“A society where the rights of women and girls are trampled on, is no society at all. Women’s full participation in politics and the economy makes a society more likely to succeed. Sustainable peace cannot be built where the rights of women are ignored.”   

UN Deputy Secretary–General Amina Mohammed at Security Council meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, 26 January 2023

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But, today gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. Ahead of next month’s annual stocktake of progress on women’s rights-the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women-the Goal of the Month editorial takes a close look at Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality).

The first quarter of the year offers a host of opportunities to accelerate action towards the achievement of SDG 5 and build further momentum towards the SDG Summit in September.

News: UN pushes for women’s rights in Afghanistan 

When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, progress on that country’s women’s rights took a turn for the worse. The de facto authorities’ recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations followed edicts to close universities to female students, until further notice, and prevent girls from attending secondary school. 

In recent weeks, the UN dispatched a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan comprising UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, and Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari from the UN political, peacebuilding and peace operations.  

In meetings with Taliban leaders, the UN delegation “directly conveyed the alarm over the recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations, a move that undermines the work of numerous organizations helping millions of vulnerable Afghans,” according to a UN press release. 

The UN delegation also called for efforts to be intensified to reflect the urgency of the crisis facing Afghan women and girls, “and stressed the importance of a unified response by the international community.”  A proposal to hold an international conference on women and girls in the Muslim World in March this year “was also considered and agreed in principle,” according to the press release. So, stay tuned for this conference.  

In a recent Security Council meeting on sustainable peace, Ms. Mohammed declared: “A society where the rights of women and girls are trampled on, is no society at all. Women’s full participation in politics and the economy makes a society more likely to succeed. Sustainable peace cannot be built where the rights of women are ignored.” 

What to Watch For

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (6 February)

The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is observed on February 6. 

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women. Goal 5 seeks to eliminate female genital mutilation by 2030. The practice of female genital mutilation has proved remarkably tenacious, despite efforts spanning a century to eliminate it. In 2021, however, 4,475 communities made public declarations committing to eliminate female genital mutilation.  

This year, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation launched the 2023 theme; “Partnership with men and boys to transform social and gender norms to end FGM”.  Join their online campaign this year and participate on social media. Share with the world how you #MenEndFGM! Full campaign is package here. 

61st Session of the UN Commission for Social Development (6-15 February)

Seventy percent of the world’s people live in countries where income inequality has risen since 1990. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically exacerbated inequalities in the labour market. The 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD61) from 6 to 15 February 2023 at the UN Headquarters in New York will focus on: “Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”   

International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February)

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed annually on 11 February. A significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields. Women account for 35 per cent in STEM education, and just 3 per cent in information and communication technology studies. 

This year, the Day will focus on the role of women and girls in science as it relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 17 (means of implementation),  each of which will undergo an in-depth review at the forthcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July.  To get involved, register for the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly taking place on 10 February at the UN Headquarters in New York City. 

World Day of Social Justice (20 February)

Social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security, or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.  The World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on 20 February.   

International Women’s Day 2023 (8 March)

This year’s theme of the International Women’s Day is: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”  Annually observed on 8 March, the Day will be marked by a high-level event at 10:00-11:30 a.m. EST. The event will bring together technologists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and gender equality activists to provide an opportunity to highlight the role of all stakeholders in improving access to digital tools and be followed by a high-level panel discussion and musical performances.   

For more information, read this article: International Women’s Day 2023: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”  

The Commission on the Status of Women (6 to 17 March)

Around this time of the year, the UN Headquarters complex bustles with diplomats and women’s rights activists who gather at one of the most important annual events for gender equality. The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 6 to 17 March 2023. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs)  from all regions of the world are invited to contribute to the session under the theme: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” as well as the review theme: “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session)”. 

 

Coming Up

LDC5 (5-9 March, Doha)

The world’s 46 least developed countries are in a race against time to deliver the SDGs by 2030. World leaders, businesses, civil society, young people and other partners will gather in Doha, Qatar from 5 to 9 March for The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), a once-in-a-decade opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the most vulnerable countries. The LDC5 Conference in Doha will seek to advance new ideas, raise new pledges of support, and spur delivery on agreed commitments, through the Doha Programme of Action that was adopted in March 2022.

For more information, visit the Conference website: https://www.un.org/ldc5/

UN 2023 Water Conference (22-24 March, New York)

Billions of people worldwide still live without safely managed drinking water and sanitation, even though access to both services has long been defined as a human right. Without these services, women and girls are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and ill-health, affecting their ability to study, work and live in dignity. The UN 2023 Water Conference is expected to spur global action towards addressing the water crisis, which disproportionately affects women and girls.

Get involved: The UN Department of Global Communications launched the Countdown digital campaign on 22 January 2023.

COMMUNICATION ASSETS 

UN Water Conference: Water a ‘dealmaker’ for multilateral cooperation and the SDGs

  Ancient tale of hummingbird inspires UN World Water Day campaign

Kindly note that media accreditation for the Conference opened on 9 January and runs through 10 March.

For more information, visit the Conference website: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2023