The International Women’s Day (IWD) is declared by the United Nations
and it is recognized worldwide on March 8 of each year. For the 2014 edition, the
theme chosen for the event was: Inspiring change. The celebration is marked by
the traditional message of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The aim
of the speech is to make the worldwide public opinion aware on the issue of the
role of women, on what has been done so far and, in particular, what has to be
done.
The structure
is quite common. The Secretary General starts with greetings and thanks and
then, he talks about the importance of the remembrance of the event.
After that,
he refers to some personal events, such as the meeting with an activist against
Female Genital Mutilation and the visit in Sierra Leone to close the UNs
mission; and to some public events such as the Beijing Women’s Conference
and 58th Commission on the Status of Women. Before concluding, he goes
on to the heart of the speech, in which the Secretary General highlights the
importance of achieving equality for women and girls.
During the
entire speech he uses the pronoun “we” and verbs like “must or “have to” in
order to indicate that the issue is a global responsibility and, in particular
in this case, it concerns the whole world.
In his speech he uses one of the most common tool
of eliciting approval, the use of the list of three:
“There is
peace. There is opportunity. There is hope”.
“Take the
message forward in your homes, your workplaces, your schools”.
“Countries
with higher levels of gender equality have higher economic growth. Companies
with more women on their Boards have higher returns. Peace agreements that
include women are more successful.”
In this
way the Secretary General underlines that the achievement of equality for women
is the essential key to the progress of all of us, not only of the female
gender.
Concluding, the history of the International Women’s Day is rich in
stories of courage, perseverance, resistance, change, inspiration, and
celebration. However, there is still much to be done on different and important
issues such as the achievement of the economic equality, the equal presence in
business and politics, and above all, the extirpation of violence against women
and of gender discrimination.
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