Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has marked International
Women's Day with a Facebook message urging followers to support
female issues.
Today, 8 March, countries across the globe are highlighting
social, political and economic problems which directly affect women
and their families.
It also uses the occasion to mark women's achievements.
Using social networking site Facebook, Tatchell lent his weight to
the day, saying: "Today is International Women's Day. Bravo!
Feminism is more relevant than ever. The female half of humanity is
still denied equality and, in many countries, deprived of the most
basic human rights.
He added: "In the west, women are massively under-represented in
parliament and business; domestic and sexual violence are rampant
and women's average pay is less than men's.
"In developing countries, 130 million women and girls are
subjected to female genital mutilation; hundreds of millions are
forced to shroud their bodies and live in a world of gender
apartheid. These crimes against women are crimes against
humanity."
A prominent gay activist who now focus on equality across the
board, Tatchell recently apologised to DIVA's sister site
PinkPaper.com for not focusing on men's issues within his campaign
work.
Currently, there is no official date to celebrate the contribution
of - or focus on the issues surrounding - men, such as: paternity
rights, healthcare concerns, male victims of domestic violence,
male rape and an education system which sees boys underform.
