WOMEN: Experts call for engaging men and boys as allies in fight for gender equality

NEW YORK. KAZINFORM Gender equality is not just a concern for women and girls, a panel of experts gathered at the United Nations in New York stressed on Wed, highlighting the need to engage men and boys as allies and agents of change in this global struggle.

"Gender equality isn't just a women's issue. It is an issue for all. It is a rights issue because women's rights are human rights," declared Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), as she kicked off an event on the margins of the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UN News Centre said. "Working with men and boys, transforming masculinity and traditional perceptions of manhood must be part of the gender equality agenda," she added. Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka highlighted a new campaign launched by UN Women last week on the occasion of International Women's Day called #HeforShe, in which men all over the world are being encouraged to speak out against the inequalities faced by women and girls. Speaking directly to men and boys during the launch, she called on them to take a stand, to speak out and take action for their sisters, mothers, daughters and partners. "Because silence and inaction of good men conspire against women," she stated. Today's event, organized by Switzerland and Brazil, focused particularly on engaging men and boys to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - which call for the reduction of extreme poverty and other global ills by 2015 - for women and girls. MDG 3 is specifically targeted to gender equality and the empowerment of women. "Persistent gender inequalities and discrimination of women and girls are a major obstacle to sustainable development, including poverty eradication and economic growth," said Benno Bättig, Secretary-General of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and moderator of the discussion. MDG 3 gave women's issues some visibility, he noted, however it is silent on several key gender issues, such as violence against women and women's unequal participation in decision-making. To address not only the symptoms but the very root causes of discrimination against women and girls, Switzerland supported a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women's empowerment in the post-2015 development agenda. Details also at