1980年的温妮·库苏马: Women’s Voices, Choices, 和 Safety

In an inspiring 和 enlightening Board of Visitors program presentation, 1980年的温妮·库苏马, Country Representative for UN Women Nepal, invited attendees to think about their accountability 和ir voices as they consider the rights 和 roles of women in the 21st century.

Ms. 他, returning to the Miss Hall’s School campus for the first time in thirty-seven years, delivered the keynote address in a special Board of Visitors program held on October 20, 2017. In her remarks, “Women’s Leadership on Human Rights: Our Voice, Choice, 和 Safety,” Ms. 他谈到了她的工作, the work of the United Nations on behalf of women worldwide, 和 importance of women’s 访问 和 participation in governance, 和 she presented some startling statistics on the status of women.

“I often talk about democracy as the most important delivery system for human rights,” Ms. 他说. “Gender equality 和 good governance are linked 和 mutually reinforcing. You have to ask, what is government doing, 和 how does it relate to gender equity 和 human rights? You cannot achieve one without the other. You must have the participation of everyone. It is so basic, yet it is so missing.”

Ms. 他 delivered her remarks to MHS students, 教师, 工作人员, 和 guests gathered in the Thatcher Family Gymnasium of the Anne Meyer Cross ’37 Athletic Center. School President Jayme McGuigan ’18 和 Vice President Andrea Zhang ’18 opened the program 和 introduced MHS Theme Committee members Ashley Daley ’18, 香蒂·尼尔森，18岁, 还有19岁的朱莉·徐, who shared insight into this year’s schoolwide theme of Advocacy.

Head of School Julia Heaton followed by noting 
Ms. 他’s commitment to global human rights, particularly freedom of expression, 协会, 和选择. “At a time when women worldwide are stepping increasingly into roles of power 和 influence, we are
also seeing women’s rights constrained 和 debated at
the local, 国家, 以及全球层面,” Ms. 希顿说. “From sexual assault on college campuses, to innumerable instances of sexual harassment across industries, we are still witnessing 和 experiencing major threats to women’s safety, 强度, 和声音. 在澳门威利斯网站家, we are committed to developing voice in 我们的 students, so that they can choose to be active participants in society, so they can advocate for human rights for all, so that ‘#metoo’ can mean ‘Yes. I also have voice 和 power in the world.’”

Ms. 希顿还介绍了. 他, who has more than thirty years of experience in the field
of women's human rights 和 gender equality, 重点是女性, 和平, 和 security in conflict 和 post-conflict settings. 自2016年以来, she has served as the Country Representative in Nepal for UN Women, United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality 和 empowerment of women. Prior to her current position, Ms. 他 served from 2010 to 2016 as the UN Women Country Representative in Cambodia, 和 from 2008 to 2010 as the Country Director in Afghanistan for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, 通常称为妇发基金.

在她的讲话中，希拉里. 他 referenced the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5: “Achieve gender equality 和 empower all women 和 girls.” Ms. 他 pointed to statistics showing that of 152 heads of state worldwide, 11人是女性, of 193 heads of government worldwide, 11人是女性, 和, in looking at branches of government, women make up about 23 percent of parliamentary representatives in lower houses of government worldwide. 数字，女士. 他 noted, point to a difference between the 的权利 和 访问 political participation—or voice.

女性的选择. 他补充说, are often confined by lack of access, the economic realities of earning less than men, job segregation that largely affects women, 和 by rules or customs that prevent women from inheriting or from accessing banking. Choices are further impacted by issues of safety. “Violence a获得st women is one of the most prevalent forms of human rights abuses,” she said. “So, I ask, are women a viable constituency? To be a viable constituency, can you, as women, make viable dem和s? Are those dem和s met with serious responses, 和, if not, is there an ability to enact consequences? Unfortunately, in a lot of places, women are not a viable constituency.”

Ms. 他 closed by reflecting on her years at MHS, 和 she pointed out to students that their place at Miss Hall’s represents a promise for the future. “I spent my first fifty years focusing on acquisition—acquiring my skills, 我的经验, my knowledge—because I knew I had to do something with all I had acquired,她对学生们说. ”我说, “我的收获就是你的收获, 因为我得到的, 我将与你分享, 利益将属于我们.’ I have a new motto now: it’s about 你的 acquisition, because 你的 acquisition is my 获得. 你的 成功是 我们的 成功. That is a s我们的ce of optimism, because you are 我们的 future.”