UN gender equality campaign to travel across world

Amid a growing "pandemic of violence" against women and girls, the United Nations will hold events across the world, including in New Delhi, that will focus on gender equality and women empowerment.
UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said here that the world body is taking its campaign to promote gender equality "outside our offices to the community and people, where it will always belong."
Around the world, a "pandemic of violence" and repression threatens to push back hard-won human rights for women and girls, Mlambo-Ngcuka told reporters yesterday, speaking about the year-long, worldwide commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

As part of UN Women's campaign, planned events will focus on achievements and gaps in gender equality and women's empowerment since 189 governments adopted the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action -- meant to pave the way for equal participation of women in all spheres of life and decision-making.
The campaign events will be held at several locations ranging from Kigali, Rwanda, where the focus will be on women's economic empowerment, to New Dehli where men and boys will be the focus as partners in the push for gender equality, Mlambo-Ngcuka noted.
"Gender-sensitive indicators have to be embedded in the DNA of all targets and goals post-2015," she added, referring to the ongoing work of UN Member States to craft a successor agenda for the landmark Millennium Development Goals.

In 2015, the UN will assess progress on implementation of the Beijing action plan over the past 20 years, based on national reports currently being prepared by UN Member States.
The formal commemoration of the 20th anniversary will take place during the 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and International Women's Day 2015 will be dedicated to Beijing+20.