[women-rights] 'We Cannot Wait Another 25 Years,' UNIFEM's Executive Director Says

For immediate release
Date: 14 August 2006 Media Inquiries
Nazneen Damji, Programme Specialist, Gender and HIV/AIDS
UNIFEM Headquarters
+1 917-488-9632, nazneen.damji  unifem.org 

"WE CANNOT WAIT ANOTHER 25 YEARS," UNIFEM'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAYS

The Executive Director of the United Nation's Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM), Noeleen Heyzer, has urged the international community and
national governments to pick up the pace of delivery on gender equality
and the empowerment of women and girls to reverse the feminization of the
AIDS pandemic.

"While we can celebrate some progress in achieving gender equality and
women’s rights, the progress has been far too slow," Heyzer told a
High-Level Session on Leadership at the XVI International AIDS Conference
in Toronto on Sunday, reminding the gathering that the women's movement
has spoken out for more than 10 years on gender inequality as one of the
major drivers of the AIDS pandemic.

"Ten years ago, women saw what was happening, especially in Africa, and
began speaking out. For ten years, supported by UNIFEM and others, they
have been working to place gender inequality and HIV on national and
international agendas - demanding greater attention to the ways in which
gender discrimination, poverty and violence intersect with the disease to
increase its spread — along with its dreadful consequences on
lives."

"We cannot wait another 25 years," Heyzer said, calling on the
international and national leadership to meet the "two urgent leadership
challenges of halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and delivering
on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls."

Based on UNIFEM's experiences working at community and national levels
within countries, and with the women's movement and HIV-positive women's
networks, the UNIFEM Executive Director told the high-level meeting that
there are several strategies that can, and have worked, to turn the tide
to benefit women and girls.

"It is time to end violence against women in times of war and in times of
peace. Ending violence against women in time of war," she said, is
critical because "what we accept in times of war, we will accept in times
of peace."

The UNIFEM Executive Director also urged governments to banish to the
pages of history all laws that discriminate against women, and to create
spaces for women's participation in the shaping of HIV/AIDS policies and
plans.

"We do have the strategies that work. What's holding us back? We fear
up-scaling the measures and investments to ensure the response is large
enough for transformation. Money matters and money must reach the people,"
Heyzer said.

The High-Level Session on Leadership was attended by ministers from 20
countries and leaders representing development partners, civil society,
positive women's networks, faith-based groups and the business community.


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UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations, providing financial
support and technical assistance to innovative programmes promoting
women's human rights, their economic and political empowerment, and
gender equality in more than 100 countries. In 2006, UNIFEM is
commemorating its 30th anniversary. For more information, visit
http://www.unifem.org. 

UNIFEM, 304 East 45th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017. Tel: +1
212-906-6400. Fax: +1 212-906-6705.