Gender stereotypes, unequal power relations still remain: Top UN official

PTI Bangkok: Significant progress has been made in women empowerment but persistent gender stereotypes, discriminatory norms and unequal power relations remain deeply entrenched, obstructing the path to gender equality, a high-ranking UN official said here on Thursday. In an interview to PTI on sidelines of UN Ministerial Conference here ahead of next year's 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Under-Secretary-General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana also warned that not all news is good news as we celebrate. The undersecretary general noted that in 1995, the Beijing Declaration became the world's most powerful vision for gender equality, laying out a comprehensive path to securing equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.

“Over the past three decades, this framework has not only shaped national policies but has also inspired legal reforms and guided efforts at the global, regional and national levels toward advancing gender equality “But as we celebrate, we must confront a sobering reality that not all news is good. In many areas, progress has been uneven and, in some cases, fragile,” she said on the margins of the three-day conference that began here on Tuesday. “We cannot ignore that more than one in four women in our region have faced intimate partner violence, a grave violation of their dignity, safety and fundamental human right,” Alisjahbana, who is also the executive secretary UNESCAP, added. Alishjabana noted that we certainly cannot ignore that persistent gender stereotypes, discriminatory norms and unequal power relations that remain deeply entrenched, obstructing our path to gender equality.

Talking about progress made by countries in Asia Pacific since the Beijing declaration, the top UN official said that more girls across Asia and the Pacific are in school today than ever before and maternal mortality has dropped by a third since 2000. “It means, countless mothers are surviving childbir th and thriving with their families.” “Unfortunately despite the significant progress in the past decades since Beijing Declaration, many challenges still remain. “Girls still are disadvantaged compared to boys in terms of education, especially as you go up the ladder of education. Also in terms of employment overall," she added.