This Saturday 8 March will be the 103rd celebration of International Women’s Day. There will be celebrations in honour of women worldwide. Gender Concerns International is holding an event in Tripoli, Libya: ‘Inspiring Change: Our Revolution, Our Constitution’. Prominent guest speakers will be featured including H.E. Nataliya Apostolova, EU Ambassador to Libya and Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, by video message.
A panel discussion will touch on the upcoming Libyan constitution and the role of women in its drafting process. Finally, 103 flying candles will be released into the skies of Tripoli at the event in remembrance of 103 years of women’s progress and participation.
When women of all continents bridge their national, linguistic, cultural and political differences to come together to celebrate their Day, they become part of a tradition that represents more than 100 years of progress in working for equality, justice, peace and development.
Gender Concerns has been active in Libya:
The Marboua Political Café
We are very happy to announce that our Marboua Political Café, in Tripoli, Libya, is picking up popularity. On February 6th Gender Concerns International hosted an event at the café. During this events 30 participants actively shared their opinion on women in the democratic process. The coming weeks we have several events scheduled to be held in Marboua. There will be a dialogue between lawyers and Tawargah women, discussing land rights for women, post-conflict zones and the UNSCR 1325. Together with other implementing partners the Swiss Embassy will host a session on Peace and Security, and every three weeks there will be a Gender Task Force meeting. By establishing Marboua, Gender Concerns International established a political café in that is accessible to women from different organizations, backgrounds and locations and social levels.
Official Launch of the Dastoor project on International Women’s Day
The Women’s Day celebration in Tripoli on Saturday will mark the official launch of the Dastoor Project. Dastoor, supported by EuropeAid, will be implemented in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya. With this project, Gender Concerns aims to support Libyan women and civil society organisations in the drafting and implementation of the new constitution. The Dastoor project will give ownership to local initiatives through networking, capacity building, dialogue and advocacy. For Dastoor, among other initiatives, Gender Concerns plans to produce a short documentary film interviewing prominent Libyan women about their struggles to gain attention and support for the program and its objectives.