By Manal El Warraky
As another International Women’s Day approaches, it is once again time to reiterate that gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region is yet to be achieved, despite signs of progress in countries on both shores of our shared sea. And in a region that is also warming at a rate 20% faster than the global average, climate change has time and again demonstrated its ability to exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities. Women, especially those in low income and rural communities, are disproportionately affected as they face increased instability and resource scarcity. This is a detriment to society as a whole given their centrality to fostering more inclusive and effective responses to the crisis.
“The many challenges women face in the Euro-Mediterranean region should be seized as opportunities to empower them as agents of change,” said UfM Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs Stephen Borg.
“Women in our region have extraordinary capabilities, particularly when it comes to climate adaptation and peacebuilding initiatives, evidence of the critical role they play in society not as victims, but as much-needed leaders of change,” said UfM gender equality expert Anna Dorangricchia.
Empowering women as drivers of regional development and security is one of the UfM’s main pillars of action. Later this year, as the global community celebrates the 30th anniversary of the UN’s Beijing Declaration, the UfM will present the 2nd Progress Report on Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean Region with findings from its Intergovernmental Gender Monitoring Mechanism, the first ever of its kind. Other initiatives that fall under this umbrella include the upcoming launch of the Mediterranean Network of Women Journalists or the Women Business Forum, an annual gathering that has already mobilised more than 150 female entrepreneurs and 10 financial actors.
