UN: Gender inequality worse today

ByAssociated Press
March 9, 2020

UNITED NATIONS: Calling himself “a proud feminist,” United Nations Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres lashed out at men who abuse power and declared before Sunday’s observances
of International Women’s Day that the fight for gender equality is “the biggest human rights
challenge we face.”

Twenty-five years after 189 countries adopted a 150-page road map for achieving equality for
women, a new report by UN Women says the reality is that millions of women still face poverty,
discrimination and violence.

It noted that over 70 percent of lawmakers, parliamentarians and managers were men and nearly
500,000 women and girls over the age of 15 were illiterate.

The UN Development Program’s new Gender Social Norms Index also had some bad news for
women. It found that close to 90 percent of both men and women held some sort of bias against
women.

According to the index, about half the world’s men and women believed men made better
political leaders, while over 40 percent thought men made better business executives and had
greater rights to a job. Further, 28 percent felt it was justified for a husband to beat his wife.

Guterres told the UN’s International Women’s Day observance Friday that “gender inequality is
the overwhelming injustice of our day.”

“Deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our
economies, our political systems, our corporations, our societies and our culture,” he continued.
“Women are still very frequently denied a voice; their opinions are ignored and their experience
discounted.”

The secretary-general cited examples in recent months, including high-profile peace agreements
being signed with no women at the table and emergency health care meetings on the coronavirus
disease 2019 (Covid-19) held with few or no women participating.

On Sunday, Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros said men should take part in the fight for
women’s rights.
She made the appeal during the celebration of the International Women’s Day. She urged
Filipino men to be more proactive in ensuring gender equality among men and women.

“Male privilege should be used one last time to provide a platform for issues surrounding
women, then dismantled,” said Hontiveros, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women,
Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.

“Male privilege is also a structural issue, perpetuated by a system that keeps women oppressed,”
she added.

Hontiveros said that men should unlearn “toxic macho traits they have grown accustomed to for
generations,” especially those that result in violence against women.

“Men need to unlearn this entitlement to women’s bodies, clothing and attention. This
entitlement results in pervasive gender-based abuses directed at women,” she added.

“Sexual harassment, domestic violence, and rape start with the thought of ownership over
women,” she said.

Hontiveros deplored that in the Philippines, a woman is raped every hour while one in four
women has experienced spousal violence.

AP AND BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

REACTION
I’m against in gender inequality because unequal societies are less cohesive
and Gender inequality is a root cause of violence against women. Countries with
greater gender equality are more connected. Their people are healthier and have
better wellbeing.
Gender equality not only gives women their inalienable rights, but it benefits
humanity as a whole. It can help tackle the crippling poverty, illiteracy and abuse
that have afflicted nations across the world. Gender equality holds the key to many
things.