South African President Cyril Ramaphosa asked a pertinent question in his speech at the UN General Assembly: “Where are the women of the world?”
Ramaphosa raised the question to a room filled with some of world’s most powerful political and diplomatic leaders, noting just how few of them were women.
“It should be a matter of concern to us all that the majority of people who are sitting in this assembly are men,” he said.
“The question we have to ask: where are the women of the world? The women of the world have a right to be here to represent the views of women across the world.”
According to Reuters, from the 189 UN member countries who spoke at the Assembly, just 21 speakers were women. Among the women, there were six heads of state, four heads of government, one vice president, nine ministers and one vice minister.
Among them was Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong.
In his speech, Ramaphosa made clear that South Africa was committed to gender equality at a domestic level and in the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“The achievement of the sustainable development goals depends fundamentally on the empowerment of women in all spheres of life,” he said.
“Social and economic progress will not be possible unless we end gender discrimination. We must ensure there is equal access for women to healthcare, education as well as economic opportunity.
“We must pay particular attention to the provision of adequate health services to every woman, child and adolescent. By doing so we will fundamentally improve the health and wellbeing of all.”
Ramaphosa said he was proud to note that in South Africa 50 per cent of the members of the cabinet are women and that he was accompanied to the UN General Assembly by an all-women delegation.
@metropolesoficial O presidente da #ÁfricadoSul, Matamela Cyril #Ramaphosa, defendeu o fim da discriminação de gênero durante a Assembleia Geral da #ONU nesta terça-feira (19/9). Em seu discurso, Ramaphosa disse que, para se alcançar os objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável, é preciso empoderar as #mulheres. "Devemos assegurar que exista acesso igualitário para mulheres na #saúde, educação, assim como nas oportunidades econômicas", disse o presidente. Ramaphosa enfatizou ainda que levou para a ONU uma delegação toda de mulheres. O líder da África do Sul, então, disse que "a maioria das pessoas estão sentadas nessa assembleia são homens" e questionou: "Onde estão as mulheres no mundo? Elas têm o direito de estar aqui e representar o ponto de vista delas". #TikTokNotícias ♬ som original – Metrópoles Oficial
This year’s General Assembly marked the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A recent gender snapshot report showed that just two of the SDG indicators aimed at women’s equality were “close to target” and none were at the “target met or almost met” level. Current trends will see more than 340 million women and girls in extreme poverty by 2030, while an estimated 110 million girls will be out of school in 2030.
When it comes to women’s representation in decision-making positions, the latest Women in Diplomacy Index shows that just one fifth of all ambassadors in the world are women. Meanwhile, just 6 per cent of UN recognised countries are led by women.