{"id":30193,"date":"2023-03-12T09:15:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-12T08:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=30193"},"modified":"2023-03-12T09:17:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T08:17:20","slug":"women-hold-up-half-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=30193","title":{"rendered":"Women Hold Up Half the Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"
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. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . . <\/p>\n

An article from UN Peacekeeping<\/a><\/p>\n

Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, assistant secretary-general for Africa at the United Nations, reflects on several\u00a0inspiring examples of women overcoming differences\u00a0and\u00a0leading movements for peace, gender equality and women\u2019s rights. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\n

In 2015, I became Ghana\u2019s first female ambassador and\u00a0permanent representative to the United Nations\u00a0<\/a> in New York.\u00a0As we celebrate\u00a0International Women\u2019s Day\u00a0<\/a> on March 8, I reflect on this life-changing experience. <\/p>\n

I remember feeling the thrill of this new recognition in my career,\u00a0which was applauded by many in Ghana\u2014but also\u00a0my dismay at the\u00a0number of people expressing surprise at seeing a woman take on this post.\u00a0 They\u00a0thought that New York would be too difficult for me\u2014irrespective of my\u00a0training in multilateral diplomacy and 26 years in the Ghana Foreign Service\u2014and that it should be a male ambassador instead. <\/p>\n

In much of my career, I have\u00a0had to\u00a0go the\u00a0extra\u00a0mile,\u00a0and perhaps\u00a0double of what my male colleagues did, to be recognized as capable. I strongly believed that I could bring the same determination and confidence to bear on the task of representing my country at the U.N. It took five years of hard work\u00a0in New York\u00a0but was well worth it. <\/p>\n

But the challenges for women do not start or end at the workplace. As the\u00a0United Nations\u00a0<\/a> assistant secretary-general for Africa, I know the immense challenges women face\u00a0in conflict situations. But I also\u00a0have firm belief and appreciation of\u00a0the important role they play in\u00a0conflict prevention, conflict resolution and lasting peace. <\/p>\n

Yet women\u00a0face many barriers to their participation in political and peace processes. Some are cultural and others are the result of institutions not making room for them to participate, let alone to lead. This means women are often shut out from conflict resolution and peace negotiations. <\/p>\n

(Article continues in right column.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Questions related to this article:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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UN Resolution 1325, does it make a difference? <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Does the UN advance equality for women?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Article continued from left column.)<\/p>\n

In my\u00a0role at the U.N.<\/a>, I\u00a0have\u00a0had the opportunity to\u00a0visit several countries in Africa affected by conflict. During one such visit to\u00a0visit Bamako, the capital of Mali, I met women from all over the country\u00a0who shared with me their experiences and the challenges in making their voices heard. In the country\u2019s initial peace talks in 2012, women were not invited,\u00a0but they demanded\u00a0a seat at the\u00a0negotiating\u00a0table. This courageous step paved the way for a very different situation today, where women make up 38 percent of the\u00a0Peace Agreement Monitoring Committee <\/a> \u00a0in Mali. Hearing their inspiring stories and seeing\u00a0what they achieved, even in the worst possible circumstances,\u00a0 humbles and inspires me.\u00a0These women had\u00a0a\u00a0vision\u00a0of peace\u00a0and fought for their inclusion in efforts to secure\u00a0that peace\u00a0and ultimately a\u00a0better future\u00a0for their country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In South Sudan, we have women like\u00a0Alokiir Malual\u00a0<\/a> who, after immense efforts and advocacy, made history in 2015 as the first woman to sign a peace agreement. Her signature set a precedent for future women\u2019s representation and participation in peace processes in South Sudan. <\/p>\n

On the other side of the border, in Sudan, our political mission facilitated consultations with women\u2019s civil society groups and leaders on bringing the country back to a civilian-led transition. They successfully pushed for women\u2019s rights provisions in the\u00a0Framework Agreement<\/a>, signed between civilian and military forces on Dec. 5, 2022, and 15 percent of signatories were women. The hope is that Sudanese women will continue to lead change and bring women\u2019s rights to the negotiating table. <\/p>\n

There are countless\u00a0 who actively work to prevent conflict,\u00a0help countries recover from crises and build peace, often putting their own life at risk.\u00a0 It is also important to note that while women\u00a0are diverse actors\u2014they are members of armed groups, politicians, peacebuilders, human rights defenders,\u00a0and may not always agree on everything\u2014there\u00a0are\u00a0many\u00a0inspiring examples of how women have overcome differences\u00a0and\u00a0convened\u00a0coalitions and movements for peace, gender equality and women\u2019s rights. <\/p>\n

Research\u00a0has\u00a0shown\u00a0that\u00a0<\/a>women\u2019s participation in peace negotiations\u00a0<\/a> brings human security to the fore and is beneficial for the whole\u00a0of\u00a0society.\u00a0Peace is also more likely to last when women are part of the process, and we can rest assured that matters pertaining to the protection of civilians, food security, health and education will be given due primacy. <\/p>\n

Women hold up half the sky, and consequently\u00a0they have a fundamental right to be part of discussions and decision-making that define the future of their families, communities and countries. <\/p>\n

The international community has over several decades adopted norms and conventions for women\u2019s inclusion in all aspects of national life.\u00a0It is now time to live up to those commitments and walk the talk.\u00a0We\u00a0need to bring\u00a0the voices of\u00a0women to the negotiation table\u00a0in political and peace processes.\u00a0We must empower them through capacity-building and provide the support they need to be heard.\u00a0This is a must for sustaining peace. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . . An article from UN Peacekeeping Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, assistant secretary-general for Africa at the United Nations, reflects on several\u00a0inspiring examples of women overcoming differences\u00a0and\u00a0leading movements for peace, gender equality and women\u2019s rights. In 2015, I became Ghana\u2019s first female ambassador and\u00a0permanent representative to the United Nations\u00a0 in New … Continue reading Women Hold Up Half the Sky<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,93,12],"tags":[9,94],"class_list":["post-30193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-united-nations","category-women","tag-africa","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}