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Further, we are seeing a wave of intolerance, fear and exclu-
sion which has put women’s rights squarely in its crosshairs.
In the last few years, we have seen societies turning insular
and intolerant and governments becoming increasingly
authoritarian, squeezing civic spaces and cracking down on
the dissent and critique that is vital to women’s rights and
social justice movements everywhere.
The need to work together for a fair world within countries,
between countries and between peoples has never been so
urgent and so obvious. This situation demands that we hold
the line with a unified assertion of the counternarrative of
peace, gender equality, sustainability and shared prosperity,
including for the most marginalized and excluded. This is the
universal narrative of Agenda 2030 and a Planet 50-50.
Women suffer the most at the hands of conflict, and are also
the best placed to help end it and achieve peace that lasts. This
has involved changing practices as well as attitudes to reflect
the positive roles women play in peace and security efforts.
For too long women have been portrayed solely as casual-
ties of conflict rather than a crucial part of its resolution, and
traditionally male-dominated security forces have not always
understood or valued women’s positive impact on peacebuild-
ing and peacekeeping. At the same time, particular attention
is needed to the most vulnerable, such as indigenous women
facing a compound disadvantage of gender and ethnicity,
especially in areas of conflict, and women and girls in areas
of violent extremism.
A recent statistical analysis that looked at 181 peace agree-
ments signed between 1989 and 2011 showed that when
women were included in the negotiations, there was a 35 per
cent increase in the probability of peace lasting 15 years. As
the first to notice attacks on their rights and freedoms and
the militarization and radicalization of individuals in their
families and communities, women also have an important role
to prevent the radicalization of youth, militarism and violent
extremism.
Women are not simply victims, waiting to be rescued, they
are active agents of change who make a significant contri-
bution to sustainable development, peace and security,
humanitarian response, and economic and political leader-
ship. An ever-increasing body of evidence demonstrates that
eliminating discrimination and closing gender gaps in several
sectors would result in increased productivity and better
economic, political, social and environmental outcomes for
everyone. In addition, evidence is growing of the critical
importance of investing in young women and men to enable
them to reach their full potential so that they can become
change-makers, peacebuilders, able to address problems in
their communities and beyond.
Concluding with peace is a powerful reminder for us all
that the SDGs have essentially the same end: the well-being
of all people. Because half of these people are women and
girls, gender equality is something that the world cannot
afford to ignore. Only when women and girls are empowered
to be actors in the fate of our planet, and leaders of their own
destinies for a better future, will we all come closer to fully
realizing the 2030 Agenda. The time has come for an equal
world, indeed it is already overdue.
Image: UN Women/Samir Jung Thapa
Panchkhal, Nepal: psychosocial counsellor Sujata Sharma Poudel speaks with a local woman at the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre,
set up following the earthquake in 2015
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