Friday, 6 March 2015 00:00
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Zonta Rose Day, which coincides with International Women’s Day on 8 March, is a day to reflect on the voluntary service carried out by the members of Zonta empowering and enhancing the status of women worldwide.
The Zonta Rose, a single yellow rose which is more than a beautiful flower, serves as the symbol of Zonta Rose Day. On this day, thousands of events are held by Zonta Clubs worldwide to inspire women and celebrate the progress made to achieve women’s rights and outline future steps to improve women’s equality.
Zonta Club III of Colombo is a member of Zonta International (www.zonta.com), which is a service organization of women Executives and professionals working together to advance and empower the status of women and children world-wide. There are over 34,000 members in 1230 clubs in 70 countries.
The last two decades have witnessed a notable change in society’s views on the emancipation of women and women’s equality. With a higher number of women executives in the boardroom, increased equality in legislative rights and a greater visibility as role models in various aspects of life, one may conclude that women have now achieved true equality.
Unfortunately, women in Sri Lanka are not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women do not have an equal presence in business or politics and women’s health, education and the violence against them is worse than that of which is faced by men. Women in Sri Lanka have longer life-spans but their average standards of nutrition fail to meet their own needs and further obstruct their efforts to ensure the health of their children.
The growing number of females entering the workforce have notably increased from 1,656,166 in 1995 to 2,068,667 in 2000, 2,465,265 in 2010 and 3,057,390 in 2014. According to the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, in 2014 females accounted 34.8% of the employed labour force, as against 30.9% in 1995.
Although women constitute the bulk of the work force in Sri Lanka’s three leading foreign exchange earners which include tea, garments and foreign remittances, making a valuable contribution to GDP and overall economic development, a significant percentage of women are employed at the lower end of the employment ladder as plantation workers, assembly line operators and in overseas domestic service.
This Rose Day, Zonta Club III of Colombo, however, notes that great improvements in the enhancement of the status of women have been made over time. It has witnessed female prime ministers, women can work and have a family and school girls are welcomed into university. The tone and nature of Zonta Rose Day has, for the past few years, shifted from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.
This Rose Day, the Zonta Club III of Colombo aims to make a donation to the Heavana shelter for battered women run by Community Concern and additionally spend time with the elderly women at the Sarvodaya Elder’s Home for women in Ratmalana.
Zonta Club III of Colombo strives to raise funds for the numerous projects undertaken to enhance and develop the lives of less fortunate women and children. Its programs include the Zonta Women of Tomorrow (ZWOT) Mentorship program which aims to enhance and hone the employability and professional skills of young Sri Lankan women, the resettlement of the war widows of the Weli-Oya area (together with Brigade 622 of the Sri Lanka Army) and the Golden Z Club of under-graduate members who will work towards a joint mission of uplifting the lives of women and children in Sri Lanka. For more information on Zonta Club III, please visit their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/zontaclub3.
Zonta Club III encourages you to embrace the message of Rose Day, make a difference and do your bit to ensure that the future for women is equal, bright, safe and rewarding.
