Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN / INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
TRT: 5:30
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 07 MARCH 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
07 MARCH 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly
3. Wide shot, General Assembly President Philemon Yang walks up to the GA rostrum
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Philemon Yang, President, General Assembly:
“While we have made undeniable progress, full gender equality remains out of reach. The journey is far from over and much remains to be done. And while we celebrate the growing number of women in parliaments, progress remains slow. At the current trajectory gender parity in legislative bodies may not be achieved until 2063.”
5. Wide shot, Yang at the GA rostrum
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Philemon Yang, President, General Assembly:
“It is a tragic and enduring reality that women remain disproportionately vulnerable to violence. This state of affairs was fuelled and reinforced by social norms that normalize sexism and misogyny.”
7. Wide shot, delegates applauding
8. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres walks up to the rostrum
9. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We gather today not just to celebrate the International Women’s Day, but to move forward – resilient, united, and unwavering in our pursuit of ‘equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of humanity.’ Those are the first words of the Beijing Declaration.”
10. Wide shot, Guterres at the rostrum
11. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Women’s rights are under attack. Centuries of discrimination are being exacerbated by new threats. Digital tools, while brimming with promise, are also often silencing women’s voices, amplifying bias, and fuelling harassment. Women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds. And online violence is escalating into real-life violence.”
12. Wide shot, delegates
13. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We cannot stand by as progress is reversed. We must fight back. Last September, Member States adopted the Pact for the Future. And the Pact reminds us that equality is the engine of progress for all people – and that Agenda 2030 can only be realized when all women and girls enjoy their full rights.”
14. Tilt down, Guterres at the rostrum
15. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Systemic change is possible – with concerted and determined action. Today, as part of the UN System-wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, I am proud to announce our commitment to the Gender Equality Clarion Call: A bold, urgent pledge to defend and advance the rights of all women and girls.”
16. Various shots, delegates applauding
17. Wide shot, the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Sami Bahous walks up to the rostrum
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women:
“The cause of gender equality has never been more urgent, nor the obstacles in our way more apparent, but our determination has never been more unshakable. As we just heard, the Secretary General announced in his gender equality acceleration plan Clarion Call, we must champion women's rights; we must confront the backlash; we must enhance our efforts to dismantle systemic inequalities; and we must protect women human rights defenders.”
19. Wide shot, Bahous at the rostrum
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women:
“Real solutions require that women be at the heart of decision making. From Afghanistan to the DRC; from Palestine, Gaza, to Haiti, to Myanmar, Sudan and beyond, women bear the heaviest burdens of conflict, displacement, hardship and loss. Yet we know that when women are at the table, peace is broader, more inclusive and more enduring. We know that when women's voices are heard equally, societies thrive. We know that when women lead, economies prosper. We know all this, now we must act on it.”
21. delegates applauding
22. Various shots, musical performance by the cast from the Tony Award-winning SUFFs the Musical
On the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Secretary-General António Guterres today (7 Mar) told an International Women’s Day celebration at the General Assembly Hall, that “women’s rights are under attack,” and announced the launch of the Gender Equality Clarion Call, “a bold, urgent pledge to defend and advance the rights of all women and girls.”
At the opening of the event, General Assembly President Philemon Yang said, “while we have made undeniable progress, full gender equality remains out of reach. The journey is far from over and much remains to be done. And while we celebrate the growing number of women in parliaments, progress remains slow. At the current trajectory gender parity in legislative bodies may not be achieved until 2063.”
Yang said it was “a tragic and enduring reality that women remain disproportionately vulnerable to violence. This state of affairs was fuelled and reinforced by social norms that normalize sexism and misogyny.”
Guterres, in his remarks to the event, said, “we gather today not just to celebrate the International Women’s Day, but to move forward – resilient, united, and unwavering,” and quoting the Beijing Declaration added, in pursuit of “equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of humanity.”
The Secretary-General said, “centuries of discrimination are being exacerbated by new threats. Digital tools, while brimming with promise, are also often silencing women’s voices, amplifying bias, and fuelling harassment. Women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds. And online violence is escalating into real-life violence.”
He said, “we cannot stand by as progress is reversed. We must fight back,” and stressed that “systemic change is possible – with concerted and determined action.”
The Clarion Call sets out four priorities: Unified leadership; action against pushbacks; coordinated impact; and protecting women human rights defenders.
For her part, the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Sami Bahous said, “the cause of gender equality has never been more urgent, nor the obstacles in our way more apparent, but our determination has never been more unshakable.”
Echoing the Secretary-General’s words, she said, “we must champion women's rights; we must confront the backlash; we must enhance our efforts to dismantle systemic inequalities; and we must protect women human rights defenders.”
Bahous said, “real solutions require that women be at the heart of decision making. From Afghanistan to the DRC; from Palestine, Gaza, to Haiti, to Myanmar, Sudan and beyond, women bear the heaviest burdens of conflict, displacement, hardship and loss. Yet we know that when women are at the table, peace is broader, more inclusive and more enduring.”
She said, “we know that when women's voices are heard equally, societies thrive. We know that when women lead, economies prosper. We know all this, now we must act on it.”
According to UN Women, the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action comes at a time of mounting global crises, from economic instability and the climate emergency to democratic erosion and backlash against gender equality.
