Throughout history women have paid the price of wars waged by power-hungry men.
The Ukraine conflict is Vladimir Putin pounding his chest to show the world he is a tough guy when in reality he is a murderous war criminal.
Meanwhile the lives of women and children are being lost while he pursues an ideology of Russian exceptionalism.
It will be mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters who will have to pick up the pieces of shattered lives.
Today on International Women’s Day (IWD) in Ukraine, mothers are clinging to their children, carrying them to borders, sheltering them from bombs in Metro stations. Some women have been forced to bear arms to protect their loved ones and fight for their country.
The Daily Record today publishes stories of women including politicians to a pageant queen who feel they have no choice.
Nataliya Ableyeva risked her life to bring a stranger’s children to their mother at the Hungarian border.
So many women have already paid the ultimate price, those like Doctor Marina Kalabina, killed as she rushed her wounded nephew to hospital.
Paramedic Valentyna Pushych was shot evacuating civilians.
Across the globe on IWD is being celebrated with the rallying cry to end gender discrimination. But there is no gender equality in armed conflict and it is powerful men who decide when are waged and ended.
Today on IWD, whether women in Ukraine are running the gauntlet to take their children to safety or embroiled in battle on the frontline, they should know they we stand with them in our hearts.
Poor being failed
It's vital cash is spent to tackle the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse.
They offer power to people to transform their lives through learning.
But there must be an assurance the cash is targeted to the right areas.
Audit Scotland’s report shows the country’s poorest areas are being failed by policies aimed at solving the problem.
It said there needs to be a clear plan to tackle the substance abuse which has wrecked lives and communities and that there needs to be more transparency around spending.
It is all very well for the Scottish Government to say money is being thrown at the issue but there remains doubt about the success rate.
A lack of evidence showing which communities are getting the money and how it is being spent fuels the uncertainty.
The country’s poorest areas must receive the lion’s share of the available funding to strike at the heart of the problem.
Scotland is already Europe’s worst country for drugs deaths and alcohol-related deaths have spiked once more.
It is time for action so we can ditch these unenviable records.
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