Millions of Women Go Missing Yearly

Barbara Prammer President of the Austrian National Council stated that 35 Million Girls Worldwide Not in School during the opening session of mobilizing resources to empower women and girls: a dialogue among policy makers at UNOV in which experts from governments, the United Nations, civil society, parliaments, women’s organizations and the private sector discussed ways to advance gender equality and empowerment of women.

Delegates have discussed how the gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda can be promoted in international development cooperation and in the post-2015 development agenda under discussion, which will serve as the next international framework building upon the current Millennium Development Goals. The meeting will provide an opportunity for key stakeholder groups to explore how best to nurture gender equality and the empowerment of women in light of emerging sustainable development challenges.

The Austrian National Council Prammer said: “We are aware of the fact that worldwide the multiple crises present challenges for development cooperation; and we all know that the global development community finds itself at an important crossroad. We also know that some people, some politicians, use the crises as justification to reduce development cooperation contributions. Or even worse: Some use it to question the very role of development cooperation”.

She added: “Therefore the path we now take has serious implications for the world we will inhabit in the years to come. Now is not the time to disengage. It is the time to make sure we actually deliver on the Millennium Development Goals: Give children and pregnant women a chance at survival. Make sure children are in school. Make sure women have the same opportunities as men; protect the environment – and ultimately, end poverty”.

Prammer asked: What are the challenges facing Gender Equality? She gave several examples stating that the World Development Report 2012 draws attention to these facts and that there are still 35 million girls worldwide not in school. 4 million “newly missing” women annually
means that millions of girls and women go “missing” each year due to pre-natal discrimination or excess postnatal mortality. Almost all of them (85% or 3.3 million) in China, Sub-Saharan Africa and India.

There are wage gaps that average 20 per cent, along with gaps in labour force participation and there are an estimated 510 million women who will be abused by their partners in their lifetime

Prammer said: “in my capacity as Speaker of the National Council of the Republic of Austria I will continuously promote one certain indicator of the third MDG.It is the participation of women in political decision-making committees at all levels, from the informal and local level to the highest levels of parliament and government.

Concerning the representation of women in politics, the Austrian lower house with 27.9% and the Federal Council with 31,1 % is in place 35 out of 162 in the ranking of the Interparliamentary Union. This is relatively good but still not satisfactory.


Worldwide, women accounted for 20.3 per cent of parliamentarian’s at the end of October 2012. This amounted to nearly a 75 per cent increase since 1995 and a 44 per cent increase over the 2000 level. While trends point to an increase in women´s parliamentary representation, the rate of representation remains low overall, and progress is spread unevenly.

The highest level of women´s representation is found in the Nordic countries. Among developing regions, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to rank the highest, with a 23 per cent average. Women are elected in greater numbers in systems of proportional representation than they are in majority electoral systems. The use of special measures or quotas is also an important factor. Of the 59 countries that held elections in 2011 for lower or single houses, 2 had implemented special measures favouring women, and electoral quotas were used in 17 of those countries. Where quotas were used, women took 27.4 per cent of seats, as opposed to 15.7 per cent of seats in countries without any form of quota.

That is why I never tire of emphasizing that quotas are tried, tested and useful instruments to ensure women´s participation in politics.

Our participation has to be ensured because I am convinced that the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments is a key factor for women´s involvement in decision-making.

The simple presence of women within these traditional male institutions presents an important opportunity to assess the role of women within the political system and the status of women throughout society. Male and female legislators must work together to solve the problems in their countries. And women must be encouraged, empowered and supported to become strong leaders to successfully address those problems and to build strong, sustainable democracies.

As a staunch parliamentarian I would like to emphasize here that achieving the MDGs is not the responsibility of the executive branch of government alone. A part of parliament’s crucial function is to hold the executive accountable and to ensure that the executive fulfills its mandate. The fulfillment of these functions is imperative to the achievement of the MDGs.

In this context, I would like to highlight also the importance of Gender Budgeting. I am proud of the fact that Austria has written this principle in its constitution, and I am glad that you will hear about this more at tomorrow’s panel.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The sessions on your agenda for the next two days are all equally important, but above all there is one common objective:

It is to explore ways to anchor gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the centre of a future post-2015 UN development agenda.

Gender equality has long been recognized both as a human right and a core development goal; therefore the post-2015 global development agenda must not only address the elimination of specific gender gaps, but also transform the structural factors that underpin the widespread persistence of gender inequalities, gender-based violence, discrimination and unequal development progress between women and men.

9 comments to Millions of Women Go Missing Yearly

  • warbaby

    I believe we live on a planet where the discrimination towards women and children is as profuse as it ever was. That in itself does not say much for the men who are running the global situation. Women did not invent the nuclear bomb, weapons,mind control,torture and the rest of the goodies that harm this planet. I will be glad to leave this plane of existence for I pain everyday at the abuse the children have gone through and their mothers.We are no more a civilized society, all you have to do is really see. Thank You

  • The headline is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Questions that need to be asked include:

    1. Why the immense increase in the numbers of males to females in certain populous Asian countries?

    2. Why are so many people including those from 0 – 25 disappearing, vanishing without trace and where are they going?

    Question 1. Due to outdated and obsolete moral and social culture that praises and prizes males over females at any cost.

