Moving forward on International Women's Day in Haiti

Jennifer Bakody, UNICEF

© UNICEF Haiti/2010/Bakody

Armed with banners, Myrline Antoine, an outreach officer for the Jacmel-based women's rights organization Fanm Deside [Women Decide] discusses last-minute preparations for events commemorating International Women’s Day.  

JACMEL, Haiti (March 9, 2010) —  In a country where women, men, children and families have all taken a sizable hit themselves, the message Fanm yo frape fo, N a sonje, N a Vanse, or 'Women, hit hard, we’re aware and we’re moving forward,' was the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations.

Throughout the country, Haiti’s Ministry of Women’s Condition and Women’s Rights (MCFDF) marked International Women’s Day by honoring the tens of thousands of mothers, sisters, wives, feminists and activists who lost their lives during the January earthquake. The ministry, the United Nations family and its partners – including many grassroots women’s organizations – have also come together to honor the longstanding work of three prominent Haitian feminists – Anne-Marie Coriolan, Magalie Marcelin and Myriam Merlet, all of whom died in the earthquake during the twilight of their illustrious careers.

Stating a commitment to advancing women’s issues in the national agenda, the ministry noted the Haitian government’s strong desire to achieve a gender balance in the country’s reconstruction and development and called on women, girls and youth to put their talents toward achieving a just and egalitarian society.

Women decide

© UNICEF Haiti/2010/Bakody

Sunday is no day of rest for two women carrying goods through the ruined and dusty streets of Jacmel. Throughout Haiti, this year's International Women's Day underscores the vital role that women will play in the country's reconstruction and development.  

In Jacmel, at least 500 supporters, many of them the members of small women’s collectives from neighboring communities, took to the narrow streets on Sunday, March 7, as part of a public march organized by Fanm Deside "Women Decide", a locally-based non-governmental organization with a 20-year history of promoting women’s health and human rights. Marie-Ange Noel, Coordinator of Fanm Deside, walked with a cardboard sign reading, 'we’ve been working 100 years to give the women’s movement strength.'

Noel said that in light of the devastation incurred in the earthquake, the coming year will test the strength of Haitian women and girls as never before. But she's confident that they are up to the challenge.

"Women are engines of development in this country," she says. "They form a majority in many key sectors—in business, at the markets, as teachers and as health professionals."

In addition to the march, Fanm Deside organized what it called a "pause for reflection." Participants gathered in a local hall gave testimony to their lives, losses and struggles after the earthquake. They shared messages of hope, as well as their ideas and experiences in advancing women’s rights.

UNICEF support

UNICEF is partnering with Fanm Deside through the distribution of emergency kits to protect women and children, including cooking kits, hygiene kits, and tarpaulins—basic needs in Jacmel. Through Fanm Deside and its partners, UNICEF is also working to build capacity to advocate for women’s and girls rights by improving access to health, psycho-social and legal care after cases of rape and sexual assault through planned integrated health care clinics.

"Supporting the women’s movement in Haiti is essential to sustainable development," says Catherine Maternowska, a UNICEF Gender-Based Violence specialist who took in the day’s events. "UNICEF provides the funds needed to build strong gender based violence prevention and treatment programs, giving voice not only to 100 years of social movement building, but also to the girls and women of Haiti who are left to rebuild this shattered country."

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