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Women bear an unequal burden when it comes to poverty, HIV/AIDS and violence. They are less likely to go to school, receive adequate health care or participate in decision-making structures.
ACTSA believes that gender equality and the empowerment of women is crucial for advancing development and reducing poverty in southern Africa, and aims to integrate a gender perspective in all its campaigning work.
UN Women
The United Nations has a key role in working for women’s rights at global level. However, the UN bodies dealing with gender equality are under-resourced and fragmented.
On 14 September 2009, during the last day of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly, a unanimous decision was taken to establish a new UN women’s agency. Progress has been slow in the overall formation of the agency and there are fears over exactly how much power the agency will be able to wield over global gender inequity issues.
ACTSA continues to work as part of an international campaign calling for an ambitious and well-funded UN women's agency, to empower and protect women in southern Africa and globally.
We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure the realisation of a strong and influential agency. You can read ACTSA's latest update on the UN Women's Agency to find out how the agency is progressing.
On 2 July 2010 the UN announced the new agency will be called UN Women and will be operational by January 2011, with an annual budget of at least $500 million – double the current combined resources of the four agencies it will comprise. |
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