HAF participates in the launch of UN Women’s Beijing + 20 Campaign

“Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity. Picture it!”

On June 26th, UN Women launched the “Beijing + 20” campaign “Empowering Women, Empowering humanity, Picture it!” at the historic Apollo theatre in New York City. Women and men from all around the world, including the HAF representative at the UN Lamia Bazir, gathered to celebrate the global commitment to gender equality and call for mobilization and action in favor of women.

Artistic performances and inspiring speeches by key figures including ambassadors, UN executives, and renowned artists, asserted the centrality of women’s empowerment on the global agenda and recalled the roots of the fight for women’s rights.

In fact, the launch of the campaign comes in celebration of the Beijing Declaration resulting from the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in 1995, in Beijing. This policy framework was adopted by 189 countries and remains the most effective platform for action to this day. Hence, the new campaign aims at re-energizing the global commitment for gender equality, made 20 years ago.

In addition, the evening marked the beginning of a new era of action and achievements in favor of women’s rights. UN Women chose the slogan: “Picture it!”, asking people and organizations to envision a world where women are empowered.

Through its various initiatives and support to women’s empowerment projects such as Empowering Women in the Atlas, HAF places women’s voices and priorities at the center of its participatory approach to development. HAF has helped establish five women’s co-ops, with agricultural terraces and irrigation systems which provide 180 families with social services and employment. In terms of women’s education, HAF community projects have built three schools, and implemented clean drinking water and bathroom projects at several schools in order to increase female attendance.

HAF projects also support boosting women’s political participation. For example, locally-elected female communal council leaders have been trained in the participatory approach. In addition, HAF is currently awaiting approval from the National Endowment for Democracy on a proposal which seeks to advance development by way of human rights training for women in Mohammedia. This proposal will support women by providing training in order to address the structural and legal barriers that prevent them from implementing development projects. HAF recognizes the inherent link between women’s empowerment and sustainable development and continues to work toward the vision of a world in which women are empowered.

Last but not least, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, challenged the international community with “an expiry date” and committed to achieving full equality by 2030.

“This is not Mission Impossible; it is the mission of our time,” Mlambo-Ngcuka thinks, and so does HAF!

Lamia Bazir, HAF representative at the UN