 |
|
Women
and girls participate in an event promoting an end to
gender-based
violence in Zam Zam camp for internally displaced
persons
in North Darfur, Sudan in December 2012.
Photo
by: Albert González Farran / U.N.
|
“Enough is enough.”
The message by U.N. Women Executive
Director Michelle Bachelet on International Women’s Day encapsulated a rallying
cry for this year among gender advocates: to end discrimination and violence
against women and girls.
“Today on International Women’s Day
and every day, let us go forward with courage, conviction and commitment, with
the message that women’s issues are global issues that deserve urgent
priority,” she added.
“There can be no peace, no progress as long as women live under the fear of
violence.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon agrees.
At the 5th Annual Women’s Empowerment
Principles Event in New York, he said: “We must not rest until we end violence
against women and ensure women’s full political and economic participation
worldwide.”
Ban praised the strides that the
private sector has made in tackling the challenges of addressing biases and
stereotypes, and integrating inclusion and diversity practices into the supply
chain.
“There is one universal truth,
applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: Violence against women
is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable,” he said.
Other prominent voices from the global
aid community chimed in.
In a statement for today, U.N. Development Program
Administrator Helen Clark said: “On this International Women’s Day, we imagine a
world free of violence against women and girls, a world in which
women and girls do not fear being attacked in their homes or communities, and
one where would-be perpetrators know they will be held accountable for their
crimes.”
Clark asked the world to celebrate
this day “not only by recognizing the devastating impact of violence against
women, but by renewing our collective efforts to stop it once and for all.”
Meanwhile, at the 57th session of the
Commission on the Status of Women, World Bank
Managing Director Caroline Anstey stressed the need for laws
that are responsive to women.
“We need effective court systems to
back up the laws. We need exit options for women who’re under threat —
quick and integrated support to victims — hotlines, shelters,
psychological care,” she said. “We also need health and education systems that
work for women and girls. But perhaps most importantly we need leadership,
information, education and role models to help establish new norms.”
In Brazil, World Bank President Jim
Yong Kim will today give away a prize for Best Short Documentary on
Implementation of the Law Against Domestic Violence.
“We know from our groundbreaking 2012
World Development Report on Gender that women’s opportunities and abilities to
make choices have profound implications not only for our generation, but for
the next generations, too,” he said.
“A host of studies show that when women are given economic opportunity, the
benefits extend beyond them, to their children, their communities and to
economies at large.”
Similar sentiments are mirrored from
all corners of the globe. Here are some that commemorate this noteworthy day:
United States
Secretary of State John Kerry, with
first lady Michelle Obama, will honor nine women of diverse background with the
Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, for having shown
extraordinary courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and
empowerment.
Africa
A team of female climbers has reached
the apex of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa’s tallest mountain, to
commemorate International Women’s Day. The team, composed of seven Nepalese and
three African women, was backed by the joint support of the United Nations,
Tanzanian government, WFP and Child Reach
International.
“We are on the top! Nothing is
impossible if we struggle to pursue our dreams,” said Nimdoma
Sherpa, a team member and a former recipient of school meals from WFP in Nepal.
In Tunisia, African Development Bank
President Donald Kaberuka said: ”International
Women’s Day is a day of celebration and a day of challenge, often
rolled into one. In realizing how far we have come towards ensuring genuine
equality of opportunity for women as for men, it becomes clear how far we still
have to go.”
Europe
Heads of international organizations
in Rome will convene today at the World Food Program
headquarters to devise ways of protecting and empowering women and girls
through food security. The event is piloted by WFP, the
Food and Agriculture Organization,
International Fund for Agricultural
Development and International
Development Law Organization, in cooperation with the government of
Iceland.
Asia-Pacific
AusAID has joined the
celebrations, as well.
“Violence against women is
unacceptable, anywhere, anytime,” it said. “It violates human rights,
devastates lives, fractures families and communities and undermines good
development.”
No comments:
Post a Comment