The Secretary General of the United Nations Organization (UN), António Guterres, warned on Monday that the advances made over decades in women’s rights are disappearing in today’s world and gender equality is “ever more distant” .
Before the United Nations Commission on the Legal and Social Condition of Women – an intergovernmental body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women -, Guterres defended that this event takes on even greater importance at this time, since the women’s rights are there to be “abused, threatened and violated”. worldwide”.
“In Afghanistan, women and girls have been erased from public life. In many places, women’s sexual and reproductive rights are being reversed. In some countries, girls who go to school are at risk of being kidnapped and assaulted. the police take advantage of the vulnerable women they are sworn to protect,” she reported.
According to the UN, gender equality is currently hundreds of years behind schedule, and some countries even oppose the inclusion of a gender perspective in multilateral negotiations.
“The patriarchy is fighting. But so do we. I am here to say it loud and clear: the United Nations stands with women and girls everywhere”, stressed the former Portuguese Prime Minister.
With an eye on conflicts erupting around the world, the UN leader noted that, from Ukraine to the Sahel, crises and conflicts hit women and girls first and hardest.
However, one of the axes of his intervention was the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime currently in power has deteriorated the rights of women, with restrictions such as segregation by sex in public places, the imposition of the veil or the obligation to be accompanied by a male relative on long trips, in addition to prohibiting girls from studying.
According to Guterres, the UN has pledged to deliver a clear message to the Afghan authorities that women and girls have fundamental human rights and that the organization “will never stop fighting for them.”
“Let’s be clear: global structures are not working for the world’s women. They need to change. My initiatives to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and reform the global financial system aim to increase resources for investment in women and girls at the national level “. , he said.
“Distinguished delegates, dear friends, (…) as technology advances, women and girls are left behind. The math is simple: without the knowledge and creativity of this half of the world, science and technology they will only achieve half of their potential,” he recalled.
In this sense, the UN Secretary General stressed that three billion people are still not connected to the Internet, mostly women and girls from developing countries. However, in less developed countries, only 19% of women are ‘online’.
Globally, women make up just one-third of science, technology, engineering and math students, and in the tech industry, men outnumber women by a ratio of two to one.
“Centuries of patriarchy, discrimination and harmful stereotypes have created a huge gender gap in Science and Technology. Women represent only 3% of Nobel laureates in scientific categories”, stressed António Guterres.
He concluded: “Gender inequality is a power issue. Today I call for urgent action to equalize power (…). Let’s fight misogyny and stand up for women, girls and our world.”
Source: TSF
