75th Anniversary of the United Nations & 25th Year of Beijing Declaration

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations from the time of signing the UN charter in San Francisco in 1945 after the second world war. 2020 is also unique for the first ever virtual UN General Assembly proceedings in the history of the United Nations.
This year 2020 is also the 25th anniversary of the adoption of Beijing Declaration 1995 by the UN for the welfare of all women – To advance the goals of equality, development, health and safety for all women in all aspects everywhere in the interest of all humanity by focusing on the twelve critical areas of concern under the Beijing platform for action.
A webinar was organized on 21 July 2020 by the UN Women under the leadership of Executive Director Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. This webinar was organized in preparation for the special session on Beijing+25 which was held on 23 September 2020 during the 75th UN General Assembly. The webinar was a virtual multi-stakeholder hearing to discuss the progress made in the various areas in the welfare of women. A plenary session on Gender Equality was held on 22 September during the UN General Assembly proceedings. Dr. Sashikala Chandrasekar, Chair – SC Rural Health was an invited participant for the webinar held on 21 July and she also participated in the UN session on women held on 22 September in the digital platform.
Important gains have been achieved since 1995: More girls were educated than ever before and more countries have reached gender parity in educational enrolment. The global maternal mortality ratio has decreased significantly, and the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel increased over the past decade. By creating awareness on health & right to health, Improving the infrastructure & access for medical facilities especially in the developing countries, a lot can be achieved in women’s health.
The following points are relevant to the Beijing Declaration: 1. Securing the transition from education and training to decent work and economic security and autonomy for women; Addressing stereotyping of women, women’s unemployment, unpaid domestic work and over-representation in the informal sector especially in the rural areas.
2. Women’s participation and leadership in realizing women’s rights and women as changemakers and role models.
3. Women’s health & safety, prevention of sexual harassment & gender-based violence.
4. Achieving gender equality is everyone’s responsibility; Harnessing the potential of science, technology, innovation and digitalization for a gender-equal society; Multi-stakeholder partnerships needed for women’s welfare.
The present focus is on the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as an agenda for 15 years. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are the drivers for sustainable development. The safety and health of women especially in rural areas in developing countries becomes very important. This also brings to the focus the occupational health issues of women in rural informal sector. The need for active role of all the international & national organizations in implementing and realizing the Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality is emphasized very much. It is one of the vital steps for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.