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International Bulletin - Fall 1997

Dr. Rimay Salah of UNICEF

Dr. Rimay Salah of UNICEF made statements greatly applauded by PPSEAWA members at the Malaysia Conference. Those which seemed to be most appreciated:

"The recent gains registered against the apartheid of gender, are the fruits of long years of struggle of hundreds and thousands of grassroots women's groups and movements. Indeed I think that everybody in this room has played and will continue to play an essential role in protecting and promoting the human rights of women as an integral part of universal human rights. But it is now time to translate those gains, the new international consensus on women into actions, to bring it to every community, every institution and every household of every society."

"It is true that great strides have been achieved in the improvement of the situation of women in the region. Nonetheless, women are over-represented amongst the poor and under or unrepresented in decision-making bodies. Women's rights to health, education, nutrition, and their rights to control their lives and make decisions for themselves continue to be undermined in most countries."

"Let us invest in the Girl Child, because today's girl is tomorrow's woman. We all know that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of girls from infancy to adolescence. Consequently families have to be empowered to fulfill their responsibilities and create an environment whereby the girl child enjoys all of those Survival, Development, Participation and Protection rights provided for under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women."

"The Women's movement has proven to be a tremendous positive force for change. Many women's NGOs have already done pioneering and heroic work often with small resources. They have worked to protect the environment, have pushed for social and economic reforms, have struggled for better education and ways for all people to develop their potential. Most importantly they have raised their voices to advocate for peace and to stop wars, genocides and violence."

"We in UNICEF are convinced that the apartheid of gender can only end; if there is a broader coalition of all actors in the civil society. These include NGOs and religious groups, governments, parliamentarians, the private sector and the media. Also governments have to commit financial resources to enable women's organizations to carry on."

Last Modified: June 05, 2010