Messages
Message of the President of the General Assembly
Ladies and gentlemen,
I thank UN Women for convening this important and timely event.
I am truly delighted to take part in this meeting.
Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls remain among the highest priorities of my presidency.
Let me begin on a positive note: over the past five decades, we have made notable strides in advancing gender equality.
International frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security have laid a strong foundation for progress.
Women¡¯s representation in parliaments worldwide has nearly tripled, rising from just 10 percent fifty years ago to 27 percent today.
Girls have greater access to education than ever before, and maternal mortality rates have declined alongside a reduction in child marriage to 18.7 percent.
Today, domestic violence laws exist in 165 countries, and women continue to lead groundbreaking scientific advancements¡ªincluding the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Across every sector¡ªpeacebuilding, human rights advocacy, climate action, and the private sector¡ªwomen are driving transformative change.
It is fitting that we celebrate these achievements in a year marked by major milestones.
This year¡ªthe thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the twenty-fifth anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325¡ªoffers a moment to reflect on progress and honour accomplishments. It is also important to rally greater support for gender equality and women¡¯s empowerment.
Because we cannot afford complacency.
These anniversaries occur in a disturbing reality. While we have made undeniable progress, full gender equality remains out of reach.
The journey is far from over and much remains to be done.
Consider this: at the current rate of change, ending extreme poverty among women could take another 137 years.
Around the world, laws continue to discriminate against women and girls, limiting their opportunities and freedoms.
In 18 percent of countries, women still do not have equal rights to confer citizenship to their spouses and children.
In more than half of all countries, legal restrictions bar women from working in the same jobs as men.
And while we celebrate the growing number of women in parliaments, progress remains slow. At the current trajectory, gender parity in legislative bodies may not be achieved until 2063.
Beyond legal barriers, economic and technological inequalities continue to widen.
Millions of women remain excluded from the benefits of rapid technological advancements due to disparities in education and skills training.
It is a tragic and enduring reality that women remain disproportionately vulnerable to violence. This state of affairs is fueled and reinforced by social norms that normalize sexism and misogyny.
One in three women¡ªapproximately 736 million¡ªhas experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.
Moreover, conflicts worldwide inflict some of the gravest violations of women¡¯s and girls¡¯ rights, increasing their vulnerability to conflict-related sexual violence and exploitation.
Excellences,
Nous devons faire bien plus¡ªnon seulement pour honorer nos engagements actuels, mais aussi pour tracer d¡¯urgence une voie vers une ¨¦galit¨¦ pleine et enti¨¨re entre les genres.
Nous avons l¡¯¨¦lan n¨¦cessaire pour agir, avec l¡¯adoption du Pacte pour l¡¯avenir au d¨¦but de cette session.
Ce Pacte, ainsi qu¡¯un de ses annexes, la D¨¦claration sur les G¨¦n¨¦rations Futures, r¨¦affirme notre devoir de mettre pleinement en ?uvre les engagements internationaux relatifs aux droits des femmes et des filles.
Mais les engagements seuls ne suffisent pas.
Atteindre l¡¯¨¦galit¨¦ des genres exige une mobilisation totale des Gouvernements, de la soci¨¦t¨¦ civile, du secteur priv¨¦ et de tous les acteurs concern¨¦s.
Cela requiert une volont¨¦ politique forte, des investissements soutenus et une transformation fondamentale des structures qui perp¨¦tuent les in¨¦galit¨¦s depuis tr¨¨s longtemps.
La t?che qui nous attend est immense, mais elle n¡¯est pas insurmontable.
Ensemble, honorons le pass¨¦, agissons avec urgence aujourd¡¯hui et construisons un monde o¨´ les droits de chaque femme et de chaque fille sont garantis ; o¨´ l¡¯¨¦galit¨¦ n¡¯est pas une aspiration mais une r¨¦alit¨¦, et o¨´ les femmes et les jeunes filles sont pleinement autonomis¨¦es pour fa?onner leur propre avenir.
Je vous remercie.
Dennis Francis
"These anniversaries occur in a disturbing reality. While we have made undeniable progress, full gender equality remains out of reach. The journey is far from over and much remains to be done."
