Danish National Statement in the General Debate at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

Check Against Delivery

Thank you Chair,

Distinguished Ministers, participants.

There is a fatal secret in health care. Women are invisible!

We make up 50 percent of the world’s population. But women’s health has been stigmatized, tabooed, de-prioritized, understudied and under-funded for far too long.

In example, 190 million girls and women across the world are suffering from endometriosis. Yet, women are told it is a normal condition.

A woman’s stroke might not be detected. Because her symptoms are different from a man’s. And if she gets medication, it might not work, because it was developed on men.

Chair.

The idea of the male as the default goes way back in history.  For centuries in culture, art, philosophy and science the female body has been portrayed as a ‘mutilated male’ body. Or as Simone de Beauvoir called; the ‘other’ sex.

We have of course come a long way since this. As humankind, we have developed artificial intelligence. We have created self-driving cars – but a woman’s body remains a mystery.

In fact, a study from Forbes revealed that only four percent of the world's total research funds go to research and treatment methods on women's diseases and health.

In comparison, one single type of male disease, namely prostate cancer, is allocated a full two percent of the world's total research funds.

And a fun fact: A staggering 2 billion dollars are allocated every year to cure baldness.

Chair.

The context is a world increasingly dependent on data.

Big data. From which big truths are extracted. With the help of big algorithms.

But it is also data that is corrupted by big silences.

And living in a world based on male data can have deadly consequences for women.

We risk having a society that is primarily created for men, because it is created by men.

Chair, in conclusion

As the Secretary-General points out in his report; participation in the labor market is a key to economic empowerment. But women cannot work if they are sick.

They need treatment based on how the female body works. And the health system must be able to recognize women’s diseases. And we must ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights

We can only achieve long-lasting and sustainable development and gender equality if we invest in and promote women’s health.

Promoting women’s health is not only a question of equality; it is also a democratic problem.

We need to make the invisible visible. We must shine a light on the health and needs of the second half of the population, leaving no one behind.

Allow me to pass the floor to Danish UN youth delegate, Sofie Larsen.

Thank you.