Unite for Children!

Picture source: www.unicef.org. A woman walks with her two children on a train platform at the Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Like many other rural Bangladeshis, she has been attracted to the city by the promise of work.

On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, UNICEF is launching a report that says gender equality is critical to child survival and development. “The lives of women are inextricably linked to the well-being of children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “If they are not educated, if they are not healthy, if they are not empowered, the children are the ones who suffer.”

The report argues that recent progress in women’s status has not come far enough. Millions of girls and women continue to live in poverty, disempowered and discriminated against. They are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, less likely to attend school and often subject to physical and sexual violence. In most places, men continue to earn more pay than women for the same jobs.

Read more here - UNICEF correspondent Rachel Bonham-Carter reports on ‘The State of the World’s Children 2007’ report.

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