Topics Covered:
- Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
UN Women
What to study?
- For Prelims: About UN Women- composition, objectives, programmes and significance.
- For Mains: 33% reservation for women- need, significance, challenges in implementation and role in overall women empowerment.
Context: The government of Odisha has been applauded by The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for proposing 33% reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies.
Background:
The Odisha Assembly, in November 2018, passed a resolution by unanimous voice vote for providing 33% reservation for women in Legislative Assemblies and Parliament. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had initiated discussion on the motion.
About UN Women: The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women:
UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:
- Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW).
- International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).
- Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI).
- United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The main roles of UN Women are:
- To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
- To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
- To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
Sources: the hindu.
