Women’s Rights Fund – Why We Need to Raise More Funds to Advance Women’s Rights

Women represent half of the world’s population and are thus half of humanity’s potential. Empowering them unlocks peace, prosperity and sustainable development. But to fully realise that potential, women and men must be equal.

This is why we need to address sexist standards and structures, and dismantle patriarchal ways of thinking and behaving. It is also why medica mondiale works on the gender equality goal – which is a stand-alone goal within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – and why we fight against the violence against women and girls, unmet need for contraception, child marriage, female genital mutilation, and other injustices that affect them and limit their rights.

In the past 50 years, we have made tremendous progress towards the advancement of women’s rights. Female labour force participation is now close to parity with males, the proportion of women in parliaments has more than doubled, and the number of countries removing discriminatory laws against them has increased. Women’s access to education and health has improved. Maternal mortality has been reduced. And poverty rates have been cut as a result of economic growth that has lifted millions out of extreme poverty.

Yet there is still a long way to go to achieve the full range of women’s rights around the world. Only 143 of the 189 countries have guaranteed equal rights for men and women in their constitutions, and stark disparities persist in other areas. The gap between women’s and men’s wages remains large, even in countries where laws against discrimination against women have been passed. And one in three women has been subject to violence – physical, psychological, or sexual – in her lifetime.

The reason why these inequalities persist is complex and rooted in both economic and non-economic factors. But it is clear that economic channels – such as the return to female labour market participation and the reduction in total fertility rate – are important. And public policies are crucial, too.

These are the main reasons why we need to raise more funds to continue fighting for women’s rights. If we don’t, progress could stall and the gains of the past half century will be undone.

At the heart of the struggle for women’s rights are a set of values and beliefs rooted in the idea that human beings are of equal worth, no matter their gender or origin. This is why medica mondiale calls for all people to join in support of the women’s rights movement and to uphold those values in their lives, workplaces and communities. In doing so, they can help ensure that women’s rights will be respected in practice and not just in theory. Together, we can make sure that all of women’s rights are fully realised. The world we live in is better for it. And we will all be stronger and more prosperous because of it. — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres