Of those, 30 seats were reserved for women under the age of The State had subsequently launched a process to develop legislation regulating domestic workers and banning work by girls under the age of Successive Governments had taken concrete steps to eliminate discrimination against women from public and private sectors.
Eminent women proudly represent Pakistan in various fields. A large number of women were member of the national and provincial legislatures. With only four years left until , sustained international cooperation and global partnerships were of vital importance.
The international community must honour its commitment to ODA. It must commit to debt relief and the opening of markets to give opportunities, particularly to women entrepreneurs. The women who were forced to suffer the consequences of armed conflict and situations of foreign occupation should also not be forgotten. RATNA DE India , welcoming the establishment of UN-Women, said that her country had emphasized putting women on equal footing with men in all areas, not only by adopting appropriate legislative and policy frameworks, but also by raising social awareness of gender issues to fight deep-rooted social prejudices and stereotypes.
The Parliament was now considering a bill that would reserve 33 per cent of seats in that body and State legislatures for women, while the positions of President, Speaker of the lower house and other high national positions were already filled by women. She said that the importance of women as agents of sustained socio-economic growth, in addition, was recognized in national planning as a cross-cutting theme. In addition, providing access to education for women through innovative incentive schemes was an ongoing effort, while universal access to health care for rural women was the goal of several initiatives, such as one that trained health volunteers to link villages with health centres.
Legislation targeting domestic violence, indecent display of women, and trafficking in women and girls had been strengthened, with the latter problem addressed in a multi-dimensional, victim-centric way. The policies and programmes addressed gender inequalities and redressed issues of economic and social injustice brought about by discriminatory cultural practices and historical imbalances. The National Gender Plan of Action and its Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit outlined indicators and targets that helped monitor policy implementation.
Namibia had also launched small-and medium-sized enterprise programmes that helped train and mentor women, to improve their living standards. And, out of serious concern for escalating cases of gender-based violence, which undermined the dignity of women and affected their ability to contribute to development, Namibia had established women and child protection units around the country. One of the remarkable achievements in Namibia is the high female school-enrolment rate, he said.
Statistics showed more females than males were completing school. Despite commendable progress, gender disparities persisted in all sectors. To address it, its Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, with support from UNDP, had embarked on a gender-responsive budgeting exercise in the agriculture, water and forestry, education, health and social services sectors. Yet, history showed that women could play a broader role in promoting peace and security, maintaining economic recovery efforts and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.
Women entrepreneurs were also being provided training, workshops and other economic resources. He further stressed that the massive labour migration under way today must be addressed. As a country of origin, Indonesia had taken institutional, administrative and legal steps to protect and empower its migrant workers, including women migrant workers. Yet, countries of destination must continue to calibrate their commitment to implementing international rights instruments to protect migrant workers.
At the same time, development policies must deliver opportunities for women to participate in democratic governance. Having had a woman president and with Finally, the Indonesian Government urged UN-Women to carry on mainstreaming the gender perspectives in all social, economic and environmental fora. As well, national legislation promoting gender parity and eliminating gender discrimination had been enacted, including the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act Turning to the issue of women living in rural areas, through campaigns aimed at raising awareness about economic and social well-being, her Government had, in partnership with civil society organizations, provided technical and financial assistance towards rural women who were organizing themselves in agricultural projects and working as rural health-care providers.
In that regard, her Government continued to implement international, regional, sub regional and national instruments that addressed the epidemic. In his country, gender equality was an important area of State policy, with guarantees of equal opportunity in public service, the social and economic sphere and matters involved with elections.
There was a programme specifically targeted at the education of girls, for the purpose of increasing the representation of women leaders in Government agencies. A draft law countering domestic violence was currently under consideration; the marriage age had been raised from 17 to 18 years of age; and participation of women in all areas of education, training, science and technology was a priority. Of course, there were still many problems to address, he said. Solutions were being sought to the problems of disproportionate female poverty, the high rates of maternal and infant mortality, the increased rate of divorce, continued early marriages, as well as the serious problems of migrant women.
