Calls mount for the elimination of gender inequality

International Women’s Day

…as UN works to eradicate gender-based violence by 2030

International Women’s Day is celebrated today across different nations, as calls heighten for gender equality to be promoted in society, while recognising the valuable contributions from feminine figures.

This year, the theme reads: “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights”. In highlighting this important day, the United Nations has annually emphasised on the importance of this day.
In their message, UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem looked upon female icons in the world, who “blazed the trail towards gender equality”. Now, the attention is placed on women who are aiding in the creation of a better tomorrow for everyone.
“Glimmers of progress – to end violence, to call out bias and discrimination, to ensure bodily autonomy and integrity, to secure equality – remind us that the path to a gender-equal future need not be long. Women are demanding that we prioritise their rights and choices and pick up the pace. It is urgent that we do so,” Kanem recognised.

She relayed that in today’s society, a large percentage of women are subjected to violence. Along with these alarming numbers, modern family planning is inaccessible to millions worldwide.
“These numbers are shocking, yet they only scratch the surface of our unequal world. Every year, nearly 300,000 women and girls die while giving life; the vast majority of these maternal deaths could be prevented. Hundreds of millions of women and girls want to avoid pregnancy, yet are not using reliable, modern methods of family planning.”
While some women are championing the world in their fields, others are being faced with poverty, denial of information and lack of access which hinders them from exercising their fundamental rights or make choices.
“We have the power to change this. By refusing to tolerate the normalisation of violence and discrimination against women and girls, we can end it. UNFPA is working with our partners, including young activists and change-makers, to dismantle the barriers standing between women and girls and their rights and choices.”
For this, they have established goals to be achieved by the year 2030, including “zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender-based violence”.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka recognized that it is also about mobilising to realise women’s rights – specifically in celebration of 25 years since the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
“We’re enabling women to influence the decisions about their future. Generation equality tackles issues of women across generations, from early to late years, with young women and girls at the centre. We don’t have an equal world at the moment and women are angry and concerned about the future. They are radically impatient for change. It’s an impatience that runs deep, and it has been brewing for years,” she shared.
Through continuous efforts, there has been a 38 per cent drop in maternal deaths since 2000. Presently, more than three-quarters of countries worldwide have laws instituted against violence. With access to education significantly improving, one in 10 young women is still unable to read or write.
Nevertheless, Mlambo-Ngcuka pointed towards economic inequality, which contributes to these statistics.
“My greatest impatience is with unmoving economic inequality. Women and girls use triple the time and energy of boys and men to look after the household. That costs them equal opportunities in education, in the job market and in earning power. It’s a driver of repeating poverty. Young women raising families are 25 per cent more likely than men to live in extreme poverty, affecting millions of young children, with impacts that last into later life for both mother and child.”
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth called for countries to make this the “decade of gender equality”.
Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland joined a gathering of leaders, celebrities, academics and activists in London to discuss ways to accelerate this mandate.
Despite decades of activism, only six countries across the world give women and men equal rights to work in their laws.
The Secretary General said: “Our Commonwealth Charter speaks of gender equality and women’s empowerment as being essential components of human development and basic human rights. Advancing women’s rights, the education of girls and their participation in the workforce are critical prerequisites for effective and sustainable development.”
Locally, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Guyana (WCCIG) also sent out their message in celebration of International Women’s Day. This year, they are poised to host their Inaugural Girls Summit, targeting students aged 15-21 from secondary and tertiary institutions in Guyana. The goal is to create an opportunity for meaningful storytelling and the initiation of informal mentoring. Speakers will be both men and women leaders, locally and regionally, who are ready to share their stories of success.
“The WCCIG believes that our girls will be better equipped to handle womanhood if focus is placed on mentorship at the secondary school level with education and training that embraces student creativity and analysis of professional pathways to follow,” their missive detailed.
The Summit will be held March 21, 2020, in the Promenade Gardens, from 14:00h.