Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of International Women’s Day

　　联合国教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士在国际妇女节的致辞

　　8 March 2017

　　2017年3月8日

　　“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” These words by activist Gloria Steinem testify to the universal nature of the fight for women’s rights and once a year, on 8 March, we restate our commitment to gender equality as a force driving dignity for all.

　　“妇女为平等而抗争的历史不属于女权主义者，而是所有男人和女人为争取人权而斗争的历史。”女权活动家格洛丽亚·斯泰纳姆的这句话证明了人权斗争的普遍性。每年3月8日，我们重申对性别平等的承诺，它是所有人的尊严的驱动力。

　　Inequality between men and women penalizes societies at all levels of development. The violence, injustice and stereotypes suffered by too many women in their personal or professional lives undermine society as a whole, and deprive of it considerable potential for creativity, strength and confidence in the future. As the United Nations has adopted the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the full empowerment of girls and women is one of humanity’s most powerful levers for development.

　　性别不平等使处在各种发展水平的社会都深受其害。太多妇女在生活或工作中遭受暴力、不公正和成见，从而削弱了整个社会，还使社会在创造性、力量和对未来的信心方面丧失巨大潜力。联合国通过了雄心勃勃的 2030年可持续发展议程，而全面提高女童和妇女的能力则是人类发展最强有力的杠杆之一。让我们将它的作用充分发挥出来。

　　It is a matter of principle, and a matter of common sense: everybody has a stake in promoting equality between men and women, at all levels of society: in farmland and on the benches of parliamentary assemblies, in company boardrooms and in the streets of our cities. Rural women are directly responsible for the production of half the world’s food – and it is primarily women who manage and gather natural resources. Ninety per cent of rapes in the world take place precisely when women are on their way to collect water or firewood. Two thirds of illiterate adults in the world are women. One in three women is subject to physical violence in the private sphere, and the wage gap between men and women, for equal work and with equal skills, is a fact across the world.

　　这是一个原则问题，也是一个常识问题：在社会各个层面促进性别平等可使所有人从中获益，无论是在农田还是在议会，在企业管理层还是在城市的街头。农村妇女直接负责全世界一半的粮食生产，她们是首先管理和采集自然资源的人。全世界90%的强奸案恰恰发生在妇女打水或拾柴的路途中。全世界有三分之二的成年文盲是女性。每三名妇女中便有一名在生活中遭受身体暴力。同等能力和职位的男女工资差距在世界各地普遍存在。

　　Women must exercise their freedoms and be able to make their own choices, control their own bodies and their own lives, and take part in the decisions that set the course of society, just as men do. Everywhere, women and men are determined to change things, to denounce discrimination and demand genuine equality, and we must support and accompany them. For UNESCO, the main engine for change rests on education, training, and the possibility given to all girls and women of pursuing careers in research, politics and culture. Equality also lies in ridding the media and collective imagination of prejudice by highlighting the women scientists, artists and politicians who are moving humanity forward in all fields. On the occasion of this 2017 International Women’s Day, I call on all Member States to make a commitment to women’s’ rights, and thereby enhance rights and dignity for all.

　　女性应该和男性一样，行使自由权利，做出个人选择，掌控自己的身体和生活，参与到影响社会进程的决策之中。世界各地都有男性和女性致力于开展变革、揭露歧视、要求获得真正的平等。我们应当支持他们、加入他们。对于教科文组织来说，变革的首要驱动力在于教育、培训以及使所有女童和妇女具有从事研究、政治、文化职业的可能性。平等还在于在媒体和集体代表中驱逐偏见，重视在各个领域推动人类进 步的女科学家、艺术家或政治家。值此2017年国际妇女节之际，我呼吁会员国致力于加强妇女权利，从而提高所有人的权利和尊严。

（编辑：何莹莹）