Global News: 15 February

“We must empower women to create the future we want!” was the message that went out yesterday to the Unites Nations Member States by the Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro. She encouraged the UN to boost economic empowerment for women and warned that gender discrimination around the world was too widespread; she also encourage them to support women in helping them realize the global community’s common goals.

Asha-Rose highlighted the struggles faced by women in rural communities around the world and urged governments to economically empower women living in the countryside. She said:

“All too often, we find the worst poverty in the countryside. And women are too often the poorest of the poor. Rural women really need our attention,” she told the gathered delegates, noting that discrimination against rural women “hurts everyone.”

Asha-Rose said in her closing remarks:

“Too many countries still have discriminatory laws on the books. Laws that prevent women from inheriting property, laws that restrict women’s freedom, and laws that undermine women’s rights are all laws that must be repealed,”

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