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UN Chief Guterres: Women are the Victims of Coronavirus

Women are the victims of the economic and social consequences of the corona pandemic.

 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

In 1995 this conference put the advancement of the position of women on the agenda.

According to the UN chief, the corona pandemic has exposed the bad position of women’s rights.

He says women are suffering the economic impact of the pandemic, as women are often the first to lose their jobs. According to him, there is also a ‘shadow pandemic’ of (sexual) violence against women.

If we don’t act now, the coronavirus could wipe out an entire generation of advancements in gender equality, Guterres said. The solution, he says, lies in an equal representation of women in governments, boardrooms and in peace negotiations.

According to Guterres, the ambitious 1995 vision has not yet been fulfilled. For example, he gave an example that one in three women will experience violence during her lifetime.

Also, more than ten million underage girls get married every year and women have only 75 percent of the legal rights of men worldwide.

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