Resources, awareness campaigns and practical measures for the further advancement of women were also needed. In order to overcome the remaining economic, political, cultural and other barriers to gender equality, the support of the international community was needed, first and foremost in the area of education.
He reiterated the commitment of his country to the full implementation of international standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Women were significant change agents in societies, especially those emerging from conflict. They had demonstrated greater resolve for reconciliation and national cohesion during peacebuilding processes, but their needs continued to be overlooked in peace agreements, at donor conferences and in post-conflict legal reform — a situation that needed to be rectified.
Women also needed an active role in discussions on climate change, as they were the most affected, she said. Further, they were the care-givers, who ensured the daily welfare of children, grandchildren and the aged and, to assist them, the United Nations system ought to enhance programmes for the advancement of rural women, women living with disabilities and indigenous women.
Since , the South African Government had endeavoured to build an inclusive and socially cohesive, democratic society.
Yet, women still faced major challenges of underdevelopment and were subjected to various forms of discrimination and abuse, and her Government continued with legislative reforms and programmes to address their needs. A massive scaling up of policies aiming at positive change was needed. Highlighting the particular vulnerabilities of women migrant workers, he called for greater protections, underlining how much they contributed to the development of their countries of origin and destination.
Zimbabwe was also working to enhance the situation of women with disabilities and had put various frameworks in place toward that goal. It was cooperating with all countries and other stakeholders in combating trafficking in women and girls, which was a contemporary form of slavery. Other initiatives sought to curb violence against women and reduce maternal and child mortality, which remained high. Zimbabwe urged UN-Women to prioritize strengthening its capacities in the collection, analysis and use of data disaggregated by sex, age and geography.
War and terrorism had decimated the population, creating many orphans and widows, and adding to the burden that women had to shoulder. Among the different obstacles it faced were traditional social customs and traditions. Yet, Iraqi women had shown courage and the capacity to face all challenges, assume leadership roles and participate in the development of the Government and social life, including by helping steer the country in the direction of democracy and freedom.
Iraqi women enjoyed the right to run as a political candidate and to participate in non-governmental organizations. Women were present at the every level of Government and competed freely with men, who had completely prevailed in the public and private sectors before Among other things, that allowed them to make big strides in securing parliamentary and political positions.
Indeed, women had attained positions of power at all levels of the Government. The Government submitted its initial report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in In , women garnered 30 per cent of the seats in the national legislature. Bolivia had worked consistently to integrate the gender perspective into its development plans, particularly in terms of political involvement. It also sought to undo old patterns of discrimination, guaranteeing titles of land to women, while encouraging the removal of the patriarchy from education and human rights learning.
While more and more girls and women in Bolivia were going to schools and universities, laws also ensured safe child-bearing along with a monitored payment allowance, he said. Work at home needed to be recognized and shown to be important to society, shared between men and women. As long as gender differences persisted, the human race would not be able to move away from underdevelopment.
The Bolivian Government would continue to work towards all its international commitments for gender equality. Underscoring the dire situation facing women in rural areas, he said that, in many developing countries, women were being left to carry the full burden of agricultural production, but had no legal protections, or rights to property ownership.
Persistent gender disparities in access to, and control over, resources — including technology, agricultural extension services, and credit — excluded women from high-value markets. Similarly, women in rural areas had limited access to basic health services, as well as prenatal care. Thus, there was an urgent need to redouble efforts to improve the situation of rural women by expanding their access to local service, employment opportunities, land rights and technologies.
For that, international cooperation and financial support would be vital. He further stressed that women migrant workers were more vulnerable to the problems facing women — including violence and economic abuse and exploitation — due to their irregular immigration status and limited access to justice.
Efforts at national, regional and international levels must be intensified to formulate and implement laws, policies and strategies aimed at improving the situation of women migrant workers. Special encouragement was being given to women to engage in micro- and small-scale enterprises. Other initiatives sought to reduce maternal mortality and improve access to health services. State rules stipulating that women must comprise 30 per cent of the candidates for political office had resulted in women holding 22 per cent of the seats in Parliament and 15 per cent of the seats in the Senate.
