Join online discussions on stopping discrimination and violence against women and girls

The year 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, and is a milestone in the movement to achieve gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment. One hundred and eighty-nine Member States adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which laid out a comprehensive agenda for women’s political and economic empowerment and the foundations for gender mainstreaming.

Do you want to influence how the world works and stop discrimination and violence against girls? The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will meet on 1-12 March 2010 in New York, bringing together government delegations, UN agencies and NGOs to review what progress has been made on women's and girls’ rights since 1995 when the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted.

You can contribute to this process by participating in the discussion and voicing your thoughts and ideas in response to the following questions:

1. Which rights do girls have? Which rights are denied? How do these rights shape girls’ lives today and their hopes for the future?

2. Do you believe that declarations and global policies actually have an impact on girls’ lives? If so, in what way? If not, what needs to happen to ensure they have an impact?

3. What are the key obstacles which continue to impede the realization of girls’ rights?

4. In the world today, what do you feel are the most significant new threats (such as climate change, food insecurity and economic crises) to girls’ rights, and why?

5. What future actions do you recommend should be taken by the world community to prioritize and invest in girls’ rights?

Please consider joining the ongoing discussion on the UNICEF Voices of Youth website as well as offering your comments below. How should HIV & AIDS be discussed in this context?

(all the above info taken from http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_4501.html