Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Ms. Nahla Haider, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 

Distinguished Members of the Committee, 

Delegates, experts, friends,

Greetings of peace! 

We enter CEDAW deliberations on General Recommendation 41 on Gender Stereotypes at a moment of grave import for the human rights of women and girls and, indeed, their very bodily autonomy. 

There is powerful pushback against the rights of women, in all their diversities, and particularly their reproductive rights. Across the globe, we discern fierce opposition that threatens decades of progress. 

And what progress! 

• Maternal mortality down by one third since the year 2000. 
• Adolescent births have also dropped by a third over the same period.
• More than 160 countries have passed laws to address domestic violence. 

Yet within the halls of the United Nations, previously agreed longstanding language on gender equality, diversity and sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights comes under attack with increasing frequency. In this game of diplomatic chess, women and girls are the disposable pawns.

That’s not hyperbole. Gender stereotypes are not merely societal nuisances; they are deep-rooted causes of discrimination that affect women and girls in profound ways.

The effects show in stories we at UNFPA constantly hear from girls our programmes support, like Amina. 

Amina was a bright girl who excelled in her studies. She dreamed of becoming a doctor. Yet when she was 13, her parents told her she was to be married. In her village, girls were expected to marry young and raise children. 

It’s a familiar story – one that plays out day after day, year in, year out, in communities around the world. Not all will have happy endings. Indeed, failure to act upon harmful gender stereotypes can mean a death sentence for a girl coerced into marriage or forced to bear children before her mind and her body are ready.

Fortunately, Amina’s story took a good turn when UNFPA helped her find her voice, stand up for her rights and return to school. Now, she is inspiring other girls in her village to imagine a different future and pursue their dreams.

In this context, thank goodness for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. CEDAW is a fundamental safeguard in our shared commitment to advancing gender equality. 

Gender stereotypes remain an impediment to human progress. Stereotyping constrains women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and rights by controlling their bodies, denying them autonomy in healthcare decisions, and perpetuating stigma and shame around their sexuality.

Harmful stereotypes pose significant risks to economic, social and political stability. 

They limit the participation of women in the workforce, contribute to the gender wage gap, restrict leadership opportunities and decrease productivity.  

Women still earn just 77 cents for every $1 dollar paid to men, not to mention their unpaid labor in the home. Is it any wonder that poverty so often wears a woman’s face?

Stereotypes increase all forms of gender-based violence. Now, with the rise of unregulated technology, they are being amplified and weaponized. Biased algorithms and toxic online interactions add yet another layer of disadvantage, discrimination and often violence, severely limiting the opportunities, potential and participation of women and girls. This must change.

The ripple effects of these pernicious stereotypes touch every aspect of our lives and our societies.

They drive political polarization, fracture communities and undermine the very foundations of democracy. By reinforcing harmful divisions, fueling bitter conflicts and exacerbating inequality, stereotypes contribute to a more fractured and unstable world, where progress and peace become ever more elusive.

Gender equality is a fundamental human right. Yet gender discrimination persists, and factors such as age, race, class, disability and sexual orientation intersect to compound challenges for women and girls. 

What more must be done to end the stereotyping of women of African descent and other ethnic minorities, which remains so pervasive in popular culture?

This flattening of identities and experiences can have deadly consequences. A Black woman is told by her doctor that he is uncomfortable treating her with adequate pain medicine. Even though the woman is herself a doctor, and familiar with all the protocols, she is denied life-saving care.

What happens when systems fail to truly ‘see’ a woman with disabilities in all her complexity? When we fail to see that she, too, has needs and desires?

I am reminded of Mary, a young woman in Uganda with a physical disability. She has dreams for her life but tells us that she always feels invisible. Healthcare providers often overlook her sexual and reproductive health needs, assuming that she’s not sexually active.

A local organization, supported by UNFPA, provided Mary with accessible information about her body, reproductive health and healthy relationships. We also trained healthcare workers to provide the inclusive, non-judgmental care all women, regardless of their abilities, deserve.

Empowered with knowledge and confident in her rights, Mary has become an advocate for other women with disabilities, challenging the stigma and stereotypes that so often limit their right to make informed choices about their bodies and lives.

The gender stereotypes that CEDAW aims to dislodge are deeply woven into the fabric of our societies, perpetuated by everyone from governments and the media to schools and healthcare systems.

And let us remember, stereotypes don’t just harm women and girls. They affect everyone. That’s why I expect men to step up. 

Men need to be willing to step away from roles that privilege their power and choices over women’s. Gender stereotypes affect them, too – how they express or suppress their emotions, the interests and jobs they pursue, their financial responsibilities and their recourse to violence and aggression. This in turn shapes laws, policies and many aspects of life, ranging from healthcare to employment.

At UNFPA, we are tackling harmful gender stereotypes head on.

We fight for laws that protect women and girls. We work with communities to shift harmful social and gender norms, and we support comprehensive sexuality education to help young people develop healthy attitudes and behaviours and to empower girls to become leaders. Education is transformative.

Technology, too, can transform lives. Together with partners, UNFPA is working to create a digital world that is safe and accessible to all. We are taking the lead in demanding that big tech respect women and girls and make the digital space gender bias–free.

We also work with boys and men, so that they become allies in the fight for gender equality and are not themselves trapped by harmful gender norms.

Fathers’ Schools in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNFPA and UN Women, are encouraging men to embrace their roles as engaged fathers while also creating pathways for women to thrive in the workforce.

By shining a light on gender stereotypes as a grave human rights issue, setting clear international standards and holding States accountable, CEDAW, through this General Recommendation, can help drive societal change.

Drawing on this General Recommendation, and in response to national demands, UNFPA will continue to support legislation, policies, and programmes that aim to eliminate discriminatory practices and social norms.

Quoting Dr. bell hooks:

“Stereotypes abound when there is distance. They are an invention, a pretense that one knows when the steps that would make real knowing possible cannot be taken or are not allowed.”

Quoting Audre Lorde:

“For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.”

People of CEDAW,

Continue to formulate processes that give a woman her own money – that’s power, beyond empowerment. Wallet autonomy.

Continue to deliver self-agency, self-determination and bodily autonomy. That’s part of human dignity.

Fashion changes to match the female face of healthcare and caregiving, and also adapt to the female face of logistics, of shipping and other industries that are newly big employers of women.

From menarche through menopause and across a woman’s life course, hopefully, to healthy longevity – break stereotypes and allow people to speak to what matters.

Distinguished Delegates,

In this uncertain moment, don’t fail to stand with women – all women – unapologetically, without reservation.

The nature of your noble mandate calls you to be selfless, but allow me to add that you also need to look after your own self, with kindness.

Sisters, I encourage you to renew your personal commitment to Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Women absolutely have the right to rest and leisure. 

In closing, I urge each of you, whatever your role—whether in government, civil society, academia, United Nations agencies or other stakeholders—to engage actively in the development of this General Recommendation.

This is not the time to roll back the clock on women’s rights and choices. Yes, compromise will be necessary. Yet set the essential boundaries. Hold fast to long-standing international norms. Stand up for women and stay inspired. 

The pendulum swings. So, again, seek what inspires you. Because the march continues. And your work saves and transforms lives.

Let us keep moving forward – together.

Thank you.