HALF the World is Women – “Ending Violence against Women and Girls”

This Forum was opened by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and facilitated by Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, and included the participation of a range of senior leaders of UN agencies — namely Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, UNDP Associate Administrator, Ms. Anne-Birgette Albrectsen, Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA, Ms. Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, Ms Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR.

“Women’s rights are basic rights — we need to change attitudes and behaviours, we need to change laws and we need to punish those who violate them,” declared the Secretary-General.

In her intervention, Irina Bokova reminded all of the vital importance of education for preventing and tackling gender based violence, especially in schools. She reiterated also the need to develop comprehensive sexuality education to make the most of schooling for the health of the whole of society.

“Our work must start on the benches of schools, in strong curricula, in appropriate teacher and principal training, in setting the right environments in and around schools,” said the Director-General. “These are vital for preventing violence and for protecting the rights and freedoms of every girl and women.”

The Director-General also participated in the CSW side event on “From resolution to elimination: Plans to intensify efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation,” co-organized by Italy, the OIF, Italy and UNICEF. The First Lady of Burkina Faso, Ms. Chantal Compaoré was keynote speaker at the event, where she underlined her country’s firm commitment to eliminate this violation of basic human rights and her deep personal engagement with this cause.

The first part of this series offers a survey of the situation of women around the world on International Women’s Year.

Part1 – HALF the World is Women: RADIO

During the discussion, Irina Bokova highlighted the importance of education as a transformative force to prevent female genital mutilation and cutting, underlining the need for all to respect the human rights and human dignity of every girl and women and reminding all of the relevance in this respect of the 2001 UNESCO Universal declaration on Cultural Diversity.

On 5 March, the Director-General also gave the keynote speech to the briefing on the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, organised by the Permanent Delegates of the Republic of Senegal and Canada.

In her intervention, Irina Bokova explored the main lessons learned since 2000 in taking forward the MDG and Education for All, and highlighted the need for quality, equity and values to lie at the heart of the post-2015 global education agenda.
 

This programme analyzes women’s involvement in political struggles and decision making around the world.

HALF the world is Women – Part2

 
“To look forward, we must, first, look back, and examine experience,” said the Director-General. “We need to capture the lessons since 2000 and build on them. The world is changing, and so is education — the global agenda must reflect these changes.

The briefing was organised in advance of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the post 2015 Development Agenda that will be held in Dakar, Senegal on 18-19 March 2013.
 

To achieve gender equality, education is the key and more cooperation is needed among women, explains this programme.

HALF the World is Women – Part3

 
“It is a powerful symbol that we will hold this Global Meeting in Dakar,” said the Director-General, “the place where Education for All was born, and where we take a new step forward for education and a new global sustainability agenda.”

News thanks to UNESCO, UN RADIO