Over , women were also participating in political parties, while assistance was being provided to women entrepreneurs. Lack of equality between men and women was not only one of the greatest challenges of the time, it was also the key to prosperity and development.
The World Bank Development Report said gender equality brought more representative decision-making, leading to improved outcomes for the next generations. Gender equality could not be a side-activity or extra programme — it had to be mainstreamed into all development processes, she said. UN-Women would play an important role, and Norway wanted to be its constructive partner. Gender equality was also key to sustainable development, and Norway would like to see the issue integrated into the Conference of Parties in Durban this year and the Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio next year.
Despite growing recognition that rural women were critical agents in poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability, hardly any development funds were linked directly to gender. The World Bank report showed that, in the past ten years, only 0. However, the World Bank would be mainstreaming gender equality into all its activities from now on, she noted.
Women had a vital role in the advancement of peace and security, development and human rights, he said. Expressing appreciation for the inclusion of gender issues in preparations for high-level intergovernmental processes and meetings, he urged that thematic discussions be held to consider the needs of specific groups of women.
He also called for the active involvement of UN-Women in forthcoming United Nations events, in order to enrich the gender component of their outcomes. He also underlined the need for gender analysis and the provision of gender- and age-aggregated data to be further developed. He said that, at the national level, Kazakhstan was strongly committed to the further advancement of women and gender equality, particularly through implementing its National Law on State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities and its Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence.
For rural women that rate had dropped to 5. Currently, wages were rising and the State was working to provide allowances for women who lost or gave up their jobs due to pregnancy or childbirth.
In other areas, the role of women in decision-making was steadily increasing and over 58 per cent of the civil service positions were now held by women.
Even more women were represented in the business world. Meanwhile, a multi-pronged strategy had been adopted to educate women about their legal rights and to provide greater access to exercising those rights. Finally, victims of abuse now had access to immediate assistance in 21 shelter centres throughout the country, he said.
The Strategic Plan was the correct approach, since it included medium- and long-term objectives, but there was still much work to be done throughout the world to guarantee the involvement of women in the development of their communities, through allowing them to participate in decision-making processes, facilitating their education and ensuring their safety.
It had also created a national data bank of figures and information on violent incidents, she said. As part of the Charter of the United Nations, Members had the responsibility to work towards the enhancement of the quality and life conditions for human beings — women could not be the exception. Women were the main beneficiaries of cash transfer programmes and housing credit in the country, lifting around 28 million people out of extreme poverty and 36 million more into the middle class.
This year would always be remembered in Brazil as a landmark for gender equality and the empowerment of women, with a woman taking office as president for the first time. Nevertheless, she said, women were still largely underrepresented in decision-making positions in all areas, as only 10 per cent of lawmakers were women. For women to increasingly participate in the destinies of their countries, they had to fully enjoy their social and economic rights, she said. Governments should make the rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other international instruments a priority objective in their economic and social development efforts.
In peace and security, Security Council resolution called for women to have equal participation in peacebuilding and security policy. For that to happen, women must have access to the necessary resources to be players in their own right.
As for access to education and key assets, such as land ownership, women must enjoy the same terms as men. Also, human security not only implied the freedom from violence, but also the full respect for human rights and, therefore, the rights of women. Another issue was female genital mutilation, she said, the practice of which was symptomatic of gender inequality. It left the victims with lasting physical and emotional scars. A amendment to a Swiss criminal law explicitly outlawed the practice, which was a major step in the right direction.
Prevention and awareness, however, were key to put an end to that practice. In her country, work had begun on a national mediation service aimed at preventing the genital mutilation of girls.
States must work together with relevant government and non-governmental organizations to bring about the social change needed to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation. It welcomed the establishment of UN-Women, which should work closely with the Commission and strictly comply with the principles of universal geographical representation.
The Russian Federation was committed to holding a constructive dialogue including all regional State groupings. In the Russian Federation, women dominated in areas such as health and social services, and accounted for about 40 per cent of the managers of private firms, as well as the majority of the heads of small businesses. Creating reliable conditions for women to start up their own business was one critical way to ensure they had access to decent work.
