KABUL - The new “UN Women” created to speed up progress towards gender equality around the world officially kicks off today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. UN Women - formally known as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – is also based in Afghanistan, working with the Government as well as civil society and communities.

“Since 2001, the life of women has changed but Afghan women are still experiencing deadly challenges. Change takes time and the United Nations is determined to support Afghanistan’s women and girls for as long as it takes,” said Christine Ouellette, country director in Afghanistan for UN Women.

At the global level, UN Women works to formulate and monitor new policies and global standards on equality and women’s rights, among them the Millennium Development Goal aimed at promoting gender equality (MDG 3) by the 2015 deadline (2020 in Afghanistan).

The new head of UN Women, former President of Chile Michele Bachelet, said her priorities for the first 100 days of the new institution are to expand women’s voice leadership and participation, end violence against women, strengthen implementation of women’s peace and security agenda, and make gender equality a priority for national and local governments.

In Afghanistan, these priorities translate into promotion of women’s access to justice; support for the implementation and expansion of the Law on Violence against Women (EVAW); supporting the Government in implementing the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA); and strengthening the work of UN Women.

These priorities are supported by the efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and all of the UN agencies and programmes working in the country.

“With the birth of UN Women, we welcome a powerful new agent for progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“The challenges are great, but I believe that with the new energy, the new momentum and the new authority that UN Women brings, these challenges will be met. True gender equality should be our shared legacy in the 21st Century.”

The launch comes less than two weeks before the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Events marking the day are planned around the country by the Government, women’s civil society groups and the United Nations Country Team. Keep checking the UNAMA website for more details.

UN Women will be officially launched today at the 55th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

By UNAMA Kabul