INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MESSAGE BY OCA ACTING PRESIDENT RAJA RANDHIR SINGH
Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 9, 2023: The Olympic Council of Asia joins the world in celebrating International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8.
As recent events have shown, gender equity is a prime focus of the Olympic Movement in general and the OCA in particular. This means justness and impartiality on and off the field of play.
Last October, the OCA’s Gender Equity Committee held the first OCA Gender Equity Seminar in Bahrain and produced a series of resolutions to light the path ahead.
Later this month, in Bangkok, Thailand, the OCA Athletes’ Committee will host the first Athletes’ Forum in four years on March 18-19.
In issuing the invitation to our 45 National Olympic Committees, the OCA stressed the need for gender balance in the selection of two delegates, meaning at least one female participant.
The response has been very encouraging, with the latest information showing that 44 NOCs will provide a total of 89 participants for the two-day seminar, with 46 male and 43 female delegates in attendance.
This is an excellent step forward, and the OCA is confident that the female participants will be able to take home a lot of information and initiatives and continue the gender equity mission in their own country or region.
The OCA always stresses that our athletes are at the heart of the Olympic Movement in Asia and this upcoming seminar will strengthen and empower the role of women in all fields of sport, from elite athletes to management and administration in order to create the best conditions possible for athletes to produce their best performance on the biggest stage.
We are confident we will see the results of our work at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China this September with a well-balanced sports programme and equal opportunities for female athletes in the race for medals.
We are also expecting to see strong female representation behind the scenes in terms of the composition of delegations, from team leaders through to administrative assistants to ensure smooth operations and daily management.
International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 annually, gives the world a chance to acknowledge, appreciate and champion the rights of women in sport and in society on this special day.
In celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, the OCA will keep this mission at the top of our agenda for 365 days a year.