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The important role education has in raising awareness of women's role was highlighted by Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu on the occasion of an event organized in preparation for the Summit for Democracy, attended by officials from Romania, Sweden and the US.
The event aimed to highlight the necessity of some sustained endeavors from public institutions, civil society and business environment for the coherent and constructive approach of aspects impeding the full and significant participation of women in the political life, the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informed.
Minister Aurescu underscored the importance of getting all segments of the population involved in the decision-making processes for the construction of a resilient democracy, based on equality, human dignity, freedom, tolerance and security. He mentioned the survey carried out by the Gender Equality Cohort as a condition for democracy, coordinated by the Government of Romania and Sweden, the Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace and Security and International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), following which a series of problematic issues have been identified in terms of women's participation in the political life and a series of recommendations have been formulated, which are to be presented at the 2nd edition of the Summit for Democracy, which takes place on 29 and 30 March, told Agerpres.
The head of the Romanian diplomacy highlighted the important role which education has in raising awareness of women's role in all the aspects of society, in this context mentioning the campaign carried out by Romania's Government in a series of educational units on the topic of negative effects of gender stereotypes toward people with disabilities.
He brought to mind President Klaus Iohannis' involvement in the HeForShe campaign, initiated by the UN Women, as well as the progresses accomplished by Romania, as a result of the commitments assumed in unfolding this campaign, a MAE release sent to AGERPRES informs.
The Foreign minister referred to the disproportionate manner in which women are affected in case of an armed conflict and the importance that must be given to women's rights in all its phases. "In this context, he referred to the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in Somalia, Myanmar, Mali, Nigeria or Syria, as well as the numerous reports of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine," the MAE release showed.
Also attending the opening of the event were the husband of the US Vice President and Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, through a pre-recorded intervention.
The discussions were moderated by the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and attended by representatives of USAID, the US Government, the Ukrainian Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, a former member of the House of Representatives in Columbia and the Colombian Government delegation to the peace process and a former minister and member of the South African Parliament during the democratic transition/reconstruction, the quoted source said.
In preparation for the second Summit for Democracy, Romania is coordinating, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the National Agency for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, together with Sweden, the IDEA Institute and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the Cohort on Gender Equality as a Prerequisite for Democracy.
