MAYA REID

The global theme for this year's International Women's Day is,"Equal rights, equal opportuni-ties: Progress for alL" Much progress has been made sInce the holiday was established at the start of the 20th century, when women found themselves routinely subjected to exploitative working condi-tions and circumscribed rights. A hundred years later, the zeitgeist has changed somewhat. Although many women-too many-still contend with prejudice and oppression, an ever-growing stratum of powerful women gives both voice to the un-heard as well as hope for the future.