FORUM: "Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities." World Population Day 2023. Women and girls make up 49.7% of the global population, yet women and girls are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies. This pervasive injustice keeps women and girls out of school, the workforce and leadership positions; limits their agency and ability to make decisions about their health and sexual and reproductive lives; and heightens their vulnerability to violence, harmful practices and preventable maternal death, with a woman dying every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth. We must advance gender equality to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world. The creativity, ingenuity, resources and power of women and girls are fundamental to addressing demographic and other challenges that threaten our future, including climate change and conflict. When women and girls are empowered by societies to exert autonomy over their lives and bodies, they and their families thrive. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #womenandgirls, #WorldPopulationDay; #11July; #HarnessingOpportunities, #Infinitepossibilities.
EVENTS: On July 11th; to mark the World Population Day 2023, the UNFPA and the Specialized agencies will highlight the need support women and girls around the world, and to advance gender equality to help realize the dreams of all 8 billion of us on our planet. This World Population Day is a reminder that we can achieve the prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future envisioned by the ICPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development if we harness the power of every human being on the planet. When we unlock the full potential of women and girls – encouraging and nurturing their desires for their lives, their families and their careers – we galvanize half the leadership, ideas, innovation, and creativity to better society.
PUBLICATIONS: Read the World Population Propects and the 2023 State of World Population report.
STATEMENTS:
Statement from the United Nations Secretary-General on World Population Day 2023; July 11th.
Our human family is larger than ever.
Yet leaders are falling woefully behind in efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous world for all.
Halfway to the 2030 deadline the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track. Gender equality is almost 300 years away. Progress on maternal health and access to family planning has been glacial.
This year’s World Population Day focuses on unleashing the power of gender equality.
Gender-based discrimination harms everyone – women, girls, men, and boys. Investing in women uplifts all people, communities, and countries.
Advancing gender equality, improving maternal health, and empowering women to make their own reproductive choices are both essential in themselves, and central to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals.
Let us stand with women and girls fighting for their rights. And let us intensify our quest to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all 8 billion of us.
Imagine a world where everyone – all 8 billion of us – has a future bursting with promise and potential. Now open your eyes to the current reality that 4 billion women and girls – half of humanity – face discrimination solely based on their gender.
Thirty years ago, at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), we set out to achieve a world in which people lived longer, healthier lives and enjoyed more rights and choices than ever before. This vision has become a reality for many; in fact, the human population is at its highest number ever, thanks in large part to improvements in health care and increased longevity. Yet, as we celebrate the progress that has been made, we must also recognize that for millions, even billions, of others this promise remains out of reach.
This World Population Day is a reminder that we can achieve the prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future envisioned by the ICPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development if we harness the power of every human being on the planet. When we unlock the full potential of women and girls – encouraging and nurturing their desires for their lives, their families and their careers – we galvanize half the leadership, ideas, innovation, and creativity to better society.
Realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all is the foundation for gender equality, dignity and opportunity. Nevertheless, over 40 per cent of women around the world cannot exercise their right to make decisions as fundamental as whether or not to have children. Empowering women and girls, including through education and access to modern contraception, helps to support them in their aspirations — and to chart the path of their own lives.
Advancing gender equality is a crosscutting solution to many population concerns. In ageing societies that worry about labour productivity, achieving gender parity in the workforce is the most effective way to improve output and income growth. Meanwhile, in countries experiencing rapid population growth, women’s empowerment through education and family planning can bring enormous benefits by way of human capital and inclusive economic growth.
Thirty years ago, the world united behind a shared vision of the future, one that recognized the rights of women and girls as central to global development. The solution is clear: Accelerating the advancement of gender equality – through access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, improved education, appropriate labour policies, and equitable norms in the workplace and home – will result in healthier families, stronger economies, and resilient societies.
That message of gender equality is as powerful today as it was then; our resolve must be as well. Let us unite once more to imagine a world in which every one of us has the equal opportunity to thrive, and let us join forces to ensure a reality in which every nation’s real wealth – no matter its size or stage of development – is its people, and that means all people, not half.
UNFPA stands with all 8 billion people so that they may claim their rights and make their own choices. Because only that will lead to a future that will bring equality and prosperity to us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment