Press release: UN Women and CARE Palestine WBG partner to promote gender equality
Date:
Palestine, 30 June 2020 - UN Women and CARE Palestine West Bank/Gaza launched today a joint campaign to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as part of the Generation Equality Forum, a global gathering convened by UN Women and co-chaired by France and Mexico, in partnership with civil society on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most comprehensive blueprint to achieve women’s empowerment and gender equality.
The campaign will be conducted in preparation for the engagement of Palestinian civil society and government representatives in the Generation Equality Forum, to stimulate discussions on the priority topics of the event including gender-based violence, economic justice and rights, bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), feminist action for climate justice, technology and innovation for gender equality and feminist movements and leadership.
Consisting of a series of events to be held between July and December 2020, the campaign will build on the success of the event “Bridging the Generation Divide – Beijing 25 Years After” conducted on 16 March 2020. That activity brought together prominent Palestinian women leaders who attended the Beijing Conference in 1994, and young advocate women for a public debate on gender equality achievements and gaps in Palestine in the context of the Beijing Platform and its 12 critical areas of concern.
The Generation Equality Forum in the State of Palestine is a civil society–centered, multi-stakeholder gathering for gender equality, fundamentally rooted in the same logic that made possible the momentous advance of adopting the Beijing Platform for Action, 25 years ago.
“The Forum represents a key moment for engagement among gender equality advocates from every sector of society—governments, civil society, private sector, entrepreneurs, trade unions, artists, academia, and social influencers—to foster a public conversation for urgent action and accountability for gender equality. We expect the Forum will launch a set of concrete, ambitious, and transformative actions to achieve immediate and irreversible progress towards gender equality,” said Maryse Guimond, UN Women Special Representative in Palestine.
In the year 2020, women’s rights and gender equality were supposed to take central stage globally and in Palestine, marking both the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and five years after the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda with gender equality at its heart. The joint CARE and UN Women Campaign aims at maintaining the momentum of highlighting women’s rights and gender equality in the challenging socio-economic and political context here in Palestine, while also addressing the emerging challenging under the current context of COVID 19-crisis, which has deepened even further Palestinian women and girls vulnerabilities.
“The activities of the Campaign will focus on national, and regional dialogue among various actors, introducing Palestinian women actors and civil society leaders nationally and regionally through a series of webinars, debates and film screenings. It will also focus on setting up virtual webinars and sparking discussions on notably women’s participation, leadership, economic rights and ending violence against women,” said Salam Kanaan, CARE Palestine WBG Country Director.
For more information, please contact:
Salam Kanaan, Country Director CARE Palestine WBG (English, Arabic);
[ Click to reveal ] +970 (2) 592 885588
Inas Margieh, UN Women Programme Coordinator, Palestine Country Office (English, Arabic); [ Click to reveal ] +970 595924459
About CARE
CARE was founded in 1945, in the United Stated of America to help the victims of the Second World War in Europe, and is now a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty.
About UN Women
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
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