Screening of "Women and Men" on International Women's Day
06 March 2015
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
I am pleased to welcome all of you to this special film screening on the occasion of the International Women's Day. Directed by Frédérique Bedos the film "Women and men" or "Des femmes et des hommes" is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
This is why we at UNCTAD have supported the screening of this film and invited all of you to watch it with us.
Discriminations against women are deeply rooted and widely-spread in our societies and cultures: gender inequality remains a pervasive problem.
Through the interviews conducted by Madame Bedos the film teaches us lessons about the rise of patriarchal societies with movement to cities, the rise of a warrior culture and the uprooting of agricultural society. And we hear about the many forms of violence, discrimination and inequality that affect the entire life cycle of women across the world, from female infanticide and domestic violence to deep economic and political marginalization. These are universal problems.
The film depicts some of the spirited movements that women have launched and the personal and collective struggles they have waged to secure their own rights, freedoms and liberties.
Madame Bedos makes us walk through a number of stories, some beautiful, some dreadful. We need to learn from both.
Dear guests,
The United Nations has played a crucial role in paving the way for gender equality, making clear that women's rights are also human rights.
From MDGs to SDGs the determination to end gender inequality is clearly growing.
It is indeed our vision that countries cannot grow and develop in a sustainable and peaceful manner if equality and dignity are not guaranteed to every citizen. It is UNCTAD's mandate, history and ambition to support its countries to shape prosperous, peaceful and fair societies.
Raul Prebisch, UNCTAD's founding father, wanted UNCTAD to be "an instrument of change". We very much wish it to be so in the field of gender equality and women's empowerment.
Many of our studies have shown that trade, investment, technology and finance can be harnessed to foster women's economic empowerment and gender equality.
Please visit UNCTAD's website to find out more about how our gender related studies and our technical assistance programmes have benefitted thousands of women.
Women's economic empowerment can become a gateway to other freedoms and capabilities and we at UNCTAD are committed to using our resources and capacities to contribute wholeheartedly to this effort.
Before concluding, let me express my deep appreciation to our partners the United Nations Office at Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies - for helping us to organize this event to celebrate and commemorate all the courageous struggles that have taken us closer to the goal of gender equality.
I encourage all of you to watch the film, having in mind that we still have work to do to foster the well-being and dignity of women.
I hope you enjoy the film.