International Women’s Day 2026
By Ejiro Joyce Otive-Igbuzor
My dear sisters,
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we pause to recognise a truth that history repeatedly confirms: women have always been givers.
Long before this year’s theme calls us to “Give to Gain,” women were already living that principle.
Women give to families.
Women give to communities.
Women give to nations.
Women give to the world.
Women are the foundation of homes. They nurture children, hold families together during crises, and create emotional stability where life might otherwise collapse. Many families survive not because life is easy, but because a woman refused to give up.
Across communities, it is often women who organise, mobilise, and sustain collective action. Women form support networks, raise funds for those in need, care for the sick, mentor the young, and keep hope alive in difficult seasons.
Women contribute to nations as teachers, farmers, traders, health workers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Many economies run on the invisible labour of women—labour that is rarely celebrated but absolutely indispensable.
And globally, women continue to shape knowledge, innovation, peacebuilding, and development.
Why does this happen? Because women are often wired and trained to give sacrificially. From childhood, many girls are taught to care, to nurture, to help, and to support others. Strength, compassion, and resilience are woven into the very fabric of womanhood.
But today, as we celebrate the power of giving, we must also confront an important truth.
One thing must stop.
Women must stop leaving themselves out of the agenda.
Too many women give to everyone else while neglecting their own dreams, health, growth, and wellbeing. They invest in children, husbands, families, communities, and organisations—but forget to invest in themselves.
My sisters, you cannot pour from an empty cup.
If women are to continue building families, communities, and nations, then women must also prioritise their own growth, knowledge, health, and financial independence.
Giving should not mean disappearing.
Serving should not mean shrinking.
Sacrifice should not mean self-erasure.
The new generation of women must learn a powerful balance:
Give generously—but grow intentionally.
Support others—but develop yourself.
Lift people up—but do not abandon your own purpose.
But there is another important truth we must recognise today.
For generations, women have carried enormous responsibility for holding families and communities together. Yet giving must not flow in only one direction.
Those who benefit from the strength and sacrifice of women must also learn to give back to women.
Families must give back.
Husbands must give back.
Children must give back.
Communities must give back.
Institutions must give back.
Give women support.
Give women opportunities.
Give women respect.
Give women space to grow, rest, and lead.
Encourage the woman who is always encouraging others.
Support the woman who is always holding everyone together.
Invest in the woman who invests in everyone else.
Because when society begins to pour back into women, something powerful happens.
The woman who is supported becomes stronger.
The woman who is strengthened lifts even more people.
And the woman who is fulfilled becomes a force for transformation in families, communities, and nations.
So as we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us honour the generations of women who have given so much.
But let us also make a new commitment.
This season, we will continue to give—but we will not forget ourselves.
We will nurture others and nurture our dreams.
We will support families and build our futures.
We will serve communities and develop our potential.
And we will also remind the world that women deserve support, investment, and opportunity in return for all they give.
Because when women grow, everything around them grows.
Happy International Women’s Day, amazing women of the Gals Hangout and women of the world.
The world is better because women give.
And this season, women will also rise.
Happy IWD, 2026
Dr Ejiro Joyce Otive-Igbuzor, a Gender and Development Expert is MD/CEO, Emerald International Development Services Limited.
She Writes from Abuja.
