美国务卿克里：妇女对美国外交政策至关重要

美国国务卿约翰 克里

在今天，国际妇女节（International Women’s Day），中国有很多值得骄傲的事情。在中国有超过2900万女性企业家。他们为中国的发展和世界的发展做出了很多贡献。全世界的政府和商界领袖都依赖于中国的妇女推动就业创造和经济繁荣的很多例子。事实上，全世界的妇女用他们的成就和鼓舞人心的力量，给我们留下越来越深的印象。

我在就任美国国务卿后的第一个星期，有幸与一批妇女人士会面。尽管她们在各自的生活中都经历了难以想象的艰辛，她们中间的每一位仍坚定地奋勇向前——为女孩提供教育和培训，为失业者寻找工作，并提高人们参与公民社会的程度。我坚信，她们将继续是推动变革的强大力量，在今后多年为她们的社区和国家带来进步。

正是这样的机会提醒我们，为什么美国继续与世界各地的政府、组织和个人共同努力保护和促进妇女和女孩的权利具有如此重要的意义。归根结底，与我国的情况一样，如果没有妇女的全面参与，全世界最紧迫的经济、社会和政治问题就无法得到解决。

据世界经济论坛（World Economic Forum）提供的资料，在男女权利平等的程度比较接近的国家，其经济竞争力远远高于那些性别鸿沟使妇女和女孩仅得到有限的机会或根本没有机会获得医疗、教育、民选公职和行销市场的国家。同样，联合国粮食及农业组织（U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization）估计，女性农民如果能与男性同等地得到种子、肥料和技术，就能使全世界营养不良的人口减少1亿至1.5亿。

但是，在太多的社会和太多的家庭，妇女和女孩仍受到轻视，被剥夺上学的机会，并被迫年少成婚。太多的人因性别暴力丧生，或者永远改变了自己的人生。作为两个女儿的父亲，我简直无法想象那位名叫 “尼尔巴娅”（Nirbhaya）的女孩的父母所遭受的痛苦。这位23岁的医科学生在新德里的公车上被杀害，仅仅因为她是女性；我也无法想象马拉拉·尤苏芙扎（Malala Yousafzai）的双亲所经历的痛苦。这位巴基斯坦女孩同样在搭乘公车时遭到极端主义分子的枪击，仅仅因为她想去上学。但是，令我感到鼓舞的是，马拉拉敢于坚持自己的事业，尼尔巴娅在生命垂危之际坚决要求将行凶者绳之以法，她们的父亲们毫不畏惧地为自己的女儿和世界各地的妇女大声疾呼。

一个国家如果有一半的人口被置之不顾，就不可能取得进步。正是因为如此，美国坚信性别平等对我们实现繁荣、稳定与和平的共同目标至关重要。正是因为如此，增进全世界妇女和女孩的权益对推动美国的对外政策至关重要。

我们努力为女性企业家提供训练和辅导，使她们不仅能改善各自的家庭，还能促进各自国家的经济增长。我们努力为女孩提供教育，使她们避免被迫早婚，打破贫困的恶性循环，成长为社区领袖和积极参与的公民。提高女孩和妇女的教育及获得资源的机会也有助于改善下一代的健康和教育。

我们与世界各地的合作伙伴共同努力增进女性健康，提高女性农民的能力，防止和解决性别暴力问题，因为如果妇女能够获得健康、安全并为全球经济贡献自己的劳动、领导才能和创造力，所有的社会都能从中受益。美国在世界各地的外交人员正努力要求妇女全面参与和平谈判及安全工作，因为将妇女的经验、关注和见解纳入谈判过程有助于防止未来的冲突和实现更持久的和平。

今天是国际妇女节，是值得庆贺的一天。在这一天，我们每一个人还必须重申我们的坚定意志，要求结束在世界各地阻碍进步的不平等状况。我们能够而且必须坚持不懈地为之努力，让我们所有的女儿都能搭乘公车上学而不用害怕，让我们所有的姐妹都能发挥她们的巨大潜力，让每一位妇女和女孩都能实现她们的全部潜力。

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.