Partners and governments championing gender equality have the power to transform lives globally, the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, said at the opening of the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York.
Speaking at the UN headquarters, Bahous described member states and partners advocating gender equality as “the most powerful constituencies”, capable of driving real change for women and girls worldwide.
However, she warned that major gaps remain. Globally, women currently enjoy only 64% of the legal rights available to men, and at the current pace it could take 286 years to close the legal protection gap for women and girls.
She also highlighted troubling realities: in nearly 70% of surveyed countries, women face greater barriers to justice than men, while 54% of countries still do not define rape based on consent.
Bahous noted that gender inequality is further worsened by conflicts in places such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, where women and girls often bear the heaviest consequences.
She added that the UN system remains committed to strengthening justice systems that protect women equally and end impunity for gender-based violations.
Also speaking, Nahla Haidar, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), warned of a growing backlash against gender equality, including attacks on women’s rights defenders, shrinking civic spaces and rising gender-based violence.
Despite financial constraints affecting UN operations, she said the committee continues to address urgent global human rights challenges affecting women.
The CSW70 session, running until March 19, brings together governments, UN agencies and civil society groups from across the world to discuss ways to improve access to justice and eliminate discriminatory laws affecting women and girls.
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