Following the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the first meeting of the Security Council held on American soil on 25 March, Lehman College (formerly Hunter College) hosted the 80th anniversary celebration of the Sub-Commission on the Status of Women on 23 April.
Representatives from the Commission on the Status of Women Bureau, UN Women, and students gathered in the Gymnasium Building for a presentation on the history of the Commission on the Status of Women delivered by Rula Hinedi (Guided Tours) and Aleksandr Gelfand (UN Archives).
Surrounded by historic photographs, participants were transported back to 1946, to the very beginnings of the Sub-Commission on the Status of Women.
This was followed by a round-table discussion entitled ¡°From Policy to Practice: Gender Equality on the Ground¡±, chaired by Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, with the participation of Naja Nihlmark (UN Women), Professor Ngo-Ngijol Banoum, and Teresita A. Levy.
Convened from 29 April to 13 May 1946 at Hunter College, the Sub-Commission on the Status of Women brought together seven women to examine the inequalities affecting women worldwide: Bodil Begtrup (Denmark), Minerva Bernardino (Dominican Republic), Angela Jurdak Khoury (Lebanon), Fryderyka Kalinowska (Poland), Marie Helene Lefaucheux (France), Hansa Mehta (India), and W. S. New (China).
Their mission was to highlight the importance of political rights, considered essential to all progress. This Sub-Commission on the Status of Women affirmed that equality and justice were the foundations of a democratic society, and its work led to
The Commission on the Status of Women Bureau, the UN Archives, the UN Visitors Services, and Lehman College coordinated the celebration. It served as a reminder that the fight for women¡¯s rights must remain at the heart of our commitment.
