Next Monday is International Women’s Day (8 March). I know a few readers will ask Do we still still need to worry? According to Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, the answer is yes. Among the areas where progress has lagged is in tackling the scourge of violence against women, said Ms. Migiro:
‘Violence is the most blatant manifestation of discrimination against women, but it is not the only one. Injustice and inequality persist in developing and developed countries and in all regions.’ In addition, she also noted that women still outnumber men among the world’s poorest people, and that two-thirds of illiterate adults are women a statistic that has not changed in 20 years.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his address:
‘Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals peace, security, sustainable development stand in jeopardy.’
Yet the rumour mill suggests the days of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs are limited, with talk of their amalgamation into the Ministry of Social Development. Well, we certainly know that they are not held in high regard by Cabinet Minister Judith Collins, who once upon a time said:
Of all the politically correct organisations littering our Capital, the big Mother of them all is the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoW).
Let’s watch how the government mark Women’s Day next week shall we?
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