Strong women tell powerful tales of change and identity at FAO’s virtual tea
1 June 2020, Rome - More than 300 members of FAO’s Women Committee tuned in to a virtual tea today to listen to inspiring tales of passion and perseverance from Graça MachelandNatalia Kanem, both of whom emphasized the importance of women knowing their own worth. The event was also attended by Director-General QU Dongyu.
“Inequality and discrimination against women is intolerable, illegal and inhuman,” Machel said in a riveting address that triggered a deluge of comments from participants around the world. “Women are often skilled at multitasking, which can lead to strong forms of balance”, she said.
Machel was the First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa, and has a high-profile career on the international stage, notably with her leadership of an investigation into the impact of armed conflicts on children commissioned by the UN Secretary General. She has also been a longtime advocate of broadening food security, for which she was invited in 2019 to give the McDougall Memorial lecture at FAO headquarters.
Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, focused on the importance of gender equity and in particular of empowering young women and girls as a bulwark of a better world and also of food security. Eradicating gender violence is a whole-of-society effort much as responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Both noted that humility enables learning but urged against self-doubt in pursuit of goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 5, whose target date is just a decade away.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, who established the Women’s Committee in 2019, applauded both guest speakers for their “inspiring speeches”, highlighted “Passion with responsibility” and noted that “Women in the lead, paving the way for the future” - the theme of the 10th virtual tea since the pandemic lockdown began – was very important to him and also pointed to the importance of women who “Hold Up Half The Sky”.