March was a momentous month for gender equality

March was a momentous month for gender equality. 

The President and the First Lady announced an initiative championing adolescent girls’ education. And the international community came together to proclaim 2030 as the expiration date for gender inequality at the 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

 
There’s no doubt that 2030 is an ambitious deadline for full gender equality. But for me, this year’s CSW was full of reminders that this goal is within our grasp.
 
I was reunited with one of my favorite people, Memory Banda. A few years ago, after her sister was married at age 11, Memory became an advocate to end child marriage in Malawi. Her work illustrates the power adolescent girls have to raise their voices and make a difference for their communities—and their futures.
 
While in New York, CBS This Morning’s Norah O’Donnell joined us for a luncheon honoring a group of women who received the 2015 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award. Like Memory, these women are visionaries committed to advancing the rights of others, often at great personal risk.
 
Nadia Sharmeen, a journalist from Bangladesh, was one of this year’s honorees. During her time here in the United States, she talked about the power of coming together: “Before coming here we were alone, but now we know we’re not alone. Together we can be a great force that can bring justice, end the violence, and change the world. So let’s get together, step forward, create a better world.”
 
I can’t think of a better call to action for the rest of the year.

ENDS

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