"Sixty years have passed since the founders of the United Nations inscribed,
on the first page of our Charter, the equal rights of men and women. Since then,
study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more
effective than the empowerment of women. No other policy is as likely to raise
economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal mortality. No other
policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health—including the
prevention of HIV/AIDS. No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances
of education for the next generation. And I would also venture that no policy is
more important in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a
conflict has ended. But whatever the very real benefits of investing in women,
the most important fact remains: Women themselves have the right to live in
dignity, in freedom from want and from fear."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
