This International Women’s Day, We Need Accountability — Not Applause

Every year in March, the global community comes together to commemorate International Women’s Day: to celebrate progress, achievements, and so-called “advancements” in women’s rights and gender equality.

But I’m tired of celebrating.

Because the reality is, after spending 20 years speaking out for women and girls through my life’s work as an advocate, philanthropist, and founder of a global non-profit, I have never been more alarmed about the state of women’s and girls’ rights than I am today.

Nearly one in four countries have reported growing backlash against women’s rights. Global funding cuts have slashed critical services for girls in some of the world’s most underserved communities, resulting in catastrophic consequences for education, health care, economic opportunity, and freedom from gender-based violence.

In recent years, nearly 40% of countries saw no progress, or moved backward, on the gender equality index.

Not one single country is on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

“After spending 20 years speaking out for women and girls through my life’s work as an advocate, philanthropist, and founder of a global non-profit, I have never been more alarmed about the state of women’s and girls’ rights than I am today.”

As my timeline becomes increasingly filled with platitudes about the importance of “celebrating women” and “supporting girls” this month, all I can think about are these statistics — and the stories behind them.

This year, in particular, I am thinking about a young woman named Neema.

When I met her last Fall during my most recent visit to Kenya to attend a Global Girls Glow summit, she described her life story as “one big, dark tunnel” with a light, shining dimly, peeking through the end.

Growing up in an urban slum with high poverty rates and limited economic opportunity, Neema’s life was shaped by frequent domestic abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. She was repeatedly told that she was worthless and would never amount to anything — simply because she was a girl.

“I often wondered how I could change myself into the boy my father always wanted,” she told me.

But Neema didn’t allow her circumstances to define her or narrow her future. She refused to believe that girls are powerless — and refused to accept that violence and oppression are global requirements of girlhood.

She spoke up. Found support. Got connected to resources and supportive communities. And ultimately, became a leader who is courageously sharing her story to advocate for change and progress.

She followed that small sliver of light — and didn’t stop until she found it.

This International Women’s Day, that is where I am finding hope: In the light that continues to peek through the darkness. And in girls like Neema who pursue it against all odds.

Girls deserve better. And we owe it to them to act — today and every day. (Photo taken at a Global Girls Glow summit in Kenya)

This month, we owe it to Neema not just to celebrate her strength and bravery, but to learn from her story and do our part to create a future where one day, girls don’t have to be strong and brave to survive. They can simply be girls.

I truly believe that this future is within reach. But only if all of us come together to demand systemic change — not symbolic gestures.

That means supporting global efforts, like the work of Every Woman, which is working through diplomatic and grassroots efforts to end violence against women and girls. And the work of Global Girls Glow, which is connecting girls to critical lifelines of support in communities where they need it most.

Because girls like Neema don’t need applause. They need accountability. They need protection from gender-based violence. They need safe schools, economic pathways, and policies that safeguard their rights.

They need us to move beyond hashtags into real, collective action.

I hope you’ll join me this International Women’s Day in choosing progress over posturing, and in demanding meaningful investment and real accountability.

Because girls don’t need another moment. They need a movement. And they need us — now more than ever.

Kylie Schuyler is the Founder of Global Girls Glow, and serves as Board Chair of Every Woman, a global movement working to end violence against women and girls. At the center of this work is Kylie’s simple, lifelong belief: When girls and women are supported to rise, entire communities rise with them.