Gender equality is becoming an increasingly distant ideal and may yet be 300 years away, according to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking to the General Assembly on Monday. He warned progress on women’s rights is “disappearing before our eyes” as he kicked off two weeks of talks headed by the Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Guterres stressed the dire situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where “women and girls have been erased from public life” at the Monday event. While he did not identify any countries, he stated that “women’s sexual and reproductive rights are being rolled back” and that “in some countries, girls attending school risk kidnapping and assault.” In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court repealed abortion rights.
Gender equality is now more important than ever: Guterres
Guterres noted the current challenges affecting women, ranging from maternal mortality and child marriage to caretakers being refused jobs. “It takes on even greater relevance when women’s rights are mistreated, threatened, and violated around the world,” he remarked, emphasizing the necessity of gender equality.”Progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes,” Guterres said.
Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth
He said that maternal mortality had increased to the point where a woman died every two minutes during pregnancy or childbirth, despite the fact that the vast majority of these fatalities could have been avoided. He went on to claim that COVID-19 has driven millions of girls to drop out of school, as well as moms and caregivers to leave their jobs and children to marry young.
The patriarchy is fighting back, but we are as well: Guterres
“Centuries of patriarchy, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes have created a huge gender gap in science and technology,” he said, highlighting the fact that women account for less than 3% of Nobel Prize recipients. “The patriarchy is retaliating. But so are we,” he continued, calling for global concerted action by governments, civic society, and the commercial sector to bridge the digital gender divide through sensitization.
Iran has kicked off the Commission on the Status of Women
Guterres, on the other hand, made no mention of Iran, which was kicked out of the Commission on the Status of Women last December after the authorities repressed a women-led revolt against the Islamic dictatorship. In recent months, orthodox groups have reportedly targeted schoolgirls. Toxic gas has poisoned up to 700 girls in over 50 Iranian schools since November.