07.09.2015
From 29-30 August, Equatorial Guinea’s Senate President, Teresa Efua Asangono, was in attendance at the 10th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament at the UN Headquarters in New York which gathered female parliamentary leaders from around the world. Efua Asangono was also accompanied by Representative of the Chamber of Deputies, Jesusa Obono Engono. This year’s meeting was held under the theme of “Innovating for Gender Equality: Making development, peace and democracy a reality for women and men”, with the aim of promoting a more effective inclusion of gender issues in policymaking.
Innovative policies were discussed which sought to address the continued fight against violence against women (particularly in regions of conflict), early and forced child marriages and female genital mutilation. Failing to take action against such practices only legitimises gender-based discrimination and inequality. During her speech, Efua Asangono stressed that achieving gender equality and greater women’s empowerment is important for promoting sustainable development within a country. Promoting economic empowerment will be key to the progress of countries around the world.
The parliamentary leaders concluded this meeting with a final declaration which emphasised that unity and solidarity in action will be crucial towards the goal of achieving full gender equality within a generation. This action must be taken quickly to ensure that destructive attitudes and cultural norms that disrupt the progress of women are stifled.
Image via guineaecuatorialpress.com