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What UN agencies are saying on Women's Day
Pulse.com.gh brings you a compilation of messages received from various UN agencies
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
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The campaign theme is #PledgeForParity which includes calls for women to be better represented in leadership roles across the world.
Below are excerpts of some messages from the UN Agencies:
1. "I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls – but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women's empowerment leads to society's advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future," UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
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2. "The most atrocious manifestation of gender inequality is violence against women and girls, with migrant women and girls often being particularly vulnerable. Such violence, such as domestic violence and forced marriage, can sometimes be a driver of migration for women and girls...so many of the challenges to development affect and are affected by the experiences and concerns of migrant women and girls. We will only be able to eliminate violence and discrimination, increase economic and educational opportunities, and achieve overall equality, including gender equality, by fully including migrant women and girls in the development equation," William Lacy Swing, Director-General, International Organisation for Migration.
3. "We have seen progress across the world - but steep obstacles remain before genuine equality for all girls and women. The new global agenda will succeed only if every country advances the rights, ingenuity and innovation of every one of its citizens, starting with girls and women," Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO
4. "The UNAIDS Fast-Track approach to ending the AIDS epidemic has a set of time-bound targets, including reducing the number of people newly infected with HIV..., reducing the number of people dying from AIDS-related illnesses...and eliminating HIV-related discrimination. These targets will not be reached without ...ensuring that women's human rights are respected so they are freeto take informed decisions about their health and well-being," Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS
5. "Genuine equality in the world of work remains an elusive goal and large gaps between women and men remain at all levels of the economy: labour market participation, pay and quality of work, work-family balance, domestic and caring responsibilities, voice and social protection. In decision-making and managerial positions, the glass ceiling remains firmly intact. The new Sustainable Development Agenda goes a long way towards turning these challenges into clear goals; our responsibility now is to turn these goals into reality." Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO
6. "Nearly 14 million children are forced into marriage every year... Every day, 7.3 million babies in developing countries are born to mothers who are 17 or younger. One in three women is subject to gender-based violence, and 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation... [UNFPA] will continue pushing the health and rights agenda through 2030, when the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved, and beyond, until all women and girls everywhere are on an equal footing with men and have the power and the means to exercise their basic human rights," Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA
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7. "To arrive at the future we want, we cannot leave anyone behind. We have to start with those who are the least regarded. These are largely women and girls, although in poor and troubled areas, they can also include boys and men. On International Women’s Day, we reiterate the greater participation of women as one of the necessary conditions for an inclusive Agenda 2030. Their leadership is insufficiently recognized but must emerge with greater participation in decision-making bodies. Each one of us is needed—in our countries, communities, organizations, governments and in the United Nations— to ensure decisive, visible and measurable actions are taken under the banner: Planet 50-50: Step It Up for Gender Equality," Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
8 "...even in countries where we have seen some progress in gender equality, the gains made have not been sustainable and could be reversed at any time. This holds true whether it is politics, the economy, or the financing of gender-based social programmes. In the majority of cases, women are assigned inferior portfolios mainly in the social fields, denying them the opportunity to participate in the high level decision-making process." Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa, WHO
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