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Strictly Embargoed Until: Monday 8 March, 2010
UNIFEM Pacific Regional Office : International Women's Day
"Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All"
(Suva, Fiji - 8 March 2010) - Today, agencies, organizations, governments,
communities and individuals around the world will be celebrating
International Women's Day (IWD).
Since the UN International Year for Women in 1975, the annual observation of
International Women's Day was given official recognition by the UN. The
period 1976-1985 was declared the UN International Decade for Women, during
which global meetings were held and national commitments to gender equality
were made. The progress of the decade was assessed in Nairobi in 1985, and
the Forward looking Strategies for Women were agreed to. Another decade of
action to advance Gender equality followed, and culminated in Beijing in
1995. Again progress was assessed and the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action were agreed to by most countries.
The UN has continuously advocated for the human rights of women, by shaping
a historical legacy of internationally agreed treaties, declarations,
platforms, strategies, programmes and objectives to advance the status of
women worldwide. Those include the Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for
Action (BPfA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). When governments
ratify and sign on they are making national commitments to advancing Gender
Equality. UNIFEM's main work is to support governments and NGOs to implement
these national commitments to gender equality.
IWD is the particular day, observed annually since 1975, that celebrates the
achievements made toward equal rights and equal opportunity for all women
and girls, and highlights the remaining barriers that prevent equality and
the full protection of women before the law and the full and active
participation of women in all forms of social, economic and political life.
In many regions of the world, women still face gender-based discrimination
such as less pay for the same work compared to their male counterparts and
low or non representation in government or leadership and decision-making
positions. Women also experience fewer opportunities in the fields of
education and health and are exposed to much higher levels of violence
committed against them.
Elizabeth Cox, Regional Programme Director of the United Nations Development
Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Pacific Regional Office, says "While advances have
been made towards women's empowerment and gender equality in the Pacific,
women throughout our region continue to experience gender based
discrimination in too many aspects of their lives".
"UNIFEM, and the whole of the UN family, is committed to working with
governments to close the gap between commitments made by Pacific Governments
and the reality of women's and girls' everyday lives."
Levels of Violence Against Women in the Pacific are amongst the most severe
in the world, with statistics reaching as high as 85% in some countries.
Regional studies show that in the Fiji Islands for example, 80% of women
went through some form of violence in the home. In Solomon Islands, 55% of
women in the country reported experiencing sexual partner violence and 37%
of women reported sexual abuse before the age of 15. Similarly, 68% of
i-Kiribati women reported experiencing at least one act of physical or
sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner, and in Samoa, 46% of women
who have ever been in a relationship have experienced one or more kinds of
partner abuse.
Women are particularly at risk of infection through adultery from their
partners and exposure to sexual violence, which increases their
vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). In the Pacific,
women represent half of all reported HIV cases, with approximately 13,300
men and 15,000 women living with HIV in 2008.
Women in the Melanesian sub-region experience particular forms of violence
such as arranged and forced marriage, mistreatment of widows, sorcery
murders and sexual trafficking that reflect the rapid and complex transition
they are making from traditional to modern, cash-based societies
The IWD local theme for 2010 is "Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for
Women - A Better Future for the Pacific".
UNIFEM Pacific Regional Office is launching a contest "Promoting Gender
Equality and Women's Human Rights - From national commitments to a real
change" on International Women's Day, to remind Pacific Islands governments
and citizens that 2009 was the 30th anniversary of Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and that
2010 is the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing
Platform for Action; all of which aim to increase gender equality.
The competition is open to any age group in every Pacific Island Country.
Interested contestants are invited to submit a short essay or photos that
tells a story or illustrates a case study on how Pacific women's lives have
changed (or not changed) over the past 30 years.
"UNIFEM is especially interested to hear about the lives of Pacific women
who are among the most marginalised, excluded and discriminated against, as
gender equality means equality for all, and empowerment of the women who
have yet to find their voice and discover their rights." says Elizabeth Cox.
Additionally, key documents and publications will be displayed in the
libraries of tertiary educational institutions in Fiji to share this
message. Details regarding these events will be announced on IWD.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Anne Rehagen (anne.rehagen@unifem.org)
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