Women's plight still big issue for UN chiefs
Source: Agencies |
March 3, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WOMEN still outnumber men among the world's poor, account for two-thirds of illiterate adults and are more likely to work at low-paying jobs without social protection, 15 years after nations pledged to close the gender gap at a historic United Nations conference in Beijing.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said that while many countries have made progress in improving education for girls and adopting national laws and programs to promote women's rights, gender equality remains a distant goal.
"While we have seen advances in the past 15 years, we have not seen enough," Migiro told the opening session of the Commission on the Status of Women on Monday.
"We need to move from commitment to action."
She said women continued to be plagued by sexual violence and the maternal mortality rate remained "unacceptably high," while political representation was too low.
Only 25 countries had at least 30 percent women in parliaments in 2009.
The commission will spend the next two weeks reviewing progress on the platform adopted by 189 nations at the 1995 UN women's conference in Beijing.
That conference called for governments to end discrimination against women and close the gender gap in 12 critical areas including health, education, employment, political participation and human rights.
"In real life, women still face unequal treatment and are disadvantaged in gender competition," said China's representative, Meng Xiaosi, the vice-chair of the State Council's Committee on Women and Children.
She said gender stereotyping was "deeply entrenched."
The Group of 77, which represents 132 mainly developing countries and China, said the plight of women had been exacerbated by the global economic crisis, continuing food and energy shortages, and climate change.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said that while many countries have made progress in improving education for girls and adopting national laws and programs to promote women's rights, gender equality remains a distant goal.
"While we have seen advances in the past 15 years, we have not seen enough," Migiro told the opening session of the Commission on the Status of Women on Monday.
"We need to move from commitment to action."
She said women continued to be plagued by sexual violence and the maternal mortality rate remained "unacceptably high," while political representation was too low.
Only 25 countries had at least 30 percent women in parliaments in 2009.
The commission will spend the next two weeks reviewing progress on the platform adopted by 189 nations at the 1995 UN women's conference in Beijing.
That conference called for governments to end discrimination against women and close the gender gap in 12 critical areas including health, education, employment, political participation and human rights.
"In real life, women still face unequal treatment and are disadvantaged in gender competition," said China's representative, Meng Xiaosi, the vice-chair of the State Council's Committee on Women and Children.
She said gender stereotyping was "deeply entrenched."
The Group of 77, which represents 132 mainly developing countries and China, said the plight of women had been exacerbated by the global economic crisis, continuing food and energy shortages, and climate change.
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