UN Women UK supports International Women's Day

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

UN Women supports International Women's Day

8^th March 2007

UN Women UK, as part of the UN, supports International Women's Day because peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women. For men and women of the world, the 8^th March is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.

UN Women UK branches, in London, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Wales and Northern Ireland will be holding events, in collaboration with other women's groups, to raise awareness and support for projects which help women on many levels.

The theme for this year's International Women's Day is Ending impunity for violence against women and girls. The new UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, highlights the extent of the problem in his International Women's Day message: "Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women's lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence – yet the reality is that too often it is covered up or tacitly condoned."

However, UN Women UK believes that it is events such as International Women's Day that help to eliminate violence against women. There is encouraging news: 89 states have now adopted legislative provisions that address domestic violence, including 60 states with specific domestic violence laws. This is a clear increase in comparison to 2003 when only 45 countries had specific laws on domestic violence. Furthermore, the importance of International Women's Day is obvious when it is still the case that in almost all countries women continue to be under-represented in decision-making positions. Women's work continues to be undervalued, underpaid, or not paid at all. Out of more than 100 million children who are not in school, the majority are girls. Out of more than 800 million adults who cannot read, the majority are women.

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon:

"This day is an opportunity for all of us – women and men – to unite in a cause that embraces all humankind. Empowering women is not only a goal in itself. It is a condition for building better lives for everyone on the planet."

Juliet Colman, President of UN Women UK, strongly endorses this view:

"The face of poverty worldwide is a woman's face. Women with the right resources and empowerment can change the world for the better and bring prosperity to all."

To read the International Women's Day message from Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UN Women in New York, go to www.unifem.org

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The projects undertaken by UN Women make a difference to the everyday lives of women around and their families around the world. UN Women needs your support to help fund this work and to raise awareness of the issues affecting women's rights and security.