Dennis Francis
UN Women Executive Director's Speech: We must choose rights, equality, empowerment for ALL women and girls
Welcome to our 50th International Women¡¯s Day at the United Nations. It is a pleasure to be with you all.
is a powerful moment, and this year more than ever. The cause of gender equality has never been more urgent, nor the obstacles in our way more apparent; but our determination has never been more unshakeable.
, we must all champion women¡¯s rights, we must confront the backlash, we must enhance our efforts to dismantle systemic inequalities, and we must protect women human rights defenders. Together we can all push forward.
Today we celebrate equality for ALL women and girls, and we celebrate coming together, here, now, everywhere.
Because equality with exceptions is not equality. Because the world has promised rights, equality, and empowerment to all women and girls, everywhere, always. And this promise has yet to be realized.
The pushback against those promises is nothing new. We have faced it before; we will face it again. Until gender equality is our shared reality and shared reward, we will not stop.
Make no mistake: our movement is powerful, and it is growing. It is all of you here, all those who are remotely connected and listening, all those who commemorate International Women¡¯s Day in different ways. It is all of us who understand that equality is not to be feared, but instead to be embraced, because an equal world is a better world.
This year, we mark the . We hope to see its commitments reaffirmed in a strong, forward-looking political declaration, to be adopted at .
This year, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of . We look also forward to the final stretch this year of the and . What better reminders to energize and guide us all?
From governments to boardrooms, from classrooms to households, women¡¯s equality is the greatest solution, and we know that. Every study we do, every project we do, every programme we do, every effort and partnership we have tells us that women¡¯s equality is the greatest solution.
Real solutions require that women be at the heart of decision-making. From Afghanistan to the DRC, from Palestine, Gaza to Haiti to Myanmar, Sudan and beyond, women bear the heaviest burdens of conflict, displacement, hardship, and loss. Yet, we know that when women are at the table, peace is broader, more inclusive, and more enduring.
We know that when women¡¯s voices are heard equally, societies thrive.
We know that when women lead, economies prosper.
We know all this. Now, we must act on it. So that the promises we have made are fulfilled for ALL women and girls, and so that all women can lead and thrive.
I have had the privilege of meeting many inspiring young women and girls. They are the first to show me and to tell me what can be done differently. They are the first to offer solutions. They are the first to remind me of the potential and urgency of change and for progress.
I believe, like they do, that change is coming and will not be denied. I am neither na?ve nor blind to the challenges women face and girls face, from violence to discrimination, to misogyny.
But I know, as you all do, with unshakeable certainty, that equality is the solution, equality is the accelerator, equality is progress, and equality is the gamechanger.
Our choices, whether those of action or inaction, are who we are. They are the record by which we are judged. Those choices we make now will define us, and they are our permanent marks on history¡¯s pages. We must choose rights, equality, empowerment for ALL women and girls.
And we will. Because our resolve is limitless, our movement unstoppable, our unity unshakeable, and our cause undeniable.
Thank you for being here with us today, and every day. And, before I conclude, let me say to those observing the holy month of Ramadan, may it bring peace and hope to all.
I wish you a happy International Women¡¯s Day.
And I thank you.
Sima Bahous
Those choices we make now will define us, and they are our permanent marks on history¡¯s pages. We must choose rights, equality, empowerment for ALL women and girls. And we will."
Sima Bahous
Executive Director,
UNESCO Director-General's message 2025
International Women¡¯s Day is an opportunity to celebrate women and girls around the world. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come on the road to gender equality ¨C and how much further we have yet to go.
2025 marks 30 years since the world came together in Beijing to adopt the most ambitious and widely supported agenda for women¡¯s rights in history ¨C the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
We have seen important progress as a direct result of this concerted, multilateral effort. Prior to 1995, only 12 countries had legal sanctions against domestic violence; today,legislative measures are in place in nearly every country in the world. In addition to legal change, we have seen an upheaval of harmful social norms, with women¡¯s rights movements paving the way for a more equal world.
However, many critical issues highlighted in 1995 remain unresolved. Today, just one in three scientists is a woman, and those who do work in scientific fields earn only 85% of what their male counterparts earn. Although women make up almost half the workforce in the culture and entertainment sector, they are underrepresented in leadership positions and overrepresented in precarious jobs in the industry. We are also faced with new threats to the achievement of gender equality, such as online gender-based violence and the reinforcement of regressive stereotypes within artificial intelligence systems.
