PGS MUN Sec Gen Speech: Gender Equality

This is the text of a speech by PGS Model United Nations Secretary-General, Tanya Thekkekkara, at the PGS MUN Conference on Saturday, 8th October.  

As I was writing this, I thought to myself, who am I to stand up here and preach about peace and equality? I am just a 17 year old girl who just happens to be interested in current affairs.

However, the more I contemplated this, the more I realised that this interest, this spark that we all possess, is significant in needing change for the future. We are, after all, the voices of the future and whatever path we choose to take we will be building and shaping the world for ourselves and other generations to come .Now is the time that we should be discussing about peace and equality in order for it to be harnessed for the future. When reflecting on my own experiences,interests and hopes for the future the issue of women’s rights comes to mind.

Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of Hillary Clinton, no one can dispute the fact that “women’s rights are human rights”. This gender inequality can be seen all around the world; specifically within  India with the case of 1000 reported incidents of honour killings and 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. However, you might think that the issue of gender inequality is only a concern for developing countries, but this issue is still thriving within our society today, only it is just invisible to us. For example, the act of catcalling,sexual harassment and victim blaming for rape in the case of Brock turner where she “asked for it?”. Here, I have only mentioned a few examples and as you can see there is still plenty more we can do.

This issue is not just a woman’s issue, it is a human right’s issue and to all the male pupils \ this affects you too and I extend my invite to you to help eradicate gender inequality, as we cannot do this Malone. This is what I am passionate about and this is what got me interested in politics and international relations. For you this could be anything, anything you hear about today or anything you have witnessed which lacks justice, whatever  it is Ii urge you to debate it and  to go forth spread your opinion and be vocal . If little 11 yr old me knew that I would be here standing as Sec Gen I would say you were bluffing, I used to attend JUNMUN and not say a word. Thus, doesn’t matter about your age, if you have the drive then you can achieve anything.

I would like to finish with the words of Ban Ki Moon  at the youth summit:

“You are already leaders. Your ideas, your actions and your decisions make a difference. More than any other generation, you have a voice. You are in touch with peers from around the world. You understand the power of instant communication. I appeal to you to use that power for the common good, My dear young friends, you can make this your world."

Thank you.