International peace and security could benefit from more women in leadership roles as they would offer a nuanced perspective and bring everyone together in dialogue, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said this evening.
Addressing the first ever Women’s Forum, held prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next weekend, President Coleiro Preca hoped the forum would become a catalyst to influence much needed and long awaited changes.
Noting that women, girls and gender minorities continued to occupy a disadvantaged position throughout the world, she said such inequality was not limited to location. “It is also not limited to whether their oppression occurs in poor households, or in developing countries.
“Discrimination occurs in both situations of peace and conflict; however, it is much more devastating in situations of conflict.”
The President said that reports continuously showed that inequalities persisted worldwide, affecting a wide range of rights, including health, education, public and political life, employment, and access to justice.
“In looking at a more equal future, we must all recognise that gender inequality negatively affects all people, regardless of their gender identities.”
The road toward gender equality, she said, should be viewed not merely as a transfer of opportunities or privileges from one group to another, but as a fundamental necessity.
President Coleiro Preca referred to the HeForShe campaign spearheaded by UN Women, a leading global campaign on gender equality.
She said that together with fellow heads of State, she was committed to this campaign and its message of gender equality.
“Together with other Champions, we are determined to make a difference in the lives of women and girls worldwide.
“To this mandate, through my Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, I have added a significant focus on the protection, and empowerment, of gender minorities.
“We encourage all other HeForShe champions to do the same, recognising the importance of gender self-determination, in the creation of peace oriented and dignity affirming societies.”
A key message of the campaign was that gender equality was not an issue faced by women or gender minorities alone but a human rights issue that affected everyone.
“We all stand to benefit from gender equality, liberating us from prescribed social roles and the gender stereotypes of a binary system that must be interrogated, and transformed,” she said.
The President said together “we can reduce inequalities and create a world that reflects our most profound and deeply-held values”.
The time, she said, was ripe to move from rhetoric to action “before we run out of time”.
President Coleiro Preca said that women’s potential was still untapped and hoped the forum would elicit innovative ways of encouraging women to take an active role in society.
“It is only when women are present in numbers that they can make a real difference,” she said.