The progress made in many areas has been far from universal ¨C which is why the theme of this year¡¯s International Women¡¯s Day is ¡°For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.¡±
This is increasingly crucial at a time when, in some contexts, we are even going backwards. More than three years after the de facto authorities took power, Afghanistan continues to stand out as the only place in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly forbidden to girls and women. According to new UNESCO data, 1.5 million Afghan girls are deprived of secondary education because of the regressive laws banning girls from school. If the ban on post-primary education persists through to 2030, over 4 million girls will be affected.
This is why UNESCO has dedicated this International Day to Afghan women and girls. To mark this commitment, we organized an international conference, on 7 March, bringing together a wide range of prominent Afghan women activists, women¡¯s rights advocates and international experts. The event aimed to shed light on the dire situation of Afghan women and girls, to honour and amplify their voices and to discuss ways in which the international community could support their education.
While nothing can replace school, UNESCO has worked to provide Afghan women and girls with alternative modes of learning. We have established community-based literacy classes in several provinces, partnered with overseas universities offering online courses and supported educational programmes via radio and television. We must continue to advocate and mobilize internationally, ensuring that the fundamental right to quality education is enjoyed by all women and girls, everywhere.
On this International Women¡¯s Day, we reaffirm the universal, inalienable and indivisible rights of women and girls. In doing so, we commit ourselves to harnessing all aspects of our wide-reaching mandate in order to bring about change in every corner of the globe and ensure that these rights are enjoyed by ALL women and girls.
Audrey Azoulay
2025 marks 30 years since (¡) the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Prior to 1995, only 12 countries had legal sanctions against domestic violence; today, legislative measures are in place in nearly every country in the world"
Audrey Azoulay
Director-General,
UNFPA Executive Director's message 2025
Investments in the health and rights of women and girls have changed the world, bringing us closer to equal voices and expanded choices than ever before. Women have taken giant strides forward ¨C and are not going back.
The march forward for equal rights is unstoppable. It will continue until gender equality reaches all women and girls, everywhere.
Commitments made to advancing gender equality and women¡¯s empowerment at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women ignited 30 years of progress ¨C particularly on sexual and reproductive health. Activists and allies in every part of the world have mobilized to make motherhood safer and empower women with more choices about their fertility. Their advocacy has led an overwhelming majority of countries to pass laws against domestic violence.
These and other gains are historic achievements that have transformed women¡¯s lives. Every aspect of women¡¯s empowerment, from education to workforce participation to political leadership, depends on the foundation of well-being and autonomy provided by sexual and reproductive health. And when women and girls thrive, so do their families, communities and our world.
By unleashing the potential of half of humanity, gender equality leads to safer and more prosperous societies for everyone. This is affirmed in longstanding and binding international law agreements that most countries have signed, and is proven by rigorous evidence. Yet millions of women and girls are still left behind ¨C every three seconds an adolescent girl is married somewhere in the world. There is not a single country in the world that has yet reached full gender equality. Investment in gender equality is a fraction of what it needs to be ¨C even though we know it would yield trillions of dollars in economic gains and immeasurable social benefits.
Unjust laws and regulations still constrain rights, and healthcare services fail to match needs. Every 10 minutes a woman or girl dies at the hands of an intimate partner or family member. That single statistic tells us everything about how little progress has been made in stopping violence driven by misogyny and discrimination, and what society chooses to prioritize.
Increasing armed conflict and climate disasters amplify risks and inequalities, as women and girls face higher rates of unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality, and violence and child marriage soar.
This International Women¡¯s Day is a call to march forward, with urgency and in solidarity, for all women and girls in all their diversity. Despite the many challenges, we have seen in our own lifetimes how much change is possible, and we have international law and fundamental human rights on our side. We have examples of change, and evidence of the benefits. These are powerful tools to achieve equality. Let¡¯s use them.
UNFPA will continue to work with partners and allies, with governments and civil society, to uphold women¡¯s rights. We will not rest until everyone can make their own choices about whether and when to have children. Until no woman dies while pregnant or giving birth. Gender equality will transform our world, for people today and tomorrow, for the benefit of all.
Dr Natalia Kanem
Despite the many challenges, we have seen in our own lifetimes how much change is possible, and we have international law and fundamental human rights on our side."
Dr Natalia Kanem
Executive Director,
