International Women's Day is more than a moment marked on a calendar. It is a
day not just to renew our determination to make the world a more peaceful and
prosperous place -- but to recognize that a world where opportunities for women
grow, is a world where the possibilities for peace, prosperity, and stability
grow even more.
I see it every single day as Secretary of State. Even as the Assad regime's
barrel-bombing of Aleppo continues, showing the world a brutal regime's true
colors, with every act of courage and perseverance, Syria’s women show the world
their true colors, as well. We heard from some of these remarkable women in
Montreux just last month.
Their stories spoke to the bravery of countless other Syrian women. One woman
from Idlib worked with the Free Syrian Army to ensure that the people of her
village could remain in their homes and till their own land. Another woman from
Aleppo got restrictions on humanitarian access lifted by offering food to regime
soldiers at the checkpoints. If that isn’t courage under fire, I don’t know what
is.
It's not just in Syria that women offer us hope for resolution to conflict.
Women are vital to our shared goals of prosperity, stability and peace. That’s
as true when it comes to ending our battles as it is jumpstarting our economies.
The fact is that women bear the greatest burden in war. But their voices are too
rarely heard in negotiating peace.
That has to change.
Countries that value and empower women to participate fully in
decision-making are more stable, prosperous, and secure. The opposite is also
true. When women are excluded from negotiations, the peace that follows is more
tenuous. Trust is eroded, and human rights and accountability are often
ignored.
In too many countries, treaties are designed by combatants for combatants. It
should come as no surprise, then, that more than half of all peace agreements
fail within the first 10 years of signature. The inclusion of women in peace
building and conflict prevention can reverse that trend.
So how do we get there?
Evidence from around the world has shown that deadly conflicts are more
likely to be prevented, and peace best forged and protected, when women are
included as equal partners.
That’s why we are working to support women in conflict and post-conflict
areas around the world.
In Afghanistan, we are advocating for the inclusion and election of women at
all levels of governance. Afghan women today are marching forward in ways
unimaginable just 10 years ago. They’re starting companies. They’re serving as
members of parliament. They’re teaching in schools and working as doctors and
nurses. They are the foundation upon which Afghanistan's future is being
built.
As the people of Burma work to resolve the conflict that has plagued their
nation for decades, the United States is supporting the meaningful participation
of women in the peace process and inter-communal peace initiatives.
We know that the security of women is essential to their participation in
peace building. That’s why we are working to ensure women get equal access to
humanitarian assistance and relief, wherever we work.
The United States is also leading by example. My sister has worked for many
years at the United Nations, following in the State Department footsteps of our
father many years before I did myself. She's a trailblazer. But she's not alone.
It’s no coincidence that some of our top diplomats and peace negotiators are
women -- from National Security Advisor Susan Rice, to U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations Samantha Power, to Deputy Secretary of State Heather
Higginbottom, to Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.
Today, all but one of the State Department's Regional Assistant Secretaries are
women.
We celebrate their accomplishments not just because they are women, but
because their work around the world will make all people -- men and women, boys
and girls –- more secure.
Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of every member of
society working together to promote stability and prosperity.
No country can succeed unless every citizen is empowered to contribute to its
future. And no peace can endure if women are not afforded a central role. So
today, we mark the miles women have traveled around the world -- but more
importantly we commit to the next miles of the journey.
<Reference>
No comments:
Post a Comment