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# Posted 2:19 AM by Patrick Belton

YESTERDAY WAS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, so it is only appropriate today to commemorate several instances around the world in which our age is spectacularly yet to reach equal dignity for one half of humanity. In Iran yesterday, the Basij thuggery suppressed with batons a rally to mark the date. In Afghanistan, self-immolation, along with other forms of suicide, have in the face of harsh tribal tradition become endemic as a mode of escape from lives of enforced marriage followed by subsequent spousal battery. Even in the incontrovertibly liberal United States, the chief officer of the Air Force in the Pacific has just received a report that 92 accusations of rape involving Air Force personnel had been reported to the Pacific Command from 2001 to 2003. To his credit, General Begert has exercised sterling leadership to indicate that his service will not tolerate rape in the ranks, and has ordered changes in training, reporting practices, and the means of recourse available to assaulted female personnel; at the same time, we should note that his desire to counteract the problem was motivated by the horrible disclosure last year of more than 50 reported rapes or assaults over the past decade at his service's Academy.

The state of women in the world has not yet arrived at the level of dignity enjoyed by its men, and on International Women's Day we must all commit ourselves to ensuring that it one day does.

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