International Women’s Day 2021

At the Last United Nations General Assembly in September 2020, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic together with other world leaders reconfirmed the need for fundamental socio-economic transformation in order to reach the sustainable future outlined in the 2030 Agenda. The window for action is the next decade which we entered this year, and which was recognized by the UN General Assembly as ““decisive decade for People and the Planet”.

The United Nations in the Kyrgyz Republic welcomes the efforts of the Government of Kyrgyz Republic, civil society, academia, media, private sector and other stakeholders on promoting equality, preventing violence against women, and fostering the participation of women in public life and honoring the State’s commitments to women and girls of Kyrgyzstan.

The 2030 Agenda reaffirms that gender equality is an essential foundation for sustainable development in any country. Therefore the national development of the Kyrgyz Republic is directly related to how much Kyrgyzstani women are able to participate and to hold leadership positions in the society and economy.   A gender-responsive path towards the SDGs in Kyrgyzstan largely depends on how the State will be able to accelerate its actions to fulfill existing and new commitments to gender equality and women’s human rights.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the gaps that remain.

Women’s full and effective participation and leadership in all areas of life drives progress for everyone. The role of women in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan has proven the same. Yet, women are still underrepresented in public life and decision-making. In addition to persisting social and systemic barriers to women's participation and leadership, the COVID-19 pandemic has created new barriers. Women face an increase in domestic violence, unpaid care responsibilities, unemployment and poverty, and women from some groups are affected more than the others. Although women make up the majority of frontline workers, there is a disproportionate and inadequate representation of women in national policy-making processes related to COVID-19.

Approaching International Women’s Day serves as another reminder that the State has to accelerate its efforts to protect and promote women’s rights, dignity and leadership by creating an enabling policy, legal, institutional and other conditions for women to realize their rights. The Kyrgyz Republic should not lose the gains it has made over the past decades on women’s rights and empowerment, but should continue to  push for wholesale, rapid and sustainable change.

An important element for the protection human rights and empowerment of women is to ensure the proper realization of the fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

World leaders are uniting under the “Generation Equality Forum” appeals and signing up to the Political Engagement Strategy on ending violence against women in response to the appeal of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. We therefore call on the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and all political and civic leaders to affirm their commitment to the appeal by Mr. Guterres, and through demonstrable action to enhance the role and participation of women in all forms of decision making in the society and the economy.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day of 2021, let us all amplify and support women and girls in all spheres of life in Kyrgyzstan who are breaking down barriers and championing to create a better world for everyone. Let us all unite and bring about the real change in the lives of women and girls, working hand in hand together with them through their equal participation and voice. Let everyone commit to working towards a prosperous and bright future of Kyrgyzstan that includes all the women and girls.