On this International Women’s Day, the esteemed Menfolk that run our country have been waxing lyrical on Twitter about all the time and effort they selflessly devote to ‘empowering women’.

UK Prime Minister ‏@Number10gov

From access to justice & healthcare to empowering women in business, the UK gov’t is helping women across the globe #IWD…

To really highlight all this positive action “across the globe”, our Government has spared no expense in providing us with a beautiful interactive map at http://engage.number10.gov.uk/international-womens-day-2013/ .  Here, we can click on little icons and read all about how our situations are being improved. On closer inspection, these achievements/activities can essentially be categorised into three groups: things the UK Government are doing to help women abroad, things other people are doing to help women globally that they have written about for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and finally (and in the smallest category) things the UK Government are doing to help women in the UK. Some examples:

1. Things the UK Government are doing to help women abroad:

• Sending UK Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone to participate in UN Summit to discuss body image in the media  (29^th February 2013);
• Having the Foreign and Commonwealth Office feature stories of women who work for various departments around the world, including the Forced Marriage Unit (Sophie Wright);
• Having UK Minister Lynne Featherstone participate in a Europe-wide approach to ending violence against women;
• Giving UK Minister Lynne Featherstone the title of ‘International Violence Against Women’s Champion’ and having her discuss the rights of Afghan women;
• Giving UK aid, via the Department for International Development, to help end violence against women in Nepal;
• Giving UK aid, via UK funded partner organisation Camfed, to boost school bursaries in Tanzania, helping girls have access to education;
• Sending Baroness Warsi to meet policewomen in Afghanistan

While these noble and important endeavours basically amount to lots of talking and sending some targeted funds, there is at least some real action taking place here.

2. Things other people are doing to help women globally, which they have  written about for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

• The Acting High Commissioner of Canada, Corin Robertson, has written a blog post about women in leadership;
• The Montreal Consulate General hosted a roundtable discussion of Women In Science on 24^th January 2013, and linked their video to this map;
• Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts, writes about “A Safer Motherhood Through Family Planning”;
• Astrid Aafjes, founder and President of Women Win, writes about “Empowering Girls In Sport”;
• The UN discussed the power of empowered women;
• Selma Korjenic writes about her work. She is a Human Rights Officer for Swiss Organisation Track Impunity Always (TRIAL) which works to fight against impunity of perpetrators, accomplices and instigators of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, forced disappearances and torture;
• Sabiha Husic writes – she is Director of NGO Medica from Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which supports women and children who are victims of war;
• Lauren Wolfe is Director of Women Under Siege – an independent initiative documenting sexual violence as a tool of conflict – and she writes about sexualised violence in Syria.

This is all vital work, and thank goodness for the people actually doing it.

But, according to their map, what is our own Government actually doing for UK women, other than continually penalising us through changes to the Welfare, Health, Employment and Education systems?

3.  Things the UK Government are doing to help women in the UK:

• Appointing Martha Lane Fox as UK Government Digital Tsar, and getting her to highlight the lack of representation of women in business and Government;
• Creating support centres for rape victims in Hereford, Trafford, Dorset and Devon;
• Providing new support for young victims of sexual violence and gangs.
• Having the Ministry Of Defence publicise profiles of “women that are making their mark in the Armed Forces”;
• Having the Home Secretary, Theresa May, create a campaign on television and in digital media, highlighting abuse of teenage girls;
• Extending a year-long pilot scheme that provides increased protection for victims of domestic violence in Greater Manchester, Wiltshire and West Mercia.

What do all these things have in common? AFTERMATH. Every single point on this list, while important, is about dealing with women as victims. Victims of violence, victims of abuse, victims of sexism. Make no mistake, these initiatives are needed, but by consistently discussing women and girls as having subordinate status and being the weaker members of society, the cycle is perpetuated.

To truly progress, beyond discussion and rhetoric, the basic terms of the conversation must be changed. Our entire social system is constructed in male terms – Government, Law, Health, Education, Employment – and it is for this reason that Equal Rights will continue to be something to be fought for, rather than something to be enjoyed.

The Government (with only 22% of MPs being female) state that they are helping women have access to justice and healthcare, and are empowering women in business around the world. This belies their attitudes as the Gatekeepers, granting these privileges for which women should be grateful, as opposed to acknowledging that these basic rights should be afforded us as human beings.

Throughout the world we are hearing of Leaderships toiling away at making the empowerment of women a high priority as if, again, power were a privilege to be granted. On the contrary, there is a very simple fact that unites every single female on the face of the Earth. No matter their geography, politics, economic, educational or religious status, every single female has power. We are born with it, and we retain it, regardless of what the world does to us.

On International Women’s Day, of all days, let it be known that the women of the world do not need to be empowered by men. We simply need the men to get out of our way.

Sarah Myles