World Must Not Turn Blind Eye to Trampling of Women’s Rights in Middle East War, under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan, Delegates Tell Third Committee
It Will Take 137 Years to Lift Women out of Extreme Poverty, Speaker Says
The international community must not look away from the trampling of women’s rights in Gaza, Lebanon and Afghanistan, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today during its continued discussion on the advancement of women, as they also highlighted initiatives to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving gender equality.
“As we speak, Palestinian women and girls endure unspeakable suffering —killed, maimed, displaced, starved, detained and traumatized,” said Türkiye’s delegate, adding that in the past year alone, over 40,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza, 70 per cent of whom are women and children. At least 97,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — have been wounded and denied access to adequate medical care. Food insecurity has reached critical levels, especially for pregnant women, new mothers and their infants, who are among the most vulnerable, he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
In that same vein, the representative of the United Arab Emirates underscored that the international community “cannot turn a blind eye to the immense pain and suffering experienced by communities across the Middle East, particularly women and girls in Palestine and Lebanon”. Calling for a permanent ceasefire to stop the “cruel war on Gaza”, she reaffirmed her country’s commitment to provide gender-responsive humanitarian assistance, including sanitary and maternity kits, to the conflict zones.
For her part, the observer for the State of Palestine said that Israel has used deliberate targeting of civilians — particularly women and children — in Gaza as a weapon of war. “[Israel’s] evacuation orders are not meant to protect lives,” she asserted, adding that “they are only a tactic to inflict more suffering, forcibly displace, maximize Palestinian losses and exacerbate collective punishment of the entire population”. Israel “has invented pretexts in an attempt to convince you they had a reason to pull the plug off infant incubators in Gaza, […] to sexually harass Palestinian women held illegally in Israeli prisons and threaten them with gang rape, […] to demolish schools and destroy universities”, she said, urging it to end its aggression and unlawful occupation without delay.
The representative of Israel rejected the “repeated lies” during today’s discussion. The current situation in the Middle East is due to the 7 October attacks committed by the terrorist organization Hamas, she said. On that day, 1,200 people were murdered, including women and children, the elderly and Holocaust survivors, and 251 were abducted. “Hamas sent its people to sexually torture and rape women and girls,” and since 2023 Israeli women and girls held by Hamas are denied any humanitarian assistance, she said. While Israel is fighting on seven fronts to protect its citizens from Hamas’ “sworn […] annihilation of the State of Israel,” Hamas ignores efforts to reach a ceasefire — instead of protecting its people. Rejecting the idea of discussing the advancement of women and girls while the 101 hostages are still held in Hamas tunnels, she called on the international community to ensure their unconditional and immediate release.
Norway’s delegate stressed that the setbacks for women’s rights in some parts of the world are “beyond comprehension”, drawing attention to Afghanistan, where their rights are set aside by the Taliban and their lives are more and more limited. However, she asserted: “Women are not only victims — they are agents of change and need to take part in all aspects of society”.
“The Taliban's policies against women do not reflect Afghan culture nor the true values of Islam,” said Afghanistan’s delegate, who represents the Government overturned by the group. He noted they use religion to “legitimize their crimes” through a raft of edicts codifying women’s oppression. The isolation from barring 1.1 million girls from school and the “shattering” of women’s economic independence have unleashed a mental health crisis, he added, recalling a recent survey noting that 18 per cent of women have not seen anyone outside of their immediate families during the past three months and that 8 per cent know someone who has attempted suicide since the Taliban’s return to power.
However, “Afghan women show extraordinary courage and resilience,” through the creation of underground schools and leading protests, and “their defiance is a powerful affirmation of their humanity, their strength and their unwavering pursuit of equality and justice”, he said, calling on Member States to hold the Taliban accountable through all available mechanisms.
Germany’s delegate, too, expressed serious concern about the erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan, stating that his country, along with Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, made clear to the de facto authorities in Kabul that they must comply with their country’s obligation under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
What speakers say:
- Women’s rights impeded by regressive cultural practices
- Women’s economic dependence increases likelihood of gender-based violence
- Affirmative action can ensure women’s participation in politics, education, health and security
The representative of the United States voiced alarm that the SDGs are falling further out of reach, pointing out that it will take 137 years to lift women out of extreme poverty and climate change threatens to drive women and girls deeper into it. “We must take concrete action to close these gaps,” she urged, underscoring the importance of including women and girls in decision-making at every level — from grassroots organizations to the highest levels of Government.
Echoing her alarm, the representative of Cabo Verde urged that “we cannot and will not accept that young and future generations of women have fewer opportunities and less rights than their mothers and grandmothers”. As women’s economic dependence increases the likelihood of gender-based violence and “toxic relationships,” Cabo Verde has responded with the “Plus Fund Initiative”, investing money raised through tourism in vulnerable groups, including women and children. Moreover in 2024, almost 2,000 women have become self-employed and benefitted from training programmes — lifting them out of extreme poverty.
In a similar vein, Nepal’s delegate spotlighted the country’s affirmative action initiatives ensuring women’s participation in education, health and security sectors. The country’s constitution mandates that at least one-third of members in the federal and provincial parliaments — and 40 per cent of members in local bodies — be women. Women represent 34 per cent of the former and 35 per cent of the latter today, he said. Moreover, women’s representation in local bodies has risen from 0.48 per cent to 41 per cent over the past 32 years.
Senegal’s population is majority-female, the country’s delegate said, noting that women represent 60 per cent of the agricultural workforce in rural areas and produce 80 per cent of the county’s foodstuffs. The Government has empowered them through its “Emergency Community Development” programme, which has provided clean water in 300 villages and provided post-harvest equipment for women.
However, the advancement of women is being impeded in many places by the manipulation of public policy, the instrumentalization of regressive cultural practices and the weaponization of violence against their liberties and freedoms, said Ghana’s representative. While the world has witnessed in recent years some transformative gains in advancing women’s rights, “this progress remains fragile”, she stated. Economic exploitation has further hindered women’s ability to achieve reasonable independence, especially in marginalized communities, she observed, urging States to prioritize investments in gender-responsive social protection, adopt survivor-centred approaches and address the gender wage gap.
Adding to that, Cuba’s delegate said that the underdevelopment, hunger and poverty that hamper gender equality are perpetuated by an unjust international order, with unilateral coercive measures affecting the lives and rights of women and girls worldwide. “We cannot remain silent in the face of this injustice,” she urged.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citing gender equality as “an important human rights issue,” said that women in his country receive medical services under the free medical care system, and paid maternity leave has been extended by 240 days. Also, kindergartens and nurseries are newly established or refurbished for women in all workplaces. Noting the Japanese military’s wartime sexual slavery of 200,000 Korean women and girls, he said such offenses constitute the most severe crime against humanity. However, “the Japanese authorities are distorting historical truth”, he stressed, calling on Tokyo to issue reparations for its crimes, including the forcible drafting of over 8.4 million Koreans and the genocide of more than 1 million Koreans.
Japan’s delegate rejected those claims as erroneous and groundless, adding that “every country and region should squarely face its own history with humility”. Her country has done so as a peace-loving nation — respecting democracy and human rights and contributing to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond since the Second World War, she emphasized. Its annually adopted policy on women’s empowerment sets targets for the number of female executives and offers technical training to increase women’s presence in digital fields. Moreover, the “crucial” Act on Support for Women Facing Difficulties came into effect, which addresses the intersections of poverty and sexual violence through collaboration between public and private sectors, she said.