and determination and all the rights to grow in their lives just as much as men do. All of us have proved that our voices should no longer be silenced and that our achievements should always be recognized.

"Women are still underrepresented in power and decision-making, all over the world. Rajasthan, where we are, belongs to the most conservative and patriarchal states of India. Many girls do not go to school and the numbers of child marriages are high - we have heard stories where girls around Jodhpur are married off just at the age of 2! Women in Rajasthan are also among those who have the lowest literacy rates, are likely to be aborted as children, have very limited access to good health care, and frequently face all types of violence. International Women's Day casts light on such inequality, but even more so I have come to realize it is to celebrate the beauty, strength & the resilience of women. The Women's Day March has been the most powerful experience of my work with Sambhali so far, and it was incredibly uplifting to capture the women's and girls' determination as well as the sense of community that we had all felt. It was beautiful to see, having heard many of their background stories, how much the girls and women have grown through the work done by Sambhali Trust and how this has contributed to unlocking their power. If we don’t start talking about the freedom, capabilities and dignity of women & girls, we won’t come far in changing the stigmatising and repressive social norms and attitudes that are present in this world - this is why I think International Women's Day is of such great importance." - Linda Roemer

"Celebrating International Women‘s Day in India was an amazing experience! I was so lucky to spend the day here for the second time and once again, I have never felt that powerful than while we were all marching in the evening of the 7th. The preparation for that day was a big deal and my students were so excited for everything. Shouting slogans in Hindi like “Nari Shakti Zindabad“ (“long lives the power of women“) as one team left their marks on people. The march symbolizes that not only girls and women, but everybody has to work together to achieve equality. We raised awareness and got other people’s attention. I am always smiling when I think about it." - Roxanne

"What a wonderful experience it was to be a part of this march!  Women of all ages marching together and taking up space, disrupting traffic, making noise and collectively showing our strength. It’s so meaningful and necessary here where women are so marginalized." - Linda Klippenstein

"As a french volunteer coming to India, the march for women’s empowerment was something really powerful to me. I know about the struggles of women in France, but here, in India, especially in Rajasthan, the situation is a lot worse. When I was at the march, I was just impressed by the strength of all the girls walking together, wearing pink sari, chanting the same slogan with the same heart. Everybody was watching us, by curiosity or interest, but it was unbelievable to see that we had an impact on the streets of Jodhpur. I think it is important for women to have day like this to increase our confidence and hope for gender equality." - Thomas

What women empowerment means to the Sambhali women & girls from the centres and boarding homes, we will showcase in our upcoming blog posts. 

Happy International Women's Day 2019!