Behind the Scenes of March 8

March 8 is marked every year to celebrate the achievements of women. Mongolia is one of few countries that has declared the day a public holiday.

On this day, countries also look at their progress on raising women's social status, and ensuring equality between men and women. It is a great opportunity to praise the brave women who have made strong progress in this endeavor and recognize the ordinary women who have achieved extraordinary feats.

Today, we are taking pride in our female soldiers who are serving in Sudan as United Nations peacekeepers.As Mongolia's population increases, our economic growth is far from being sustainable, and the unemployment rate is not going down.

We are seeing a rise in domestic violence and crimes while people are increasingly going abroad in search of jobs. The majority of victims of domestic violence are women and children, who sometimes end up losing their life.

Although laws against domestic violence are getting tougher and we are seeing more government and non-government organizations working for the cause, the results are still not sufficient.Therefore, on International Women's Day, we as a society should have discussions around domestic violence.

In order to have a meaningful dialogue, we need to focus not on how the day is celebrated, but on what it means and what is happening behind the scenes.DOMESTIC VIOLENCEAccording to the General Police Department, 2010 saw 248 cases of domestic violence, where nine people died and 225 people were injured.

These numbers have increased over the years, and there were 1,449 domestic violence cases in 2016, where 18 people died and 1,217 sustained injuries. This means that the number of people who have died and been injured as a result of domestic violence has increased five-fold within only six years.

A total of 104 people lost their lives due to domestic violence in the last seven years. This number does not include suicides, and it is generally impossible to determine the exact number of domestic violence victims.

During her Defacto Interview in October 2016, Head of the National Center Against Violence DEnkhjargal said that 80 percent of the 104 people who died as a result of domestic violence were attempting to secure protection from law enforcement agencies until the day they died. This is an alarming signal, and it makes one wonder how many Mongolian mothers, sisters, and children are seeking protection on this day of celebration.

Domestic violence is regarded...