International Women's Day 2005

During International Women's Day 2005, Blossom took to the streets of Virudhunagar to organize a women's rally. In total 5000 women attended.

During the day the women marched through Virudhunagar to encourage the government to put women rights first. About 95% of the women came from the fireworks industry in the region. Many of the women wanted to become part of local women self-help groups. However, their supervisors did not allow them to take time off to attend the meetings the self-help groups organize. During the International Women's Day 2005, we advocated together to the owners of the firework industries to allow women to be able to become part of self-help groups.

Many women were allowed by local bus drivers to take the bus to the rally for free. The media was drawn to our event and covered the rally in local and regional newspapers. The day was concluded with a public meeting where the importance of inclusive policies were discussed. Our event alerted the local government and made them take action. The district collector, who is a woman, was present during the rally.

Project duration: 2005