China, which has made historic progress in uplifting the well-being of women, can serve as a role model for other countries that wish to promote gender equality and highlight women’s key role in global development, analysts said.
In his address on Monday at the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, held in Beijing, President Xi Jinping said that it is the international community’s shared consensus to advance the development of women.
“Women in every corner of the world are bound together by a shared future. At present, complex challenges still hamper their all-round development,” Xi said, noting that more than 600 million women and girls around the world are still mired in war and conflict, and around 10 percent are trapped in extreme poverty.
Namtip Aksornkool, former head of the UNESCO Literacy and Basic Education and Gender Focal Point, said the high-level meeting will help to promote international collaboration. She also emphasized the critical role of women in global issues and highlighted that women’s rights are human rights.
Aksornkool said that China has achieved significant progress in women’s education and leadership.
She said she is hoping that as the host of the high-level meeting, China will share its successful policies and inspire other nations to invest in women’s potential.
Anna Rosario Malindog-Uy, vice-president of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, said Xi’s speech indicates that he puts a premium on women’s issues.
Malindog-Uy said this was “a deliberate signal” aimed at both domestic and international audiences. “Domestically, it reinforces the government’s commitment to gender equality. Internationally, it positions China as an active participant in global dialogues concerning women’s rights and development,” she said.
Malindog-Uy said the meeting will serve as a platform for China to showcase its achievements in promoting women’s development and to advocate global cooperation in addressing challenges that women face worldwide.
“The meeting is also an opportunity for China to announce new initiatives or policies aimed at further advancing women’s rights and opportunities, both domestically and internationally,” she said.
Xi put forward four proposals to accelerate women’s all-round development: foster an enabling environment for women’s growth and development; cultivate robust drivers for the high-quality development of the women’s cause; jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women’s rights and interests; and write a new chapter in promoting global cooperation on women.
Sayamol Charoenratana, director of the Center of Excellence for Human Security and Equity at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, said that Xi’s proposals are important “because the world is now changing dramatically”. She said the two-day Beijing meeting, which gathers leaders from around the world, can provide the opportunity to reinforce women’s contributions to both global and regional development, especially in the Global South.
“For many decades, there has been a deep stereotype that usually places women in supporting roles instead of being decision-makers. Women are mostly attached to roles related to family and community,” Sayamol said, adding that gender inequality is “a prominent problem in developing countries”.
Zoe White, executive president of the Australia China Economics, Trade and Culture Association, said that the ongoing high-level meeting on women in Beijing is “a new milestone” in promoting global women-related causes.
“The Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women … not only provides a vital platform for the progress of women’s causes, but also fosters a positive global environment for women’s growth and development,” White said. “It highlights … advancing women’s empowerment and protecting women’s rights.”
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