Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve heard already, Sunday is the 104th International

Women’s Day. Sunday is also the 24th celebration

of the NWT Wise Women Awards.

International Women’s Day is March 8th and it’s a

global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women, past, present and future. International Women’s Day honours the work of suffragettes who marched and fought for the right for women to vote, and the women who continue to fight for women’s rights today. In many countries across the world, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.

On International Women’s Day we all need to spread the message of women’s empowerment, to the friends, family and men in our lives. It’s a day to celebrate the women in our lives and our communities, to honour the advances women have made but, at the same time, remember the need for continued action to ensure that the equality fought for and gained by women who have passed before us is maintained in all aspects of our society.

Gloria Steinem has said, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” How true that is, Mr. Speaker. Until all of society accepts responsibility for and achievement of women’s equality, it will not happen.

Of the world’s 1.3 billion poor people, nearly 70 percent are women. Between 75 and 80 percent of the world’s 27 million refugees are women and children. Of the world’s nearly 130 million children who are not in school, two-thirds are girls. On average, women earn between 30 and 40 percent less pay than men for the same work. Women, more than men, continue to be victims of violence. Rape and domestic violence are significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, as we heard, is Make It Happen. Everyone is encouraged to “paint it purple,” as we all have done, – thank you very much, colleagues – on March 8th to show support for International

Women’s Day.

Sunday we will honour five NWT wise women who each in their own way have contributed to changing our world for the better by making it happen. I’d like to name those ladies, Mr. Speaker. • Annie B. Gordon from Aklavik, for the Beaufort-

Delta region;

• Caroline Bonnetrouge from Fort Providence, for

the Deh Cho region;

• Pertice Moffit of Yellowknife, for the North Slave

region;

• Judy Lafferty, Fort Good Hope, for the Sahtu

region;

• Maggie Sikyea from Fort Smith, for the South

Slave region.

Congratulations to this formidable group of women, and thanks to each one of you for your work to better your community and the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.