International Women’s Day 2023 is finally upon us and what better way is there to celebrate than by doing our part to make the world more equal?
It has been reported that men start more petitions, but according to change.org, it is women under 35 that win the most. So what are we waiting for?
Here are five petitions being run by women that you should sign to help make the world a better place for women and girls.
1. Make street harassment a criminal offence
"Maya, 20, and her sister Gemma, 15, are sick of facing street harassment on a daily basis. They want the UK to make street harassment illegal, like it is in France, Belgium and Portugal. Already 200,000 people have signed their change.org petition and they’ve got support from the likes of Emma Watson and UN Women."
Women deserve to feel safe walking home, we have rounded up the best street safety apps to help you feel safe walking home, for when you don't.
2. End period plastic
"2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million pads and 700,000 pantyliners are flushed in the UK every single day. Considering most period products contain up to 90% plastic which takes over 500 years to break down, it’d mean if Jane Austen had used them they would still be decomposing today! It’s bad for the environment and bad for our bodies. That’s why Ella is calling for all period products to be plastic free."
3. Dump the Scales
"Having been hospitalised from anorexia once before, when Hope relapsed a few years ago she reached out for help only to be told by doctors she “wasn’t thin enough for support”. But the reality of eating disorders is that they aren’t just about the scales, so Hope is calling on the government to review the eating disorder guidance delivered by clinicians."
4. End child marriage
"Outlawing child marriage is the best way to stop coerced child marriage from happening”. Payzee and her sister Banaz were pressured into marriage in the UK at just 16 and 17 years old. Banaz was later murdered at the age of 20 in a so-called “honour” killing for leaving her abusive husband. Despite this, current UK law allows 16 and 17-year olds in England and Wales to marry with parental consent, so Payzee has started a petition calling for marriage under 18 in England and Wales to be a crime. 80,000 people have already joined her campaign."
5. Help redefine beauty
In many dictionaries the word beauty is often defined using the phrase “She was a great beauty in her youth". Coty Inc. are calling for the ageist implication to be removed, and to change the definition of beauty to celebrate everyone.
"The campaign calls for the Dictionary publishers to review the examples in the definition and remove the implicit ageism and sexism they currently contain."
Happy International Women's Day.
Let's make change together.
