With 1.3 million women elected to various tiers of governance and leading decision-making at the grassroots level, India offers the template for their empowerment, according to a top Indian diplomat.

“As the world's largest democracy, India offers a unique template for gender-sensitive governance”, Sanjay Verma, the External Affairs Ministry's Secretary West, said on Tuesday at a ministerial-level debate at the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security.

“More than 1.3 million elected women representatives, who represent nearly 44 per cent of the total elected representatives, are leading the political decision-making at the grassroots level”, he said. 

He said that in that tradition, Indian women have been at the forefront of advancing the role of women. India has had women as prime minister, president and ministers for foreign and defence, and now, finance.

In that trajectory 27 per cent of the executives in India's Mars project are women and the country now has more women than men studying medicine.

He said, “India's development narrative has witnessed a transformational change from promoting women's development to entirely women-led development and from exclusively government led to multi-stakeholder inclusive governance model”.

Verma recalled the role of educator and reformer Hansa Mehta in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, changing the wording from "All men are born free and equal" to "All human beings are born free and equal,” to ensure that the document, which is the bedrock of norms of human rights, is inclusive of all genders.

For the empowerment of women, “Democracy, pluralism and the rule of law are essential prerequisites”, Verma said.

“We need to identify and eliminate barriers to women's optimal participation the political process and decision-making, if we are to meaningfully address their socio-economic empowerment” he added.

Speaking of the main thrust of the meeting's theme, he said that women “suffered disproportionately in the face of violent extremism, conflict and terror attacks” and there should be zero tolerance for terrorism, a call the Council has endorsed.

“In this context, we continue to underline the importance of inclusive and representative governments in Afghanistan with meaningful participation of women, as well as protection of women's rights”, he added.

The meeting, convened at the initiative of the United Arab Emirates which holds the Council's chair this month, was presided over by Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, the Minister for Climate Change and Environment.

“The McKinsey Global Institute estimated that global GDP could increase by US $28 trillion, or 26 per cent, by 2025 by reducing gender gaps in the workforce and increasing (their) presence in leadership positions, yet women are still excluded despite this vital potential for growth”, she said, seated at the Council with UAE's top diplomats at the UN, Permanent Representative Lana Nusseibeh and Deputy Permanent Representative Amiera AlHefeiti.

Almheiri said, “Despite significant progress, persistent gaps, and challenges in the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda still hinder women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation”.

“In order to rebuild sustainable, inclusive and equitable societies, women and girls must be at the centre of post-conflict economic reform efforts” she added.

Sima Bahous, an under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, said that when it comes to women's issues, the private sector, including multinational corporations, “are often part of the problem when they could be part of the solution”

Increasingly telecommunications platforms are adding to the problems faced by women and “they have a major role to play in facilitating inclusion and preventing hate speech and targeted reprisals”, she said.

Women are affected the most in conflict areas, Bahous said.

In Afghanistan, “the consequences of a new gender apartheid include women’s employment plummeting sharply since the Taliban takeover”, she said.

In Ukraine, the latest flashpoint, she said that the majority of the nearly 1.5 million people who have fled the majority are women and children”, Bahous said.

“Here too, we risk a backsliding of women´s rights and women´s access to employment and livelihoods”, she said.

(SAM)