Women will once more be celebrated tomorrow. Politicians of all sides will be making long speeches on their strong desire to see more women in the forefront of both the public and private sectors. Members of the women?s wings of parties will all be there to say that there should be more of their peers next to them. Their intentions will all be extremely good? But what next?

Each international day of the calendar has its ?raison d?être?. The aim in choosing a specific date for a specific event is to make people aware of the object of this special day? and, in most cases, make things change for the better.

To be more concrete, 1st December is the day when the global community agrees to say ?no? to the spread of HIV/Aids. On that day, the authorities re-establish their commitment to take all steps to stop the propagation of the virus. Billboards are put up to remind people of the precautions they should take to avoid being infected; conferences are organised to reflect upon methods that will prevent the virus from spreading. But with some luck ? and although it is not always the case ? these discussions lead to concrete actions, the billboards may prevent a dozen people from having unprotected sex or another dozen from sharing their needles.

What about International Women?s day? Has it ever led to an important decision regarding women?s role in society or their importance in decision-making areas? Speeches appear so empty and devoid of real intentions to make things move in the right direction that we have come to wonder if it?s worth the effort of celebrating women every 8th March?

Today, in countries like Mauritius, women no longer have to fight for fundamental rights like the right to vote. This has been established. Today, a woman?s fight is more complex. Far from any exacerbated feminism, she has to accept that she likes seeing men holding the door for her when she enters a room while making it clear that, as a woman, she is perfectly capable of leading a team or managing a business.

This is where the paradox lies. But, instead of seeing this attitude as purely feminine ? with the negative connotation it implies ? aimed at making life even more complicated, this paradox should be seen as a positive trait of character that could be useful in a company or at a political level.

Far from all the clichés that a comparison between men and women would bring, it must be recognised that they are different. As such, women can bring something different to a world that has always been reserved for men. With 12 women in Parliament, we have achieved the best results in terms of women?s representation in the last general elections but we?re still very far from parity. It would be useless and archaic to list all the qualities of women which could have a positive impact on the world. What deserves to be highlighted is that women can bring something ?different?. And originality can only serve the country?s interests at all levels?

To make sure this 8th March is not one more date added to the several ?international women?s days?, the government could, for instance, seize the opportunity to renew its commitment to electoral reform and impose a deadline. This would be the logical follow-up of the workshop organised by the Institute of Social Development and Peace a month ago. By doing so, it would be killing two birds with one stone: ensuring a fairer electoral system, and a better representation of women? And definitely put an end to the hypocrisy around International Women?s Day?