International Women's Day (March 8) is an occasion for women from all ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political arena to forget their differences and join hands for common cause.

Nepali women are confronting poverty, violence, racism and sexism since long. Due to various constraints women in general and rural women in particular have not been able to build their capacities. The lives of women farmers in remote villages typify the extent of poverty that Nepalis are bound to face. They are struggling for survival. Their voice is not recognized. They are still inadequately represented in political, economic, and social structures of the nation. This is because income distribution is very unequal as a result of weak policy. Economic empowerment of women farmers is critical if Nepal is to meet increasing demand for food grains.

Dear Friends

Greetings from ANWA !

All Nepal Women Association (ANWA) together with Women Mass Organizations and Trade Unions organized a Rally and Mass Meeting o­n the occasion of International Working Women Day. The rally started from Maiti Devi and Mass Meeting was organized o­n New Baneshwor Kathmandu. About 3000 women participated in the programme. Mr. Sunil Manandhar, Ms Kesh Maya Joshi from NTUC, Ms Bina Shrestha from GEFONT, Ms Rama Poudel from DECONT, Ms Surya Thapa from ANWA Adhoc Committe, Ms Uma Adhikari from NMS (NCD), Ms Mena Pandey from NMS were the speakers in the programme. The mass meeting was chaired by Ms Goma Devkota, Vice-Chairperson of ANWA. Ms Janak Chalise from ANPWA was the MC of the programme. Ms Bina Shrestha read out a Solidarity Message from Committee for Asian Women (CAW).

The main Theme of the Programme was "End of Autocratic Monarchy and Establishment of Absolute Democracy".

In Solidarity,

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) supports the call for women�s greater empowerment and opportunity through realizing their right to livelihood, health, education, and political participation, and especially to decision-making of all forms, particularly those decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their children.

International Women�s Day ( 8 March ) is a time for taking stock of the overall status of the world�s women. Over a decade ago the United Nations Fourth World Conference o­n Women called for increasing women�s capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership. Yet for many women today, particularly in developing countries, these are o­nly words o­n paper.Women�s decision-making ability and participation in public life are closely linked with women�s overall advancement.

Statement of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)for the International Working Women�s Day , 8 March 2006The International Working Women�s Day is a celebration of working women�s militancy in the struggle for their rights against exploitation, subservience, abuse, discrimination and all forms of oppression against women, especially the toiling women.On this historic day, the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) greets the struggling women of the world and most especially, women migrants who have many reasons to pursue the fight started by the valiant women, who mostly came from the textile industries, in 1857 for better wages and working condition.With the intensifying world crisis brought about by neoliberal globalization pushed by the world�s superpowers, women are continuously driven to migrate from their homelands and work in slave-like jobs in foreign countries.More than half of the migrant workers all over the world are women. They come mainly from third world countries whose implementation of neoliberal globalization policies has o­nly brought more and more women in dire poverty.