Delivering a speech at a United Nations high-level meeting in New York to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing,  Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher reflected on the progress achieved and the challenges that remain to achieve equality for women. He forcefully called for the defence and the upholding of women’s dignity and equality in every sphere of life.

“Thirty years ago, the international community gathered in Beijing to focus on important and urgent questions regarding the dignity of women and the full enjoyment of her fundamental human rights,” the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations,  recalled. “Since then, although significant progress has been made, there are persistent issues in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that remain unaddressed.”

Poverty, education, economic inequality

Among these unresolved challenges, he highlighted poverty, education, and economic inequality, noting that their rates are still alarming.

“An extreme degree poverty of women, obstacles to accessing or even exclusion of women from quality education, and their lower wages in the work place impede the full achievement of women’s equal dignity and ability to fulfil their potential in all scopes of life,” he said.

Violence

He emphasised with particular concern the violence that exists against women and girls: “Wherever it occurs, at home, during trafficking, or in conflict and humanitarian settings, it constitutes an affront to their dignity and is a grave injustice.”

He also noted that “technology is being used to exacerbate certain forms of abuse and violence,” adding that the problem extends beyond exploitation.”

In his statement, he further observed that violence is not limited to sexual exploitation and trafficking but also includes the practices of prenatal sex selection and female infanticide.

These acts condemned in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action continue to rob millions of ‘missing girls’ each year.” The Holy See, he said, firmly condemns such violence in all its forms, insisting that it is never acceptable and must be eradicated.

Health

Health is another urgent concern. Archbishop Gallagher highlighted that, “Although maternal mortality rates have dropped significantly since 1990, progress has stalled in recent years. Access to prenatal care and skilled birth attendants, as well as to healthcare systems and infrastructure, must increase, while false solutions such as abortion rejected.”

He underlined the foundation of all human rights that protecting the right to life is essential, as it underpins all other fundamental rights.

Equality

Equality for women, he continued, cannot be achieved unless the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, is respected.

Finally, he urged governments to stay faithful to the commitments taken in Beijing.

“The primary concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which addresses the needs of women in poverty, strategies for development, literacy and education, ending violence against women and girls, a culture of peace, and access to employment, land, capital and technology, still remains neglected. It is the hope of the Holy See that instead of focusing on divisive issues that are not necessarily beneficial to women, their God given dignity should be respected and fulfilled by the states,” he affirmed.