International Women Day

Article written by Jonathan P. Mamo (Malta)

SCORP celebrates Human Rights day within its respective NMOs by organising activities which have some form of relationship, be it direct or indirect, to a particular group of human rights. Each project strives to be as successful as possible and in most cases the results are phenomenally positive. I was reading through this blog the other time and had to ask myself… WHY was this day chosen? And what was it initially chosen to represent? So to answer this question I conducted some research and came up with the following;



Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10th of December. The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on the 10th of December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. The UN’s General Assembly invited all interested organisations to celebrate the day as they saw fit. The day is a high point in the UN calendar and is normally marked by political conferences, meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. Many governmental and non-governmental organisations, such as the IFMSA, active in the human rights field, also schedule special events to commemorate the day. The theme of the day for 2006 was the fight against poverty as a human rights issue.

Human Rights are concerned with the relationship of people with their society. It involves the rights and responsibilities that the society affords and the duties and obligations that are implied. Every woman, man and child has the human right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, without discrimination of any kind. Enjoyment of the human right to health is vital to all aspects of a person's life and well-being, and is crucial to the realization of many other fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Promoting and protecting health and respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights are inextricably linked. Violations or lack of attention to human rights can have serious health consequences such as expressed in the issues of slavery, torture and violence against women and children – these, unfortunately, being ever present in our advancing societies. Vulnerability to ill-health can be reduced by taking steps to respect, protect and fulfil human rights (e.g. the right to health, food, nutrition, education and housing). In learning about human rights, we learn about ideas of respect, fairness, justice and equality. We learn about standing up for our own rights and about our responsibility to respect the rights of others. There are a number of basic rights that people from around the world have agreed on, such as the right to life, freedom from torture, other cruel and inhuman treatment, rights to a fair trial, free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to health, education and an adequate standard of living.

The attainment of human rights for all will be achieved only when each individual acknowledges the validity of these rights. Therefore, an understanding of human rights begins with the individual. Recognizing one's own basic human rights is the first step in the quest for achieving human rights for all. It is IFMSA’s role to educate both other medical students and also our respective communities about these basic rights. We are also duty bound to support other NGOs which work towards the same common goal.

And now… in just a few days time, on the 8th of March, the UN celebrates its next big event; International Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace – the one day chosen for a global celebration for the economic, social, political and scientific achievements of women. Whether you’re a woman or not; celebrate this day because without women none of us would be here to promote the rights which belong to us all. So make a difference, think globally and act locally! Make everyday an International Women's Day. Let’s all do our bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal and safe. For more information about the event please do browse the site http://www.internationalwomensday.com/