Source: Denmark.dk
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
G
ender equality is a fundamental value in the Danish
society. It is important that everyone has equal
opportunities and rights in Denmark regardless of
sex, race, sexual orientation and so forth. Therefore, women
and men, boys and girls should have the same opportunities
to express themselves and be able to participate in
education, political debates and society on equal terms so
they can live up to their potential.
Denmark ranks among the world’s most gender equal
countries but still challenges remain. To overcome these
challenges and promote equality for women and men, the
Danish government is involving stakeholders from all parts
of society.
Despite significant progress across the world concerning
women’s rights, inequality continues to be a notable
problem in many parts of the world. Through multilateral
collaboration in the United Nations, EU and other fora) and
by offering financial support to a wide array of projects,
which specifically focus on equality, Denmark actively
promotes gender equality, equal opportunities, women’s
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rights, and empowerment.
Efforts to Empower Women
Denmark seeks to contribute to the United Nation’s
Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) through
women empowerment. Thus, women empowerment has
become one of three pillars in the Danish human rights policy.
At the Danish Embassy in New Delhi, Women Empowerment
is about creating awareness about women’s rights, giving
women a voice of their own and creating an environment
where men and women have equal opportunities. Thus, the
Women Empowerment team is committed to contribute to
the Indian government’s efforts to change public perception
of women’s traditional gender roles in India. This includes
the promotion of basic human rights such as article 23 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) calling
for everyone’s rights to work without discrimination and
equal pay under favourable conditions, while article 26
holds the right of everyone to education. Denmark seeks to
promote legal and structural changes to eradicate social
norms and discriminative employment policies that hinder
women from obtaining education or joining the workforce.