Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of International Women’s Day

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” These words by activist Gloria Steinem testify to the universal nature of the fight for women’s rights and once a year, on 8 March, we restate our commitment to gender equality as a force driving dignity for all.

“婦女為平等而抗?fàn)幍臍v史不屬于女權(quán)主義者,而是所有男人和女人為爭(zhēng)取人權(quán)而斗爭(zhēng)的歷史。”女權(quán)活動(dòng)家格洛麗亞·斯泰納姆的這句話證明了人權(quán)斗爭(zhēng)的普遍性。每年3月8日,我們重申對(duì)性別平等的承諾,它是所有人的尊嚴(yán)的驅(qū)動(dòng)力。

Inequality between men and women penalizes societies at all levels of development. The violence, injustice and stereotypes suffered by too many women in their personal or professional lives undermine society as a whole, and deprive of it considerable potential for creativity, strength and confidence in the future. As the United Nations has adopted the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the full empowerment of girls and women is one of humanity’s most powerful levers for development.

性別不平等使處在各種發(fā)展水平的社會(huì)都深受其害。太多婦女在生活或工作中遭受暴力、不公正和成見,從而削弱了整個(gè)社會(huì),還使社會(huì)在創(chuàng)造性、力量和對(duì)未來的信心方面喪失巨大潛力。聯(lián)合國通過了雄心勃勃的 2030年可持續(xù)發(fā)展議程,而全面提高女童和婦女的能力則是人類發(fā)展最強(qiáng)有力的杠桿之一。讓我們將它的作用充分發(fā)揮出來。

It is a matter of principle, and a matter of common sense: everybody has a stake in promoting equality between men and women, at all levels of society: in farmland and on the benches of parliamentary assemblies, in company boardrooms and in the streets of our cities. Rural women are directly responsible for the production of half the world’s food – and it is primarily women who manage and gather natural resources. Ninety per cent of rapes in the world take place precisely when women are on their way to collect water or firewood. Two thirds of illiterate adults in the world are women. One in three women is subject to physical violence in the private sphere, and the wage gap between men and women, for equal work and with equal skills, is a fact across the world.

這是一個(gè)原則問題,也是一個(gè)常識(shí)問題:在社會(huì)各個(gè)層面促進(jìn)性別平等可使所有人從中獲益,無論是在農(nóng)田還是在議會(huì),在企業(yè)管理層還是在城市的街頭。農(nóng)村婦女直接負(fù)責(zé)全世界一半的糧食生產(chǎn),她們是首先管理和采集自然資源的人。全世界90%的強(qiáng)奸案恰恰發(fā)生在婦女打水或拾柴的路途中。全世界有三分之二的成年文盲是女性。每三名婦女中便有一名在生活中遭受身體暴力。同等能力和職位的男女工資差距在世界各地普遍存在。

Women must exercise their freedoms and be able to make their own choices, control their own bodies and their own lives, and take part in the decisions that set the course of society, just as men do. Everywhere, women and men are determined to change things, to denounce discrimination and demand genuine equality, and we must support and accompany them. For UNESCO, the main engine for change rests on education, training, and the possibility given to all girls and women of pursuing careers in research, politics and culture. Equality also lies in ridding the media and collective imagination of prejudice by highlighting the women scientists, artists and politicians who are moving humanity forward in all fields. On the occasion of this 2017 International Women’s Day, I call on all Member States to make a commitment to women’s’ rights, and thereby enhance rights and dignity for all.

女性應(yīng)該和男性一樣,行使自由權(quán)利,做出個(gè)人選擇,掌控自己的身體和生活,參與到影響社會(huì)進(jìn)程的決策之中。世界各地都有男性和女性致力于開展變革、揭露歧視、要求獲得真正的平等。我們應(yīng)當(dāng)支持他們、加入他們。對(duì)于教科文組織來說,變革的首要驅(qū)動(dòng)力在于教育、培訓(xùn)以及使所有女童和婦女具有從事研究、政治、文化職業(yè)的可能性。平等還在于在媒體和集體代表中驅(qū)逐偏見,重視在各個(gè)領(lǐng)域推動(dòng)人類進(jìn) 步的女科學(xué)家、藝術(shù)家或政治家。值此2017年國際婦女節(jié)之際,我呼吁會(huì)員國致力于加強(qiáng)婦女權(quán)利,從而提高所有人的權(quán)利和尊嚴(yán)。