Weeks before International Women’s Day, events around the world were already being canceled or postponed.

“The Women’s March Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee has decided to ‘postpone’ the Women’s March, initially planned to take place on March 8th, after carefully considering the impact of the current spread of the coronavirus,” the committee posted to Instagram on February 25.

Earlier this week, UN Women issued an advisory to ‘reconsider the format’ of the Commission on the Status of Women, which was scheduled to take place in New York. The announcement effectively canceled the conference and Taiwanese women’s shelter Garden of Hope decried the decision, calling on organizers to postpone rather than exclude important voices. “The participation of NGOs is essential to CSW,” the organization tweeted on Thursday.

Luckily for us, Taiwan is a global leader in epidemic treatment and prevention. When we went to see the space for this year’s event, graciously provided by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, face masks were required to enter the building and we had to fill out a travel declaration form as well as have temperatures checked, sanitize our hands using their touch free alcohol spritz—standard fare these days—and pass through a metal detector.

In lieu of a march or large scale event—which we opted against this year due to the spread of the coronavirus—Women’s March Taiwan partnered with MOWES, a local women’s community center, to put in a cozier celebration centering tolerance and highlighting women’s achievements.

We also coordinated an online campaign. Inspired by the IWD2020 theme as well as the mission of Women’s March Taiwan, we created the “WoMen4Equality” #我們都一樣 online campaign; participants strike the “equal” pose from March 1 to March 14.

我們都一樣 means we may be different but we’re the same, which also alluded to a song by Jolin Tsai’s song 不一樣又怎樣, which features a beautiful story about a lesbian couple.

We stylize WoMen with a capital M because “wo men” in Mandarin means “us”, emphasizing the inclusivity of gender and gender diverse identities. We believe that regardless of identity or background, “we can collectively make change happen and support gender equality.”

Breaking stereotypes and creating an open, diverse and inclusive environment for all are the goals of Women’s March Taiwan.

‘Collectively we can all play a part’: 2020 Women’s Day Celebration in Taipei

Since 2017, the Women’s March Taiwan team has celebrated International Women’s Day with a Women’s March and a series of activities including dance, song, and artistic performances. One of our goals is to make feminism more accessible and attractive to young people. Many young people feel that feminism is scary or not a part of their life, in part because Taiwan’s feminist movement started alongside its democratization, a bloody path littered with casualties. Prominent early feminists including Annette Lu 呂秀蓮, who later became vice president, and Chen Chu 陳菊, later mayor of Kaohsiung, served extensive jail time for their ideology.

However, these days we can effect change without bloody protests, and different methods of protest and raising awareness such as holding talks or artistic performance are much more accessible and appealing to the average person.

This year, we have decided not to host a women’s march or large gathering, due to the coronavirus.

However, we will participate in the International Women’s Day celebration organized by MOWES, who felt a responsibility to celebrate Women’s Day as there seemed to be no public events happening in Taiwan this year.

Combating Complacency: ‘We Have Already Achieved Gender Equality’

One of the biggest struggles we face in Taiwan is that many people think we have already achieved gender equality, quips Angela Ou, a fourth year college student and founder of Fujen Feminist Week. “They think we have a female president and politicians, therefore feminism isn’t needed.”

A recent report in Nikkei Asian Review highlighted the paradox of having relatively high numbers of women in political office while preserving a patriarchal culture.

Lai Pin-yu 賴品妤, a prolific cosplayer and the youngest legislator ever elected to office in Taiwan history, cited the multiple times her appearance was criticized by her opponent during her campaign. President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 is not immune either, having been accused by opponents of being inept due to her single status and childlessness.

Kolas Yotaka, the first indigenous woman to serve as government spokesperson, also pointed out that despite participation in government few women hold positions in higher management positions, and the few that do tend to be single. She cites Taiwan’s traditional values for this phenomenon, since women are expected to prioritize family and child rearing. Additionally, abysmal parental leave policies make the process of having and rearing a child extremely difficult for career minded women.

Prominent political predecessors such as Annette Lu and Chen Chu have paved the way for later generations to continue pushing for a more inclusive and progressive society.

As a sister march within the Women’s March Global network, Women’s March Taiwan is committed to “mobilize and assemble the most impactful actions to further women’s rights everywhere.”

In Taiwan we are changing the perception of what it means to be a Taiwanese feminist and providing space and a platform for young feminists to have their voices heard.

In 2019 we were invited to have a booth at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Taipei, which hosted strong female speakers including Hong Kong singer and democracy advocate Denise Ho and North Korean defector Yeonmi Park.

We also organized and presided over a youth caucus at the invitation of Garden of Hope at the 4th World Conference of Women’s Shelters, where we connected with amazing young feminists from around the world.

We hope that through these activities, as well as our celebration on Sunday, we can gather and uplift feminists in Taiwan so that we can continue working for a more equitable and accepting society for all of us.

(Cover photo courtesy of Women’s March Taiwan)