美國務卿克裡：婦女對美國外交政策至關重要

美國國務卿約翰 克裡

在今天，國際婦女節（International Women’s Day），中國有很多值得驕傲的事情。在中國有超過2900萬女性企業家。他們為中國的發展和世界的發展做出了很多貢獻。全世界的政府和商界領袖都依賴於中國的婦女推動就業創造和經濟繁榮的很多例子。事實上，全世界的婦女用他們的成就和鼓舞人心的力量，給我們留下越來越深的印象。

我在就任美國國務卿后的第一個星期，有幸與一批婦女人士會面。盡管她們在各自的生活中都經歷了難以想象的艱辛，她們中間的每一位仍堅定地奮勇向前——為女孩提供教育和培訓，為失業者尋找工作，並提高人們參與公民社會的程度。我堅信，她們將繼續是推動變革的強大力量，在今后多年為她們的社區和國家帶來進步。

正是這樣的機會提醒我們，為什麼美國繼續與世界各地的政府、組織和個人共同努力保護和促進婦女和女孩的權利具有如此重要的意義。歸根結底，與我國的情況一樣，如果沒有婦女的全面參與，全世界最緊迫的經濟、社會和政治問題就無法得到解決。

據世界經濟論壇（World Economic Forum）提供的資料，在男女權利平等的程度比較接近的國家，其經濟競爭力遠遠高於那些性別鴻溝使婦女和女孩僅得到有限的機會或根本沒有機會獲得醫療、教育、民選公職和行銷市場的國家。同樣，聯合國糧食及農業組織（U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization）估計，女性農民如果能與男性同等地得到種子、肥料和技術，就能使全世界營養不良的人口減少1億至1.5億。

但是，在太多的社會和太多的家庭，婦女和女孩仍受到輕視，被剝奪上學的機會，並被迫年少成婚。太多的人因性別暴力喪生，或者永遠改變了自己的人生。作為兩個女兒的父親，我簡直無法想象那位名叫 “尼爾巴婭”（Nirbhaya）的女孩的父母所遭受的痛苦。這位23歲的醫科學生在新德裡的公車上被殺害，僅僅因為她是女性﹔我也無法想象馬拉拉·尤蘇芙扎（Malala Yousafzai）的雙親所經歷的痛苦。這位巴基斯坦女孩同樣在搭乘公車時遭到極端主義分子的槍擊，僅僅因為她想去上學。但是，令我感到鼓舞的是，馬拉拉敢於堅持自己的事業，尼爾巴婭在生命垂危之際堅決要求將行凶者繩之以法，她們的父親們毫不畏懼地為自己的女兒和世界各地的婦女大聲疾呼。

一個國家如果有一半的人口被置之不顧，就不可能取得進步。正是因為如此，美國堅信性別平等對我們實現繁榮、穩定與和平的共同目標至關重要。正是因為如此，增進全世界婦女和女孩的權益對推動美國的對外政策至關重要。

我們努力為女性企業家提供訓練和輔導，使她們不僅能改善各自的家庭，還能促進各自國家的經濟增長。我們努力為女孩提供教育，使她們避免被迫早婚，打破貧困的惡性循環，成長為社區領袖和積極參與的公民。提高女孩和婦女的教育及獲得資源的機會也有助於改善下一代的健康和教育。

我們與世界各地的合作伙伴共同努力增進女性健康，提高女性農民的能力，防止和解決性別暴力問題，因為如果婦女能夠獲得健康、安全並為全球經濟貢獻自己的勞動、領導才能和創造力，所有的社會都能從中受益。美國在世界各地的外交人員正努力要求婦女全面參與和平談判及安全工作，因為將婦女的經驗、關注和見解納入談判過程有助於防止未來的沖突和實現更持久的和平。

今天是國際婦女節，是值得慶賀的一天。在這一天，我們每一個人還必須重申我們的堅定意志，要求結束在世界各地阻礙進步的不平等狀況。我們能夠而且必須堅持不懈地為之努力，讓我們所有的女兒都能搭乘公車上學而不用害怕，讓我們所有的姐妹都能發揮她們的巨大潛力，讓每一位婦女和女孩都能實現她們的全部潛力。

附英文原文：

Why women are central to U.S. foreign policy

By John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State

China has a lot to be proud of today, on International Women’s Day. There are over 29 million female entrepreneurs in China. They have contributed much to China’s growth and to global growth. Governments and business leaders worldwide can look to China for plenty of examples of women fueling job creation and economic prosperity. In fact, women around the world increasingly impress us with their accomplishments and inspiration.

During my first week as the United States’ Secretary of State, I had the honor of meeting with a group of courageous women. Although they had all endured incredible hardship in their lives, each of them was committed to moving forward - providing education and training to girls, finding jobs for the unemployed and advocating for greater participation in civil society. I have no doubt that they will continue to be powerful agents of change, bringing progress to their communities and their country in the years to come.

It’s opportunities like this that remind us why it is so vital that the United States continues to work with governments, organizations and individuals around the world to protect and advance the rights of women and girls. After all, just like in our own country, the world's most pressing economic, social and political problems simply cannot be solved without the full participation of women.

According to the World Economic Forum, countries where men and women are closer to enjoying equal rights are far more economically competitive than those where the gender gap has left women and girls with limited or no access to medical care, education, elected office, and the marketplace. Similarly, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if women farmers had the same access to seeds, fertilizer, and technology as men do, they could reduce the number of undernourished people in the world by 100 million to 150 million.

Yet in too many societies and too many homes, women and girls are still undervalued, denied opportunities to go to school, and forced to marry as children. Too many lives have been lost or altered forever by gender-based violence. As the father of two daughters, I cannot imagine the pain suffered by the parents of the young woman known as “Nirbhaya,” the 23-year old medical student murdered on a New Delhi bus simply for being a woman, or the anguish felt by the parents of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by extremists as she too rode on a bus, simply for wanting to go to school. But I am inspired by Malala’s undaunted commitment to her cause, by Nirbhaya’s determination, while dying, to bring her assailants to justice, and by their fathers’ courage in speaking out on behalf of their daughters and women everywhere.

No country can get ahead if it leaves half of its people behind. This is why the United States believes gender equality is critical to our shared goals of prosperity, stability, and peace, and why investing in women and girls worldwide is critical to advancing U.S. foreign policy.

We invest in the training and mentoring of women entrepreneurs so they can not only lift up their own families, but also help their countries’ economies grow. We invest in girls’ education so that they can escape forced early marriage, break the cycle of poverty, and develop into community leaders and engaged citizens. Increasing girls’ and women’s education and their access to resources also improves the health and education of the next generation.

We work with partners around the world to boost maternal health, strengthen female farmers, and prevent and address gender-based violence because all societies benefit when women are healthy, safe, and can contribute their labor, leadership and creativity to the global economy. U.S. diplomats everywhere work to integrate women fully into peace negotiations and security efforts because bringing women’s experiences, concerns and insights to the table can help prevent future conflict and build more lasting peace.

Today, International Women’s Day, is a day of celebration. It is also a day when each of us must recommit to ending the inequality that prevents progress in every corner of the globe. We can and we must commit to this so that each of our daughters can ride the bus to school without fear, all of our sisters can fulfill their tremendous potential, and every woman and girl can live up to her full potential.