PEACE-MAKER
March marks a significant milestone for women across Asia and the international community as it is celebrated as the National Women’s Month.
The occasion serves not only to recognize the achievements and contributions of women but also to reflect on the issues and challenges they continue to face.
The United Nations, through its various agencies, has been playing a crucial role in advocating for gender equality and empowering of women worldwide. Governments, parliaments, political parties, and organizations have been raising awareness and implementing policies to create an environment for women to thrive.
As our modest contribution in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia and the global community, we in the 352-member International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) created and launched in 2013 in Baku, Azerbaijan an affiliated group, the ICAPP Women’s Wing.
In line with the primary objectives of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties to promote exchanges and cooperation among political parties,we agreed to the need to build extended networks among women politicians and activists in Asia to address various challenges in advancing gender equality in the region.
We also agreed that the ICAPP Women’s Wing would be one of the main fora for women politicians and activists in the region to exchange information and share diverse experiences on the difficulties and obstacles faced by women, and contribute to the goals of equality, empowerment, and peace for all women around the world.
In particular, we reaffirmed that “the empowerment and advancement of women, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief,” and“full participation of women on the basis of equality in all spheres of society including participation in the political decision-making process and access to power” (Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted at the 4th World Conference on Women in September 1995)will contribute not only to realizing their full potential in society and shaping our lives in accordance with their own aspirations, but also to achieving equality, development and peace.
Since its establishment in 2013, the ICAPP Women’s Wing has held seven conferences — in Baku (2013, 2015, 2019), Colombo (2014), Kuala Lumpur (2016), Moscow (2018), and in Ulaanbaatar (August 2023) — where women leaders shared insights and suggested policies and programs to address issues besetting women in Asia and the international community.
The last meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, was hosted by the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, led by Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, from Aug. 4 to 7,2023, under the main theme of “Promoting women’s leadership to achieve a gender-responsive post-pandemic recovery.”
The delegates reiterated their commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in attaining sustainable and inclusive societies with equitable economic growth and development.
They recognized the need for full and equal participation of women in the discussion and decision-making process at the local, national, regional, and global levels to ensure the inclusive and equitable recovery from the pandemic, and called upon all stakeholders, governments, political parties,and civil societies to continue their efforts to further enhance women’s engagement at all levels.
Truly, the journey toward empowering women requires continuous commitment and collaboration.