VOA标准英语2010年-First-Ever Girls 20 Summit in Canada E

A group of young women from around the world has gathered this week in the city of Toronto, Canada.  They are delegates to the first-ever G(irls)20 Summit, meeting in advance of the G-20 Economic Summit taking place later this month.  They are meeting to discuss challenges facing girls and women across the globe.

 

The U.N. estimates that adolescent girls, that is, young women between the ages of 10 and 24-account for one-eighth of the world's population.   Many of these girls not only work outside the home, but are the primary source of support for their families.  Yet in the developing world, many of them don't enjoy the most basic human rights. 

The Girls 20 Summit taking place this week in Toronto, Canada, invited 20 young women from each of the G-20 member countries to discuss the most pressing challenges facing women today.  The summit is focusing on the United Nations Millennium¹ Development Goals of ending poverty, improving access to health care, and providing universal primary school education.  The girls are attending panel discussions related to each of these goals, and at the end of the summit, they will be asked to make recommendations on ways in which the Millennium goals can be better achieved.

Traditional attitudes

Anwar Basunbul is the 19-year-old representative from Saudi Arabia, where women face significant restrictions² of movement and are segregated³ from the world of men.  They may work, but only with the permission of their husbands or other male guardians⁴. Basunbul says that the leadership of her country has failed women; on the contrary, she believes that Saudi women have failed to ask for what they want.

"Women are not confident enough in my country to speak up," she said. "So I believe no one is going to give you a chance; you have to go and ask for it.  I believe we didn't ask for it yet.

Basunbul is most concerned about opportunities for women in the Saudi workforce⁵. "There's [sic] a quite good percentage of women who are interested in joining the working field, but there are restrictions on the professions we are allowed to participate [sic]," she said. "Because all departments are dominated by men due to the traditions that our culture still believes that men are biologically more qualified⁶ to lead or rule women. 

She hopes that she can inspire young women in her country to become more confident and to ask to have a chance to be leaders.

Challenge of changing perception

Irem Tumer is the 19-year-old representative from Turkey, where traditional attitudes toward gender⁷ persist despite modernization⁸.  She says Turkey has instituted many legal reforms as part of its bid to join the European Union but these have not necessarily been implemented⁹.

"Women in Turkey now face a big challenge of changing the perception of the society about the power of women and whether they are inferior to men," said Tumer.

Tumer also worries about the physical security of Turkish women. "Especially with the honor killings¹⁰ in the eastern parts," she said. "The safety of girls still remains¹¹ to be a big problem.  There have been laws that have been passed, and many police officers and other authorities are being trained about this.  But more awareness¹² and education for all girls is necessary to tackle this issue.

Tumer says will carry home two messages from the G(irls) 20 Summit-I is that education be made available to all girls in Turkey. "The first message that I would give is the need for education," she said. "There are many girls in rural areas that don't have access to primary school. And other than that, we need to empower women and let them become part of the formal sector¹³ in business and also let them be part of political decision making mechanisms¹⁴."

She says that while laws have been passed against this type of violence, the government needs to conduct educational campaigns to tackle this issue and make sure all Turkish women are safe.

This unique summit was organized by a number of international charities, including the Toronto-based Belinda Stronach Foundation, Oxfam, Save the Children, and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Ultimately, the goal of the summit is to bring the economic power of girls and women to the attention of G-20 leaders and help ensure that women's issues are brought to the forefront of all future agendas.

 

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

4 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 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。

8 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 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。

12 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》