VOA慢速英语--联合国妇女大会25年后男女平等仍是遥远的目标

Twenty-five years ago, the nations of the world came together to make sure that half of its population gained the rights, power and recognition of the other half.

It has not happened yet. And it will not happen anytime soon.

United Nations officials say the hope of women gaining equality with men remains¹ a distant goal.

"Gender² inequality is...the biggest human rights challenge we face," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.

In a speech last week during the online General Assembly meetings, he said the COVID-19 crisis has hit women and girls the hardest.

Thursday marked the 25th anniversary of the 1995 U.N. women's conference, which was held in Beijing, China. At the conference, 189 nations accepted a 150-page agreement on gender equality.

Before a high-level meeting to mark the anniversary, the head of the U.N. women's agency noted³ "slow, terribly uneven⁴" progress in reaching the goals of the agreement.

U.N. Women's Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke⁵ with The Associated Press. She said there has been progress since the Beijing conference, but gains have been small. And, she said, "there is also sometimes...an illusion of much bigger progress than there has been."

Mlambo-Ngcuka pointed⁶ to the number of women in legislatures, which grew from about 11 percent in 1995 to a worldwide average of 25 percent today.

There also are 21 female presidents and prime ministers worldwide -- about two times as many as in 1995.

But in private industries, women still hold just 23 percent of high-level offices.

In all, men still hold about 75 percent of the most powerful jobs in the world, Mlambo-Ngcuka said. They "make decisions for us all, and that is what we have to crack."

The 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing was critical because nations agreed on a path toward gender equality. It was the largest-ever official gathering⁷ of women. Yet hundreds of men were among the 17,000 attendees at the official meeting that approved the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The platform called for strong action in 12 areas for women and girls, such as fighting poverty and gender-based violence. Other areas were making sure that all girls get an education and putting women at top levels of business and government.

The platform also said that women's human rights include the right to control and decide "on matters relating to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health."

Mlambo-Ngcuka said there has been a major "pushback" on reproductive rights. She said developed countries in the northern hemisphere, including the United States, are part of that movement.

"When the U.S. regresses, it is a big deal, not just for the U.S. but for many people who are influenced by trends in the U.S.," she said.

In the European Union, Mlambo-Ngcuka said, some countries want to pull out of The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and fighting violence against women. "You would not have expected that to happen within the EU," she said.

And in Africa and Asia, she noted, there are governments "that have not felt any pressure" to move forward.

One of the speakers at the 1995 Beijing conference was then first lady Hillary Clinton. Her words became closely connected to the worldwide women's movement: "Human rights are women's rights — and women's rights are human rights."

Recently, Clinton took part in an online discussion on the 25th anniversary of the Beijing conference at the Georgetown Institute For Women, Peace and Security.

"I think we have a lot of work to do," Clinton said. "I'm worried about the pushback...that we see from authoritarian⁸ leaders, in particular, who are trying to turn the clock back."

But she added, "that just energizes⁹ me more to speak out, to work with others, to defend those who are on the front lines."

Words in This Story

gender - n. the state of being male or female

challenge - n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do

page - n. one side of a sheet of paper especially in a book, magazine, etc.

illusion - n. an incorrect idea : an idea that is based on something that is not true

crack - v. to find an answer or solution to (something)

regress - v. to return to an earlier and usually worse or less developed condition or state

trend - n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding¹⁰, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

9 energizes   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的第三人称单数 )；使通电

参考例句：

• However, heating energizes the vibrational, rotational, and electronic motions all at once. 但是，加热会一下子把振动、转动和电子运动统统加强。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. 目的往往会带来热忱，没有任何东西比清晰的目的更有动力。 来自互联网

10 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。