United Nations appreciates India’s role in women empowerment
Since the establishment of the United Nations, so far, the important role played by leading women who have been associated with UN from India and other developing countries has been appreciated, including Vijay Laxmi Pandit and Hansa Jivraj Mehta.
India’s permanent representative in the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin said, “A lesser known fact is that when developed countries try to establish itself as a leader of gender equality, then it was found that only three such instances were there were women have served as president of the General Assembly. These three women have been from developing countries. “
Speaking in the special program ‘Women and United Nations: In a Southern Heritage’, Akbaruddin said that the first woman (Vijay Laxmi Pandit) elected as president for the assembly in 1953 was from India.
He said that the other woman president of the General Assembly is Angie Elizabeth Brooks from Liberia and Haas Rashid Al Khalifa from Bahrain. Brooks was elected president of the General Assembly in 1969 and in 2006. Akbaruddin said that the next president of the General Assembly will also be a woman, it will be from once again developing countries.
He said, “In the time of the United Nations, more than seven decades, none of the developed countries have recommended the name of any woman here as their president.”
Akbaruddin mentioned that although we welcome the efforts made by the Secretary-General for the gender equality in appointments in senior positions in the United Nations system, “it is also important to see how many women are from developing countries in senior positions.”
United Nations Cabinet Secretary Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti also lauded the important role played by the women who have been associated with developing countries such as Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Uruguay and Venezuela.
He said that although the world body works for equality today, in this way “we should also remember our history”. The honor of women who have been associated with developing countries has not only given them accreditation due to them today, but have also corrected the incomplete historical details that keep in touch with countries like Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Uruguay and Venezuela Failed to show the role of women. “
Viotti said that she and General Secretary Antonio Gutierrez recognize the role of the women of developing countries in the expansion of the United Nations.
She said, “We are grateful for the remarkable efforts of women who are associated with Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Uruguay and Venezuela.”
Akbaruddin said that this event remembers the historical contributions of women of the developing countries especially in the creation of a remarkable multilateral forum of the United Nations and recognizes it. Women were dreamers and motivational leaders.
He said, “In the early years, the women of India, who contributed immensely to the UN work, were such leaders who were very active in the independence movement in the preceding years. At the same time, they were actively involved in the nation-building process. “
Underlining the contribution of women of India, Akbaruddin said that Mehta was a reformer, academician and outstanding writer. She served in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Affairs and is known for ensuring gender sensitivity in terms of language in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
During this, there was another mention of Lakshmi Menon, another important person who was the head of the United Nations Commission on Indian Representatives and position of women in the United Nations General Assembly from 1949 to 1950.
