International Women's Day began to be observed in the early 1900's when women became more vocal about their desire for equality and freedom. Since then, International Women's Day has gained greater acknowledgement so that today it is internationally recognized.

As the equal participation of women in all aspects of political, social and economic life of a country is vital for democracy to take root and flourish, many of IFES' programs work to improve the standing of women around the world. The most recent example of our work in this area is the Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa (SWMENA) project.

The SWMENA project aims to improve the legal, political and social status of women in the MENA region by first identifying the areas where they lack equality and then boosting the capacity of local nonprofits to address those gaps. The areas where women's standing needs to improve are identified through scientific surveys. The data is then given to local groups working for women's rights along with training. The training helps them learn how to use the information to achieve their goals by developing policy recommendations and effective advocacy campaigns.

The SWMENA project, which is being implemented with the Institute for Women's Policy Research, is focusing on Lebanon, Morocco and Yemen with the hope that the improvements achieved in these countries expand to the rest of the region.

The data on the standing of women in Lebanon was released on February 17 and 18 during a workshop with local Lebanese women's groups. The data for Morocco and Yemen is forthcoming.

For more information on this project, please visit www.ifes.org/swmena