WOMEN'S DAY

WOMEN’S  DAY

       The United Nations said on the 100th anniversary of International Woman's Day that despite remarkable progress women remain second-class citizens in many parts of the world. "Although the gender gap in education is closing, there are wide differences within and across countries, and far too many girls are still denied schooling, leave prematurely or complete school with few skills and fewer opportunities," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message on Tuesday. All over the world, major disparities remain between female and male access to education, employment and salaries, with women earning only 10 per cent of the world's income and own less than one per cent of property worldwide. "Women and girls also continue to endure unacceptable discrimination and violence, often at the hand of intimate partners or relatives.  In the home and at school, in the workplace and in the community, being female too often means being vulnerable. And in many conflict zones, sexual violence is deliberately and systematically used to intimidate women and whole communities," Ban added.

The secretary-general cited the urgent need for significant progress in women's and children's health. He added that equal access to education, training, science and technology can help women to break the cycle of poverty  Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile and Executive Director of UN Women, the new entity grouping together the work of four previous UN bodies, highlighted the gains made since those marches of 100 years ago, when only two countries allowed women to vote. "But despite this progress over the last century, the hopes of equality expressed on that first International Woman's Day are a long way from being realized.  Almost two out of three illiterate adults are women. Girls are still less likely to be in school than boys. Every 90 seconds of every day, a woman dies in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications despite us having the knowledge and resources to make birth safe," she added.

         Ban also noted that fewer than 10 per cent of countries have female heads of State or government, and are often severely underrepresented in other areas of decision-making, including at the highest levels of business and industry. According to Bachelet, women still make up only 19 per cent of legislatures, 8 per cent of peace negotiators, and only 28 women are heads of State or government.   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay devoted her message to the courageous role women played in the recent peaceful mass movements that saw the ouster of the entrenched leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. "The work, however, is far from over," she said. "In these moments of historic transition in Egypt and Tunisia, it is important to ensure that women's rights are not set aside as something to be dealt with after the 'crucial' reforms are won. Women's rights should be at the top of the list of new priorities."

Prof. John Kurakar