UNITED NATIONS – Janet Ekstract – As a global society, we must be cognizant of the fact that women and their accomplishments belong in the forefront, not just on Women’s Day but every single day. This sentiment was perfectly expressed by Under-Secretary of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka this year on Women’s Day, when she very succinctly commented; “We celebrate the sisterhood of humanity not the brotherhood of man.”
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka, who served as South Africa’s Deputy President from 2005-2008, is a staunch supporter of women and a devoted advocate of women’s rights, education and gender equality.
Her eloquent message stood out as a new beacon of hope for all women worldwide, who still face a number of pressing issues that specifically affect females – most especially those in rural areas.
In her speech on Women’s Day, a week ago, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka praised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his stance on gender equality and empowerment of women. She expressed her faith in the secretary-general’s message for 2018 and beyond: “I am totally committed to zero tolerance of sexual harassment and have set out plans to improve reporting and accountability. We are working closely with countries around the world to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse by staff in peacekeeping missions, and to support victims.”
As several prominent speakers pointed out at this year’s Women’s Day General Assembly address, ‘The Time Is Now,’ for women to take back their sense of empowerment and for the UN to stand united on global issues affecting all women but more specifically those who are underprivileged.
The Co-founder and President of The National Alliance of Farmworkers, Monica Ramirez opened her profound talk at the UN General Assembly by drawing attention to the fact that there are “daunting challenges ahead,” in the movement for gender equality. As she so firmly expressed, it is necessary to “move women and girls from fields to boardrooms.”
Ms. Ramirez who is also the first Director of Gender Equity and Advocacy for the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), said that “Farmworker women are invisible to most people.” She added that “women are preyed upon in the agricultural sector by bosses.”
She continued by stressing that “Girls and women in rural areas are the ones who need the most assistance.” And she made it clear that the system as it now stands must be shifted, we must “rock the system.”
Mr. Miroslav Lajcak, president of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, also emphasized major change for women in his address at the opening segment of the 62nd session of the Commission On The Status of Women with the theme for 2018 – Empowering Rural Women and Girls.
Mr. Lajcak made the point that he said is often forgotten: “Rural women make up a quarter of the world’s population.” He also emphasized that mistakes were made in the past: “We have tried to tackle challenges without addressing their gender dimensions. This has had a particularly damaging effect on rural women.”
The UN General Assembly President remarked: “This needs to stop. We need to take women into account in everything we do, particularly when it comes to rural communities.”
He also made the point that “Rural women act as a major source of innovation and ideas,” while citing the cases of several international cases where women came up with major innovations that have revamped the course of whole sectors of their societies – making the case for financially supporting women’s ideas, projects and innovations.
His final remarks urged a call to action: “We need to keep calling until all of our words have become action. Until all of our agreements have become reality. Until all of our commitments have become facts on the ground. And until every woman sitting in this room today, has the same rights and the same opportunities as the man sitting beside her.”
As the secretary-general of the UN echoed, “Only 22 countries have women as heads of state.” And as Monica Ramirez reminded everyone: “We aren’t waiting to be saved, we are saving ourselves.”
