Washington, Dec 29: India is facing "very very big" challenges in gender justice, a top UN Women official has said, adding that the government has "prioritised" women's issues in its policies and programmes but there is a need for greater momentum.
Lakshmi Puri, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and deputy executive director of UN Women, called for setting up special courts for hearing cases of violence against women and providing gender-responsive training to police.
She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritised women issues in his policies and programmes.
"He (Modi) has prioritised it (gender equality and gender issues) in every programme, every mission that he has launched. He has put gender equality in the middle of that. Jan Dhan Yojana is a very big win for women. In Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, he is highlighting more gender-related issues. Similarly, Skills India, Digital India..." she told PTI.
Considered a guiding force in driving the women related agenda of the UN, Puri said, "We would, of course, like to see greater momentum in regard to some of these initiatives going forward."
Puri, who was acting head of UN Women from March to August 2013, noted that the challenges being faced by India in the arena of women equality and gender justice are "very very big".
In addition to addressing the challenges being faced by women in cities, she underscored the need for safety of women in rural areas in India.
"Rural women face different types of violence and the more disadvantaged amongst them, marginalised amongst them, the poorest face different types of violence. So that needs to be addressed. The number, the scale, the scope of the challenges are so big that sometimes the impact cannot be seen immediately, she said.
Despite India making considerable progress in the last 70 years, the country is still facing the challenge of patriarchal social and cultural norms that hold back women, she rued.
There is still high-level of girl aversion and boy preference which has led to sex selection, against which Prime Minister Modi launched the beti bachao, beti padhao campaign, she added.
"We have progressed considerably in the last 70 years. Whether you're looking at women's economic empowerment, whether you're looking at consciousness about gender equality and women's empowerment. Whether you're looking at political participation and leadership, there is some progress, she said.
On this whole issue of violence against women, what I see as progress is the consciousness and people recognising particularly domestic violence and its criminalisation. That's a really big, Puri said in response to a question.
While women have made considerable progress in the education field, but translating that to their participation in the formal workforce and access to finance has been disturbing, she said.
Now preparing to leave the UN Women to join her husband Hardeep Puri, the Union Minister of State with Independent Charge in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, next month, Lakshmi Puri said there is a need for greater representation of women in the Parliament and judiciary.
She joined the UN 14 years ago through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as Director of the flagship Division of Trade in Goods, Services and Commodities of UNCTAD and then as Acting Deputy Secretary- General.
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India facing huge challenges in gender justice: UN Women official
Agencies
December 29, 2017
China asks United States to close its Consulate in Chengdu
Agencies
July 24,2020
Chengdu, Jul 24: China on Friday asked the US to close down its Consulate in Chengdu in retaliation to Washington's decision to shut the Chinese Consulate in Houston.
A statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China has informed the US Embassy of its decision to withdraw its consent for the establishment and operation of the US Consulate General in Chengdu.
This was in response to "unilateral" decision by the US to shut the Houston Consulate. China's decision is legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable actions of the US, it said.
The US on Wednesday ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, a move it said was aimed "to protect American intellectual property and private information."
Reacting strongly to the US move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin termed it as an "unprecedented escalation and warned retaliatory measures.
China on Thursday said that "malicious slander" is behind an order by the US government to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, and maintained that its officials have never operated outside ordinary diplomatic norms.
Wang said the order to close the consulate violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, and seriously undermines China-US relations.
This is breaking down the bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American people, Wang said.
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Global COVID-19 cases top 4.6 million: Johns Hopkins University
Agencies
May 17,2020
Washington, May 17: The overall number of global coronavirus cases has increased to over 4.6 million, while the death toll has surpassed 311,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Sunday morning, the total number of cases stood at 4,634,068, while the death toll increased to 311,781, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US currently accounts for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 1,467,796 and 88,754, respectively.
In terms of cases, Russia has the second highest number of infections at 272,043, followed by the UK (241,461), Brazil (233,142), Spain (230,698), Italy (224,760), France (179,630), Germany (175,752), Turkey (148,067) and Iran (118,392), the CSSE figures showed.
Meanwhile, the UK accounted for the second highest COVID-19 deaths worldwide at 34,546.
The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are Italy (31,763), Spain (27,563), France (27,532), and Brazil (15,662).
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Oil prices fall as US-China tensions offset coronavirus hope
News Network
May 6,2020
Singapore, May 6: Oil prices slipped back Wednesday after two days of gains, although Brent crude remained above $30 a barrel, as renewed US-China tensions offset optimism about the easing of coronavirus lockdowns.
Brent, the international benchmark, fell 1.1 per cent to $30.63 a barrel in early Asian trade. On Tuesday, the contract surged 14 per cent and rose above $30 for the first time since mid-April.
US marker West Texas Intermediate slipped 1.9 per cent and was changing hands for $24.13 a barrel.
Oil markets have been battered as the virus strangled demand due to business closures and travel restrictions, with US crude falling into negative territory last month for the first time.
They started rallying strongly this week as countries from Europe to Asia ease curbs and economies start shuddering back to life.
But gains were capped Wednesday as dealers follow a brewing US-China row after Donald Trump hit out at Beijing over its handling of the outbreak, saying it began in a Wuhan lab, but so far offering no evidence.
"Traders are incredibly cautious this morning, weighing all the possible China responses," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp.
"And the one that would hurt the most would be for China to reduce imports of US oil."
This week's rally was in part driven by a deal agreed between top producers to reduce output by almost 10 million barrels a day, which came into effect on May 1.
There have also been signs that the massive oversupply in the market is starting to ease as demand slowly comes back.
Energy data provider Genscape said earlier this week that stockpiles at the main US oil depot in Cushing, Oklahoma had increased by only 1.8 million barrels last week following weeks of major rises.
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