United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated on Saturday that achieving legal equality for women could take centuries as the struggle for gender equality has become a tough battle against widespread discrimination and serious human rights violations. He noted that “achieving legal equality for women could take 300 years amid increasing violent reactions against women’s rights.”
Addressing a packed conference organized by the United Nations on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which fell on March 8th, Guterres said, “The global violent backlash against women’s rights threatens, and in some cases obstructs, progress in both developing and developed countries alike.”
He pointed out that the most appalling example is in Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban movement has banned girls from education after the sixth grade, from working outside the home, and from being in public places, including parks and hairdressing salons.
He emphasized that at the current rate of change, achieving legal equality for women could take 300 years, thus potentially ending child marriage.
The UN Secretary-General highlighted “the continuing pandemic of gender-based violence,” a gender pay gap of at least 20%, and the underrepresentation of women in politics. He cited the annual gathering of world leaders in September at the UN General Assembly, where only 12% of speakers were women.
“The global crises we face disproportionately affect women and girls – from poverty and hunger to climate disasters, war, and terrorism,” the Secretary-General said.
Guterres pointed out that last year, there were reports of rape and human trafficking in Sudan, while in Gaza, women and children constituted the majority of Palestinian victims of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which claimed more than 30,000 lives, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
He referred to a report released on Monday by the UN envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict, concluding that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Hamas committed acts of rape and “sexual torture” and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment against women during its surprise attack in southern Israel in October. He also cited reports of sexual violence against Palestinians held by Israel.
International Women’s Day emerged from the womb of labor movements in North America and various parts of Europe in the early twentieth century, officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977. This year’s theme is investing in women and girls to accelerate progress towards equality.
