INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 7, 2010 -- INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY STATEMENT
by Almas Jiwani, President of Canadian Committee for UNIFEM

Women all over the world continue to face enormous challenges as a result of the global financial crisis, widespread food insecurity, natural and man-made disasters and climate change. However 2010 has been a milestone for gender equality and women’s rights because 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action as well as the 10th anniversary of the Millennium Declaration and Security Council resolution 1325. There are only five years left until the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Meeting the challenges that we must face will require greater accountability at all levels. For this reason, we call for a move to establish a new UN entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment. This initiative was strongly supported by the UN General Assembly in a September 2009 resolution. The forward motion on this resolution is timely, too, in the context of the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, for which the target date of 2015 is the same as for achieving the MDGs. It also mirrors efforts to improve accountability for implementing Security Council resolution 1325, which recognized the key role women play in all aspects of recovery from conflict.

In recent weeks we have seen women helping countries recover from imminent disaster. UNIFEM staff members in Haiti witnessed women in temporary shelters trying to build a sense of security for their families, and making connections and sharing what they have with their neighbors. Women in Haiti are often the head of the households and now they have taken the lead in starting recovery efforts by improvising communal meals and childcare arrangements as well as caring for communities and neighborhoods.

The President of Chile, Michele Bachelet is now inspiring her own country to rebuild after their country’s own earthquake, which was not long after she had traveled to Haiti to show solidarity towards women who are rebuilding their lives. This kind of leadership is often forgotten in some places because women are often not a part of the decision-making process on how to deal with resources or relief efforts or how to plan ahead for the next time a disaster strikes. The world needs to change its focus on human security and humanitarian assistance and allow women to be a greater influence at the decision-making tables.