US joins world in celebrating International Women's Day

The United States joins people around the globe in honoring women and celebrating their contributions toward building a more peaceful, just and prosperous world, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday evening in a statement released to mark International Women's Day. The State Department, which has been led by "strong, smart and remarkably capable diplomats from Madeleine Albright to Condoleezza Rice and my predecessor Hillary Rodham Clinton, stands as a lasting example of the powerful change that determined women can make and sustain on behalf of America in the modern world," Kerry said. It is a great and too often untold global success story that so much of the political, economic and social progress of the last few decades could never have been imaginable without the leadership and courage of strong women, he said. "Over the past year alone, we have celebrated the landmark ascendance of women to the presidencies of Malawi and South Korea, and here in the United States, we saw the unprecedented election of 20 women to the U.S. Senate," he said. "That milestone was particularly meaningful to me, as someone who was sworn in to serve in the United States Senate in 1985, joined by my two teen-age daughters and struck by the fact that I had twice as many daughters as there were women in the Senate." Around the globe, whether they are creating and embracing new opportunities for education and entrepreneurship in Afghanistan, working for democratic reform in Burma or advancing human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, more women are finding their voices, lifting up communities and nations, and paving the way for future generations to live a better life, he said. "Yet despite the significant gains women and girls have made, too many challenges and barriers remain," Kerry said. "In far too many places, women continue to be excluded from the ballot box and political leadership, and from land ownership and credit markets. In far too many places, girls are still kept home from school or are forced into early marriage. Too many women are being silenced, abused or subjected to violence simply because of their gender. Many are risking their lives in the pursuit of justice. Their courage must inspire us to continue to work toward a world where every woman can live free of violence and pursue her fullest potential".