On women’s day, domestic workers choose love, and the daughter

Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 7 (EMN): Domestic workers on Saturday celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) in a simple yet significant way by resolving to give equal opportunity, respect, love, and care to their daughters and sisters.

International Women’s Day is officially celebrated on March 8. However, the Ferrando Domestic Workers of Kohima celebrated a day ahead, at the Catholic Association of Nagaland in Kohima. The United Nations has given the theme for IWD 2020 as “I am generation equality: realising women’s rights.”

Speaking during the occasion, Avile Vitso, assistant labour commissioner at the directorate in Kohima, said IWD is a celebration of women’s achievements from the political fields to social areas. Calling for gender equality, she urged women to resolve to take care of the girl child / daughters (or sisters) and give them equal opportunity, equal love, care and respect as they give to their sons and brothers.

In line with this year’s theme, she said the generation equality campaign is bringing together people of every gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion, and country to drive actions that will create the gender equal world everyone deserve. The day is celebrated to advocate women’s rights to equality: Equal pay for equal work; equal right to education, social and economic justice, religious rights, health rights, she said.

Vitso urged the domestic workers to stand against gender-based violence, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and harassment at workplace. She said they had come together along with the rest of the world to celebrate womanhood and their achievements while also raising awareness about women’s rights and equality in a simple but important way. 

Further, the official urged them to celebrate the gift of life, talent and skill, and inner beauty and strength, and womanhood and motherhood, intelligence and wisdom, and zeal and energy, among other principles.

“Let us celebrate the women that we are, created by the same God who created man, equal in His eyes,” she added.  

Vitso challenged the domestic workers to create awareness among them to stand together against any form of violence, any kind of negative influence on women, and any form of unequal treatment or exploitation.  She added that women have the right to fulfil their dreams, get education, build careers, build homes, achieve aims, earn livelihood, live independent lives, freely partake in religious and social activities, participate in politics, freely express thoughts and live confidently without fear. 

Coordinator of the Kohima FDWA, Theresa Langhu, also said in her address that each women deserves to be greeted on the occasion. The domestic workers were greeted with white roses as a sign of love and appreciation. She said that the celebration gives recognition to these women who have excelled in their fields, and have contributed greatly to the welfare of the society and the country in general.