By Siphesihle Dlamini
Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla is in New York, United States of America, participating in the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).
The theme is ‘Accelerating the achievements of gender equality and women empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with gender perspective’.
In her address, she highlighted the daily challenges that are faced by ordinary women in Eswatini, as well as the measures undertaken by the government of Eswatini to address them.
She expressed sadness that gender inequality still exists. “From a systematic and societal perspective, it is disheartening that the gender disparities still exist, with women and girls disproportionately rendering them still the most vulnerable groups in societies,” she said.
She added that women and girls face challenges such as Gender Based Violence (GBV), unemployment, poverty, poor sanitation, early and unintended pregnancy, sexual violence, and abuse.
She mentioned that in 2023, His Majesty’s government reviewed and adopted the National Gender Policy aligned with global and regional targets such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and African Union Agenda 2063 (Aspiration 6).
She said this policy aims to address gender inequalities nationally, including emerging issues such as STEM, global trade, women’s peace and security and climate change.
Also participating is the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Eswatini in New York Kenneth Mbingo, Ambassador Thami Dlamini, Under Secretary, Gender Coordinator and Principal Energy Officer.
The 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, started on March 11, 2024, and will run until March 22, 2024.
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At CSW68, governments, civil society organizations, experts, and activists from across the world will come together to agree on actions and investments that can end women’s poverty and advance gender equality.
According to information sourced from unwomen.org, The world is at a crucial crossroads for gender equality and globally, 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty and they are poorer than men.
Progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
According to the site, solutions to end women’s poverty are widely recognized: investing in policies and programmes that address gender inequalities and boosting women’s agency and leadership.
Such investments yield enormous dividends: Over 100 million women and girls could be lifted out of poverty if governments prioritized education and family planning, fair and equal wages, and expanded social benefits.
Almost 300 million jobs could be created by 2035 through investments in care services. Closing gender gaps in employment could boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by 20 per cent across all regions.
