She Is equal
Supplied by Salvation Army International Development (SAID).
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), women are still more likely to be poor and illiterate than men.
Leading up to International Women’s Day this Saturday, The Salvation Army and the Australian Government have joined together to create awareness about gender equality through their campaign, She Is.
The Salvation Army acknowledges the importance of women to economic and social life. They believe women must have access to equal employment opportunities for communities to thrive.
Gender equality, defined by the UNFPA, “implies a society where women and men enjoy the same opportunities, outcomes, rights and obligations in all spheres of life”. She Is aims to create awareness around worldwide gender equality and injustices against women across the world.
On their website, She Is presents issues, statistics and stories of women and girls who have faced development hardships.
Violence against women can come in many forms including physical, sexual, psychological and economic. The following issues inhibit women from progressing in the world because they are denied human rights.
Prenatal sex selection in favour of boys has increased in the past 20 years according to the UNFPA. This has created a culture of gender inequality and seen a growing number of missing women.
Female genital mutilation involves partial or total removal and is generally carried out on girls between zero and 15 years, according to the World Health Organisation.
Worldwide, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimate that about 75 percent of human trafficking victims to be women and girls.
UN Women state that women complete two thirds of the world’s work, yet earn less than 10 per cent of the world’s wages. Barriers to education and employment also put women at risk of falling into extreme poverty, according to UN Women.
The above issues all play a part in the demise of gender equality. This International Women’s Day, the She Is campaign is encouraging both men and women, young and old, to become aware of gender inequalities that exist in their own worlds and encourage individuals to do something about it.
Visit sheis.org.au to find out more about gender equality issues around the world.
Watch the She Is promotional video:
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