To mark International Women's Day 2022, Parliaments and Parliamentarians across the Commonwealth are celebrating women's achievements and joining the global #BreakTheBias and ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ campaigns.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Acting Chairperson, Hon. Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP (UK) and CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg joined the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network, Hon. Shandana Gulzar Khan, MNA, at an International Women's Day event in Islamabad, hosted by the SDGs Secretariat of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

The event marked the launch a year of activity on UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) - Empowering Women and Girls - and celebrated the historical, cultural and political achievements of women. The Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Hon. Asad Qaiser, MNA and Hon. Riaz Fatyana, MNA, Convener of the National Parliamentary Taskforce on SDGs, also gave remarks at the event, which saw women and organisations working towards gender equality share their stories and experiences with Parliamentarians from the National Assembly of Pakistan.

The CPA delegation attended the event as part of a visit to Pakistan to meet with parliamentary leaders in the country and discuss ongoing collaboration between the CPA and the Parliament of Pakistan, including planned activities on gender equality in Parliament undertaken by the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network, chaired by Hon. Shandana Gulzar Khan, MNA.

Reflecting on International Women's Day, the CWP Chairperson said:

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network is working to build “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” From training Parliamentarians on the links between gender and climate change, to providing Parliaments with tools and strategies for tackling financial inequity, sexism and harassment, the CWP has continued to work hard during COVID-19 to institutionalise gender sensitive policymaking, including our next goals: gender sensitive budgets and free-trade agreements. We aim to make Parliament that hallowed space where women can work, represent and lead without fear. On behalf of women in Parliament everywhere across the Commonwealth, I wish everyone a happy International Women’s Day.”

The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg, added:

"On International Women’s Day 2022, the CPA celebrates the contribution of women to parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth. We remain committed to promoting women’s full and equal participation in decision-making and supporting women to be effective political leaders. Through the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network, we will continue to grow our community of women Parliamentarians, bringing together women leaders to share knowledge and drive progress on gender equality in Parliament.”  

Members of the CWP International Steering Committee also showed their support for the #BreakTheBias campaign in a series of short videos calling for renewed action in pursuit of gender equality across the Commonwealth.

Use the 'Playlist' option in the top-right of the player below to browse our International Women's Day videos.

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The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded in 1989 to increase the number of female elected representatives in 180 Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth and to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the fore in parliamentary debate and legislation. The network campaigns for gender equality in all spheres. For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.