美國國務卿克里：婦女對美國外交政策至關重要

我們努力為女性企業家提供訓練和輔導，使她們不僅能改善各自的家庭，還能促進各自國家的經濟增長。我們努力為女孩提供教育，使她們避免被迫早婚，打破貧困的惡性循環，成長為社區領袖和積極參與的公民。提高女孩和婦女的教育及獲得資源的機會也有助于改善下一代的健康和教育。

我們與世界各地的合作伙伴共同努力增進女性健康，提高女性農民的能力，防止和解決性別暴力問題，因為如果婦女能夠獲得健康、安全并為全球經濟貢獻自己的勞動、領導才能和創造力，所有的社會都能從中受益。美國在世界各地的外交人員正努力要求婦女全面參與和平談判及安全工作，因為將婦女的經驗、關注和見解納入談判過程有助于防止未來的沖突和實現更持久的和平。

今天是國際婦女節，是值得慶賀的一天。在這一天，我們每一個人還必須重申我們的堅定意志，要求結束在世界各地阻礙進步的不平等狀況。我們能夠而且必須堅持不懈地為之努力，讓我們所有的女兒都能搭乘公車上學而不用害怕，讓我們所有的姐妹都能發揮她們的巨大潛力，讓每一位婦女和女孩都能實現她們的全部潛力。

附英文原文：

Why women are central to U.S. foreign policy

By John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State

China has a lot to be proud of today, on International Women’s Day. There are over 29 million female entrepreneurs in China. They have contributed much to China’s growth and to global growth. Governments and business leaders worldwide can look to China for plenty of examples of women fueling job creation and economic prosperity. In fact, women around the world increasingly impress us with their accomplishments and inspiration.

During my first week as the United States’ Secretary of State, I had the honor of meeting with a group of courageous women. Although they had all endured incredible hardship in their lives, each of them was committed to moving forward - providing education and training to girls, finding jobs for the unemployed and advocating for greater participation in civil society. I have no doubt that they will continue to be powerful agents of change, bringing progress to their communities and their country in the years to come.

It’s opportunities like this that remind us why it is so vital that the United States continues to work with governments, organizations and individuals around the world to protect and advance the rights of women and girls. After all, just like in our own country, the world's most pressing economic, social and political problems simply cannot be solved without the full participation of women.

According to the World Economic Forum, countries where men and women are closer to enjoying equal rights are far more economically competitive than those where the gender gap has left women and girls with limited or no access to medical care, education, elected office, and the marketplace. Similarly, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if women farmers had the same access to seeds, fertilizer, and technology as men do, they could reduce the number of undernourished people in the world by 100 million to 150 million.

Yet in too many societies and too many homes, women and girls are still undervalued, denied opportunities to go to school, and forced to marry as children. Too many lives have been lost or altered forever by gender-based violence. As the father of two daughters, I cannot imagine the pain suffered by the parents of the young woman known as “Nirbhaya,” the 23-year old medical student murdered on a New Delhi bus simply for being a woman, or the anguish felt by the parents of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by extremists as she too rode on a bus, simply for wanting to go to school. But I am inspired by Malala’s undaunted commitment to her cause, by Nirbhaya’s determination, while dying, to bring her assailants to justice, and by their fathers’ courage in speaking out on behalf of their daughters and women everywhere.

No country can get ahead if it leaves half of its people behind. This is why the United States believes gender equality is critical to our shared goals of prosperity, stability, and peace, and why investing in women and girls worldwide is critical to advancing U.S. foreign policy.

We invest in the training and mentoring of women entrepreneurs so they can not only lift up their own families, but also help their countries’ economies grow. We invest in girls’ education so that they can escape forced early marriage, break the cycle of poverty, and develop into community leaders and engaged citizens. Increasing girls’ and women’s education and their access to resources also improves the health and education of the next generation.

We work with partners around the world to boost maternal health, strengthen female farmers, and prevent and address gender-based violence because all societies benefit when women are healthy, safe, and can contribute their labor, leadership and creativity to the global economy. U.S. diplomats everywhere work to integrate women fully into peace negotiations and security efforts because bringing women’s experiences, concerns and insights to the table can help prevent future conflict and build more lasting peace.

Today, International Women’s Day, is a day of celebration. It is also a day when each of us must recommit to ending the inequality that prevents progress in every corner of the globe. We can and we must commit to this so that each of our daughters can ride the bus to school without fear, all of our sisters can fulfill their tremendous potential, and every woman and girl can live up to her full potential.