In a recent op-ed by Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and Acting Head of UN Women, the agency advocates for a stand-alone goal on achieving “gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment” in the post-2015 development agenda.
She highlights the priorities of ending violence against women and girls, equal opportunities women and men, and women's participation in decision-making.
31 May 2013: In a recent op-ed by Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and Acting Head of UN Women, the agency advocates for a stand-alone goal on achieving “gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment” in the post-2015 development agenda. She highlights the priorities of ending violence against women and girls, equal opportunities women and men, and women’s participation in decision-making.
Admitting the gains that have come from the efforts of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Puri states that there is still a long way to go to achieve equality between men and women. She writes that women must “move from the sidelines to the centre” of the post-2015 development agenda, and specifically address structural discrimination and violence against women and girls. Puri also stresses that the stand-alone goal must be grounded in existing commitments to human rights and address power inequalities. [UN Women Op-ed] [Lakshmi Puri Biography][Post-2015 Policy & Practice post on UN Women Post-2015, SDG Proposal]