BEIJING, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Peng Liyuan, the
wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Tuesday addressed the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) forum on women's education
and poverty alleviation via video.
Peng, who is also a United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) special envoy for the advancement of
girls and women's education, said eliminating poverty and embracing
happiness are the common aspirations of all women. By receiving
education, knowledge and skills, women can have the power to lift
themselves out of poverty.
Thanks to China's unremitting
efforts, the country has achieved a victory in the fight against
extreme poverty, and hundreds of millions of Chinese women have
been lifted out of poverty, she said, adding that China has adopted a series of measures to
ensure women's equal access to education and make them
beneficiaries, participants and contributors in poverty
alleviation.
Peng said reducing poverty through women's education will have a
strong impetus if a country attaches great importance to it, social
organizations actively support it and people from all walks of life
make selfless contributions.
She mentioned how Guizhou's
provincial government motivated more than 500,000 women to work at
home by developing a women-tailored handcraft industry, how more
than 3 million poor girls were able to complete their education
under the nationally funded Spring Bud Project, and how a teacher
named Zhang Guimei founded a free high school in an impoverished
area that helped nearly 2,000 girls enter college.
With 435 million women still living in poverty in the world, the
gender gap in education remains clear, Peng said, adding that the
COVID-19 pandemic poses new challenges to reducing poverty for
women.
Over the past 20 years, since the establishment of the SCO,
women from member states have followed the "Shanghai Spirit,"
exchanged experiences on women's development, promoted cooperation
in various fields and contributed their share to advancing SCO
cooperation, Peng said.
We need to unite our love and make long-lasting efforts,
continue to deepen cooperation in women's education and poverty
reduction, let education shine a light of hope on women and make
more women enjoy opportunities to live a beautiful life, she
said.
The forum is jointly organized by the All-China Women's
Federation (ACWF), the Committee of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship
and Cooperation of the SCO and the Secretariat of SCO.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-07-20/Peng-Liyuan-addresses-SCO-forum-on-women-s-issues-123aLctgSfS/index.html
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SOURCE CGTN