As I see it | New UN Women chief should push for further gender equality in Asia
- Education for women and girls, Covid-19 relief and migrant rights should be top priorities for incoming executive director Sima Sami Bahous
- Bahous must also work closely with feminist groups and grass roots movements to best tackle the issues in the region
Jordan’s Sima Sami Bahous was appointed as executive director last month to lead UN Women, the United Nations’ gender equality and empowerment entity.
UN Secretary General António Guterres, who announced her name after consultations with member states and the executive board of the UN Women, said she is a “keen advocate for quality education, poverty alleviation and inclusive governance”.
Bahous is set to play a crucial role in shaping the gender equality agenda around the world for the next four years, after serving as Jordan’s UN ambassador in New York.
Her appointment came as feminist leaders demanded more transparency and a role for civil society in the selection process, gender experts Anne Marie Goetz and Joanne Sandler wrote in July.
“I think she is a good appointment,” said Sara Davies, an international relations professor at Australia’s Griffith University. “Dr Sima Sami Bahous is a well-known and respected advocate of women’s rights … She knows the UN system very well.
