Even in a year as bad as this one, there are still a few things worth celebrating. August marked the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the United States. September is also the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on the status of women, a global plan for women’s equality under the auspices of the United Nations. And no less remarkable will be the 20th anniversary in October of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for all actors to raise the profile of women and gender perspectives in security and peace processes. Resolution 1325—as well as the related U.S. Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017—have moved the ball forward significantly in ensuring that women have equal participation in public life.
However, barriers to women’s full participation still abound. Among these challenges is the fact that women are disproportionately affected by infectious diseases—from COVID-19 to AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria—which holds them back from advancing in society. In large part, this higher disease burden is due to a lack of access to health care, including to treatments for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as for Ebola and COVID-19. By promoting access, then, health aid helps support women’s equality. And by empowering women, such aid can shore up regional stability, improve economic outcomes, and ensure access to enablers of prosperity such as education.
