President Baerbock praised the courage of those who fought tirelessly, before and during the Beijing Conference, for every phrase and every word in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was the pivotal international framework document that resulted from women’s efforts, and advocated for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

There is much to celebrate. The opening paragraphs of the Beijing Declaration state that the governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing are determined to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity.

The Beijing Declaration was not the first time women wordsmiths resolved to secure non-discriminatory gendered language in UN documents. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), adopted at the United Nations on December 10,1948, is one example of women’s resolve. The final text states that the peoples of the United Nations are determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women. Behind the scenes Delegate Hansa Mehta (India), and Bodil Begtrup (Denmark), Chairman of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, fought for language in the final document that replaced the draft’s wording that all MEN must be free and equal in dignity and rights. Ms. Mehta and Ms. Begtrup challenged Eleanor Roosevelt, in her role as Chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights, to remove the discriminatory language from the draft, stand up for language that reflected the title of the document – the Universal Declaration of HUMAN rights, and forever squelch the undercurrent of debate by many delegates that women were simply fretting over language for which they ought not to have concern.  (Is it ironic or an oversight that these powerful women held the title of ChairMAN of their respective Commissions?)