The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is one with all the women everywhere in the world in the celebration of Women’s Month with the theme “Generation equality: the vision we work for women and girls” alongside the #EachforEqual theme for the International Women’s Day.

Equality is the focus of this year’s call for women’s rights. There are still various areas where gender parity is not met. Subordination and discrimination against women remain prevalent. As Gender Ombud, the Commission calls for equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, and equal participation in political life and in decision-making in all areas of life.

To achieve genuine equality, the roots of patriarchy and misogyny must also be addressed so we can put an end to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls. Health care services that respond to women’s needs must also be provided to truly champion their ownership of their body.

The call this year stresses the significance of each individual efforts that can collectively help in achieving an equal and enabled world. #EachforEqual campaign is about collective individualism because each person form part of a whole. Individual efforts, behaviors, and utterances can have an impact to the culture of society.

Women’s Month celebration wouldn’t be complete without celebrating the many achievements and contributions of women in many fields as well as in the development of our society. Visibility is key to fighting the obscuring of women’s labor.

To kick-off the celebration and to harness collective and individual action, the CHR will stage a Purple Action March and a forum on women and girls’ rights together with Sarilaya and other women’s groups. The forum will tackle the developments in realizing women’s rights; assess the gaps and galvanize initiatives for women empowerment; and gather perspective of young women on fast-tracking progress on women’s rights. On 7 March 2020, an all-women art, crafts, and book fair dubbed “Gandang Ganda sa Sariling Gawa” will also be held in CHR Central Office.

Equality is not just women’s issue, it is everybody’s business. For development to be sustained and for the economy to thrive, gender equality is vital. Upholding women’s rights redounds to their families, communities, and the larger society. Individually and collectively, we can actively choose every day to create a gender equal society.