He further noted that a woman recently rose to the third highest post in the Russian government, as President of the upper chamber of parliament. Efforts were also being made to better combine work and private life, including through increases in subsidies for childrearing.
Among other things, it believed involving men was critical in all efforts to promoting gender equality. The new administration of her country emphasized its commitment to enact all conventions on the human rights of women, and avoiding any discrimination against them. Her Government also condemned all crimes of rape committed by pro-Qadhafi troops during the conflict there.
The new administration would try to enact laws on the rights of women that would guarantee access to education, health, social security, pensions and economic activities. They stood side by side with men in institutions throughout the country, helping establish numerous humanitarian activities that sought to reduce harm from the battle. Libyan women also extended refugee assistance to internally displaced persons, she said.
Undoubtedly, UN-Women had plenty of work ahead, and Libya hoped to see many accomplishments in education and training for the achievement of equal rights. As a member of the Executive Council for UN-Women, Libya would not be remiss in its financial obligations, once the reconstruction of its Government was complete.
It also aimed to save , pregnant women through a programme that ensured continuous care from pregnancy to after-childbirth. He went on to say that implementation of Security Council resolution was among the most pressing issues, expressing hope that the indicators set by the Secretary-General would be used globally and at the country level.
Japan also had strengthened its monitoring system for implementing that plan and was committed to achieving a gender equal society. Developing countries faced ongoing problems in implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, from the combination of the current global economic financial, food and energy crises.
Unequal terms of trade, reduced official development assistance, increased foreign debt and the negative impact of climate change further decreased the ability to implement those strategies. Thus, to eliminate gender inequality, the imbalanced trade and resource exploitation, as well as irrational expenditures on weapons and wars, must be ended. The elimination of all unilateral coercive actions must also be ended, including the economic and financial blockade by the United States against Cuba, which was a genocidal act and the main form of violence suffered by Cuban women and girls.
Among other things, Cuban women enjoyed a life expectancy of 80 years and represented 67 per cent of university graduates. They also accounted for In addition, Concluding, she voiced support for the work of UN-Women and stressed that the realization of the right to development was essential for the advancement and empowerment of women in the countries of the South.
Women, she said, had always enjoyed full rights and equality in Israel. It was the third country in the world to have a female prime minister and currently had a woman presiding over the Supreme Court, leading the main opposition party, and a woman had recently been elected to lead the Labour Party. All bills in Parliament were analyzed for gender implications before passage. Israel was deeply committed to full implementation of Security Council resolution and welcomed the inclusion of provisions in peacekeeping mandates protecting women and girls from sexual violence.
Still, she was concerned by the slow progress on the issue of sexual violence in conflict situations, particularly by the involvement of peacekeepers in Haiti in sexual misconduct. Further, she recognized the link between empowering women and advancing development, particularly in the areas of agriculture and education. Israel had launched several projects in West Africa for small holder women farmers and was committed to sharing its advanced agricultural technology around the world.
The current Administration only counted 3 female ministers; 10 per cent of all professors were female and only 8. Public-private partnerships were needed to create sustainable solutions for women, such as diversity procurement, equal pay, equal mobility, child care and equal opportunities for training and education.
Skip to main content. Welcome to the United Nations. United Nations. Evidence has shown that by empowering women, you can increase their use of health and other services; improve their lives, the well-being of their children and the economic stability of their communities; and make governments more accountable to their needs. But whose responsibility is it to empower women? This target recognizes that education for girls is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty, but is education alone enough?
Must we go beyond this to encompass access to productive assets and employment opportunities, political participation, access to health and prevention from violence? Gender equality can only be achieved when women have the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes which affect themselves, their families, their communities, and ultimately their countries. With two recent and hilarious appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show where Iyanla rekindled her relationship with Winfrey, she is well on her way to re-solidifying her presence in American literature and media.
In addition, he has had 2 platinum albums, 2 gold albums and 7 hit singles. Gospel sensation Marvin Sapp will also be performing again this year.
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