Secretary-General António Guterres today (6 Mar) said, António Guterres, “women's rights are being abused, threatened and violated around the world,” as “progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes.”

Speaking at the opening of the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), Guterres said, “in Afghanistan, women and girls have been erased from public life. In many places, women's sexual and reproductive rights are being rolled back. In some countries, girls going to school risk kidnapping and assault. In others, police prey on vulnerable women they have sworn to protect.”

He said, “the patriarchy is fighting back. But so are we. And I am here to say loud and clear. The United Nations stands with women and girls everywhere.”

The Secretary-General said, “centuries of patriarchy, discrimination and harmful stereotypes have created a huge gender gap in science and technology” and noted that “women account for just 3 percent of Nobel Prize winners in science categories.”

Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is the Priority theme of CSW67.

The Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous, told the meeting that “technology and innovation are proven accelerators to drive concrete progress, once again, across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

Harnessed effectively, she said, “technology and innovation can be game-changers to catalyse poverty reduction, decrease hunger, boost health, create new jobs, mitigate climate change, address humanitarian crises, improve energy access and make entire cities and communities safer and more sustainable – benefitting women and girls.”

The CSW meets in March each year to address the widespread inequalities, violence and discrimination women continue to face, all around the world.

The work of the Commission began in 1946, days after the UN General Assembly’s inaugural meetings heard former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and part of the country’s delegation, read an open letter addressed to “the women of the world”.

Full remarks [as delivered]: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/s...