Speakers from countries as diverse as Lesotho, Canada, Chad, and Iceland shared their experiences and explained how droughts, land degradation and desertification are disproportionately affecting women and girls in their communities.
UN deputy secretary-general Amina J. Mohammed said: “On this Desertification and Drought Day, our message is simple: we must finally recognise and value women as owners, managers of our lands and of our resources, and we must invest in the fight against climate change. Women make up the majority of rural farmers, but less than 15% of agricultural landholders are women, and their right to inherit property continues to be denied under customary and traditional laws in over 100 countries.
Less than a third of UN member states have ever had a female head of state or government. Several of them participated in the high-level event in New York in person or virtually. Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s first minister of indigenous peoples, delivered an impassioned plea in support of indigenous women leaders in her country. Jennifer Littlejohn, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, represented the US, highlighting its government’s commitment to gender equity and equality.