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International Women’s Day presents an opportunity to take stock and reinforce the sought-after goals for women’s empowerment in all spheres of life. The global pursuit to #BalanceforBetter can only be attained when there is zero tolerance for any form of discrimination against women and girls, when there is no impunity for violence against all women and girls, not because they are daughters, sisters, wives or mothers but simply because they are human.

Statement for International Women’s Day by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women

International Women’s Day
40th Anniversary of CEDAW

Women’s leadership and the equal participation of women and men in public affairs and decision-making are matters of human rights which are key elements of democracy and lasting peace, and prerequisites for achieving sustainable development.

Women and girls are impatient for change, and it’s easy to understand why.
 
Women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn for the same work.
 
At least 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation.
 
Women account for just 24 percent of parliamentarians.
 
35 percent of women globally have experienced physical and/or sexual violence.
 

According to the IPU’s yearly analysis, the share of women in national parliaments increased by nearly one percentage point last year, from 23.4 per cent in 2017 to 24.3 per cent in 2018. This 0.9 percentage point increase confirms the continuing rise of women in parliament, at a slightly faster rate of change compared to previous years.

Afghan men strongly oppose giving women more freedom — two in three think they have too much already — and young men are even more reluctant than their elders, according to a new survey released this week.

Key points:

SHAHDARA, Pakistan – Bushra Khaliq stood in the middle of a village home, chin up and shoulders back, holding the attention of fifty women around her. Old and young, they wore Pakistani tunics and scarves; some cradled and fed babies, others shushed children who tugged at their sleeves. Sun from the open roof warmed Khaliq’s face as she looked around, holding eye contact with one woman, then another. “Who is going to decide your vote?” she asked. The women clapped and shouted in unison: “Myself!”

Women are gaining ground in politics around the world. Last year, the so-called “pink wave” saw a record number of women elected to Congressin the US’s mid-term elections. There are signs of progress in Africa, too.

When Bolanle Aliyu decided to run for governor of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria, even her husband was initially reluctant to support her.