UN SECRETARY-General Antonio Guterres warned that a backlash against women’s rights threatens progress across the world. He called the situation facing women in Afghanistan the most horrific example.
Afghan girls are excluded from most of the education system. He also highlighted sexual violence against women in Sudan, Israel and Palestinian prisoners.
“Global actions against women’s rights threaten and in some cases reverse progress in developing and developed countries,” he said in his remarks on International Women’s Day, Friday (8/3).
“The global crisis we face has the most devastating impact on women and girls, from poverty and hunger to climate disaster, war and terror. I urge governments to prioritize equality for women and girls.”
He warned that at the current rate of progress, full equality for women, as well as the end of child marriage, is still 300 years away. “In 2030, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty, or about eighteen million more than men and boys. That is an insult to women and girls,” he said.
UN Women warned Thursday that one in every 10 women worldwide lives in extreme poverty. “The number of women and girls living in conflict-affected areas has doubled since 2017, now more than 614 million women and girls live in conflict-affected areas,” the agency said. (AFP/Z-2)
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