Will the world ever achieve gender equality? Today, women around the world enjoy more rights than ever before. But many women are still fighting to make their voices heard.

Q: What exactly are women's rights?

A: Women's rights are human rights. Everyone around the world should be free to learn, work, earn an equal wage, own property, vote and live without the fear of discrimination or violence. Women should also be able to choose where they live and travel, when and if they marry and how many children they have. 

The UN states that "gender equality is not just a goal in itself, but a key to sustainable development, economic growth and peace and security". Studies show that when women's rights are respected, life is better for everyone. 

Q: How are women's rights being violated?

A: So far, 180 nations have signed the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), an international treaty setting out women's rights. But today, gender inequality and discrimination still affect women and girls around the world. One in three women experience violence. In 2018, the worldwide gender pay gapA pay gap is different from unequal pay. Unequal pay when women earn less than men for doing the same work. A pay gap can be caused by factors such as having fewer women in senior or high-paying roles. was 22%. 

In Saudi Arabia, a woman cannot marry without the permission of a male relative. In El Salvador, women face jail for having an abortion. And in the UK, 97% of women aged 18 to 24 say they have been sexually harassed. 

Q: When did the women's rights movement begin?

A: Some of the earliest voices heard in the fight for gender equality were those of the suffragettesWomen's suffrage is the right for women to vote in local and national elections. The suffragettes fought for this right. , who campaigned tirelessly for women's right to vote. 

In 1893, activists handed a "monster" petition, with 25,000 signatures over 270 metres, to New Zealand's parliament. It became the first country to give women the right to vote on a national level. The UK followed suit in 1918, and the US in 1920. But one Swiss state did not allow women to vote in local elections until 1991. 

Q: And where is the movement now?

A: In 2012, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan for writing a blog about school. Today, Malala is 24 and a global campaigner for girls' education. 

Meanwhile, in 2017, the #MeToo movement encouraged thousands of women to share their stories of sexual harassment.

It sparked many versions across the world, including #YoTambien in Spain and #BalanceTonPorc in France. 

Q: What is International Day of the Girl Child?

A: International Day of the Girl Child is marked on 11 October each year.

The initiative was launched by the UN in 2012 to raise awareness of issues young women and girls face in developing countries, from child marriage to gender-based violence. 

These inequalities have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the theme is "Digital generation. Our generation". 

Q: Is there any reason for optimism?

A: Of course! There is still a long way to go, but steps towards an equal world for men and women are happening every day.

Last year, Kuwait issued a new domestic violence law, New Zealand passed a bill to tackle the causes of the gender pay gap and the US elected its first female vice-president.

And just last month, women won nearly half of the seats in Iceland's parliament.