2011婦女節主題：婦女與平等

　　This year, International Women’s Day highlights the participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology. It also focuses our attention on the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work.

　　Today, more women than ever before are participating in the work force, yet almost two-thirds of women in the developing world work in the informal economy with no labour rights or social protection. Globally, women are more likely to be jobless, bearing the worst setbacks of the economic crisis.

　　Seventy percent of the world’s hungry people are women and girls and 45 per cent of women in developing countries suffer from anemia and malnutrition. Across the globe, every day about 1,000 women die because of complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and more than 30 million girls are out of school.

　　However, educated, employed women break poverty cycles, not just for themselves but for families, communities and countries. UNDP’s International Assessment on ‘What it Takes to Achieve the MDGs’ found that educated women are more likely to seek medical care during pregnancy and to ensure their children are healthy and educated girls are also more productive, better paid in the workplace and more able to participate in social, economic and political decision-making.

　　Women need equal opportunities in the economic, social and political spheres. This includes increasing access to finance, training and technology and strengthening women’s legal status and rights.

　　From huge national projects to smaller-scaled initiatives, UNDP works with governments, civil society and the private sector so that real progress is made in helping countries reduce inequalities and improve the lives of women.

　　For example, in Benin, UNDP’s Small Grants Programme is benefitting women and their families, improving their incomes and simultaneously protecting the environment in which they live.

　　In Pakistan UNDP is working with non-governmental organizations and local religious courts to end violence against women. To this day, the initiative has helped around 45,000 women trapped in situations of violence.

　　In El Salvador, which has one of the highest female murder rates, UNDP helped women parliamentarians pass a groundbreaking bill to address violence against women.

　　In Lebanon, more than 40 women’s cooperatives have formed small businesses across the country to revitalize communities that were economically devastated by conflicts.

　　今年，國際婦女節的重點在於「女性對教育、培訓與自然科學的平等參與」。同時也將焦點放在提倡讓女性得以充分就業，獲得平等合宜的工作權利。

　　現今社會有越來越多的女性加入了勞動市場，但卻有​​三分之二的女性在發展中國家從事非正規經濟工作，並且無法擁有勞動人權和社會保障。就全球狀況而言，女性更形同失業，並且承受著經濟危機所帶來的嚴重衝擊。

　　世界上的飢餓人口中有百分之七十是婦女和女孩，而更有百分之四十五生活在發展中國家的婦女患有貧血和營養不良。綜觀全世界，每天約有 1000名婦女死於與妊娠有關的併發症或分娩，此外更有3000多萬名女童失學。

　　然而，受教育、並且幫助就業婦女打破貧窮的惡性循環，並非單純只是為了幫助這些婦女，同時也是為了她們的家庭、整個社區以及國家。在聯合國開發計劃署（UNDP）所做的「如何才能實現千禧年發展目標（Millennium Development Goals, MDGs）」國際評量中發現，受過教育的婦女懷孕期間的就醫狀況較好，也更能確保自己的孩子健康成長；此外，受過教育的女孩也較具有生產力，並且可以找到待遇較好的工作，進而參與社會、經濟和政治決策。

　　婦女需要在經濟、社會和政治領域有平等的參與機會，這包括增加婦女融資的管道、培訓與技術加強的機會，以及拓展婦女的法律地位與權利。

　　從龐大的國家計畫到小型的提議權（創制權），聯合國開發計劃署（UNDP）與各國政府，民間社會和私部門合作，以便在幫助各國家減少境內性別不平等以及改善婦女生活中取得真正的進展。

　　例如，在貝南共和國中（Benin, Republic of Benin），聯合國開發計劃署（UNDP）的小額贈款計劃便確實使婦女及她們的家庭獲益，不僅改善了她們的收入，同時亦保護了她們的生活環境。

　　在巴基斯坦（Pakistan），聯合國開發計劃署（UNDP）正與非政府組織和當地的宗教法庭合作以結束對婦女的暴力。直至今日，該行動已幫助了大約 45,000名生活在暴力陰影中的婦女。

　　在婦女謀殺率最高的薩爾瓦多（El Salvador），聯合國開發計劃署（UNDP）幫助女性議員通過一項突破性法案，以解決該國對婦女的暴力問題。

　　而在黎巴嫩（Lebanon），有超過 40個的婦女合作社已經共同組成遍布全國的小企業，致力於振興被衝突（此處應指黎巴嫩境內的宗教衝突）所破壞的社區經濟。

資料來源：http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/33160/2011/03/09/4925s3177930.htm