    Question 2. Government’s know but will not answer why as the truth is too terrifying.

    However it does have involvement and agreement between technology exchange from aliens and governments in return for humans being allowed to abducted without personal consent but full approval of the authorities some to deep underground military bases. However the aliens being evil have no morals and ethics and broken the agreement by not returning the abducted unharmed if at all. I am NOT saying ALL missing persons are missing because of alien abduction BUT SOME ARE.

    There are many reasons people go missing and many return but factors for non return include social pressures, financial, victims of crime, human abduction/trafficing, mental illness, new life, fresh start as well as economic, war and accident and ill health.

    Those wishing to find out more about deep underground bases could look online for: ‘alien digest vhst transit’. Those with an open mind wanting to know more about why the world is the way it is could look online for: ‘chiappalone great awakening rense’.

  • Sam

    I so agree with the comment above by “warbaby”. We are not a civilized Planet at all. Just look at the news, nothing but military and bombing and yes all created by men! Now tasering. Also who abuses and tortures women and children, who runs government and all the financial institutions MEN.Looking back at the history of civilization we have not changed at all.All we have is technology and technology that did not help us; just made it more efficient to kill each other and destroy the planet Technology that has created billions of gadgets and trinkets to entertain us with and to fill up land fills. Really when you look at the whole picture we are worse than pre-historic man.I have said to many people re-technology as far as I am concerned the best thing modern man developed is in door running hot and cold water! Thank you!

  • james

    None of the people that talk about “men created the bomb, and waged all the wars, etc., never manage to mention that women are not capable of the intellectual capacities of men. I´m not here to disparrage women, or to make excuses for the corrupt powers that be, but if these “people” that talk about men being warmongers and women would do it differently, are a joke! You clowns fall into the same trap of “divide and conquer” practiced by the powers that be! And, you have a very selective idea of what is truth! Woman may not invent bombs, but they sure use every excuse to squabble with other women at every opportunity and cause friction over nothing. I see it all the time. The WHOLE TRUTH is hard to swallow, and if truth be told, most women cannot compete with men on the intellectual level, just as most men fail in the emotional department. That´s how we were created for better or worse, and regardless men need women and women need men.Here´s a bit of truth for you folks: “Women: can´t live with them and can´t live without them!” While we´re on the subject, let´s talk about how non-white societies treat women versus how white men treat women. Now, if you want to talk truth, and not be “politiclly-correct”, then address why women in non-white societies are treated no better than cattle. Muslim man says “It´s 40 degress celcius, don´t forget to wear your black Burka today!”

  • Mr. wise

    If God wanted women to be equal to man He would’ve created them in His own image. And to “warbaby” Men didn’t create any of those weapons until Eve ate the apple.

  • mencken

    James – if men are all that brilliant, they wouldn’t have come up with such asinine theories as “infants don’t feel pain” (Google it) or “reading books makes women sterile”. And BTW, what are your great contributions to technology, or are you just riding on the coattails of others’ accomplishments?

    Most people, male and female, are center dull average. The average male is interested in food, sex, money, sports, and not much else. Ditto for their female counterparts.

    A discussion on male and female brain differences is a far more progressive and fruitful path than the one you’ve taken.

  • Levon Richards

    Oh, that’s a real smart comment Mr Wise. That was incredibly rude actually. Don’t even start with the ridiculous Christian BS about Adam and Eve and all that crap that never happened. As if! Created in HIS own image huh? I’m a man and as far as I have ever been concerned women are just as equal as we are if not way more. The problem with this world and especially with Humans in general is men and their testosterone driven minds. All most men think about and have for thousands of years is war, killing, violence and getting laid. I’m being as polite as I can but sometimes things just have to said in a way that humanity will understand. I’m very happy I am not a misogynist and that I strive to be better all the time. We are a very primitive species with nothing but violence on our puny little brains. Most of us anyway. Don’t you think it’s time to stop with the church indoctrinated crap that makes no sense and never has? Read your ancient history and realize that the earliest civilizations had more sense than we do today and they wrote the same legends and stories as the Catholic Church has done but in a much more intelligent way that does actually make sense. Try the Mesopotamian and Indus Valley Civs first if you’re going to read about it and realize it’s all been said and done before. I am all for equality whether female or male, whatever colour you are and whatever sexuality you are. Doesn’t and shouldn’t matter, so stop making it so. When I read these comments most of the time, it just floors me at how naive and unintelligent most people are. Especially in this day and age. Now, what to do about all these women disappearing. I have plenty of good ideas and I’ll fight for them. This has to stop. Women are the most incredible beings and should be treated as such. You would not be here if it wasn’t for a woman would you now? Get it? No single God made us. That’s myth. Read, research and by all means expand those minds! We are a species with terrible amnesia and we always repeat our mistakes. Doesn’t the USA today remind you of the Roman Empire? And what happened to them? Remember? Thanks and I’m sorry if I’ve come across as a jerk but it needed to be said. LMR

  • Steve Nolan

    How great is that. A site stating that millions of women go missing each year .. And talk is about which is better man or woman..
    As in .. does it really matter? Lets argue about rubbish and let our betters rule the world..

  • george

    Men didn’t make nuclear weapons, Jews did!!!

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