UNIFEM's Commemoration of International Women's Day 2008

Advocacy carried out through face-to-face gatherings was at the core of this initiative. UNIFEM organised meetings and debates between members of the constitutional assembly and the Ecuadorian women's movement of Manta. On March 5 and 6, women of this movement and assembly members analysed topics that are the most worrisome to Ecuadorian women in the face of the new constitution, such as: proposals, advances, and perspectives in the constitutional process; economic rights of women and their contributions to the economy as elements for the creation of a new economic model in the Constitution; gender institutionalisation within the new state model; gender justice and the right to access of justice for women in the Ecuadorian Constitution Policy; and sovereignty of the body, sexual rights, and reproductive rights in the new Ecuadorian Constitution. Debates and expositions during these two days concluded with a Caravan for Women's Rights that circled from Manta to Montecristi, the country's legislative centrepoint.

To further support this meeting in the framework of United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)'s Project, the assembly members were given an informational folder that contained: the agenda of Ecuadorian women's rights that should be included in the new constitution; informative pamphlets about the current state of each right belonging to women and the national and international legal backing that obliges its fulfillment; and a flash memory that compiles all the aforementioned documents as well as international treaties and conventions related to women's rights.

In the framework of the same project, and in order to call attention to the importance of events related to International Women's Day celebrated in Manta and Montecritsti, UNIFEM installed a zeppelin (a rigid airship) at a few metres' distance from the Constitution Assembly. (Editor's note: please click here to view a few photos). Written on the airborne is the campaign slogan (in Spanish), which can be translated as "Us in the Constitution: Equality, Parity, Justice, and No Discrimination." This eye-catching element inspired the local media to write stories about the week, with titles such as "A Dirigible of UNIFEM Flying over Montecristi: Passing by to Read the Writing on the Zeppelin."

In addition, UNIFEM launched a national photography contest on March 7, using mail, fax, and advertising graphics to encourage submissions of photos addressing gender equality and women's rights. In order to publicise International Women's Day and the contest itself, UNIFEM created a 12-page supplement to be placed in one of the most-read newspapers of the country. The supplement provided details about the contest, explained the work done by each division of UNIFEM's Ecuador Office, and included an article about the ongoing proceedings of the Constituent Assembly in Ecuador and the political participation of women. In addition, UNIFEM set up an exposition in the Metropolitan Cultural Center of Quito to display the 30 best photos so that they might have the greatest possible diffusion among the general public.

Women, Rights, Political Participation.