UN WOMEN HONORS KAVITA, L. SUBRAMANIAM

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Women Friday honored internationally renowned violin maestro Dr. L Subramaniam and his wife noted Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurthy

by placing a lapel pin of 'He or She' campaign on him and putting a wrist band in honor of her pledge to fight for gender equality.

Lakshmi Puri, UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, who placed the lapel pin and band praised the commitment of the musical couple for the causes dearer to the organization.

Puri said He For She is a solidarity campaign for the advancement of the women and to engage men and boys as agents of change by encouraging them to take action against negative inequalities faced by girls and women. Gender equality is an issue that affects all people- socially, economically and politically- and it seeks to effectively involve men and boys in the movement.

War and conflicts are ravaging communities across the world today. The recent years have also seen wide-spread targeting of women and girls in conflict zones and a marked push back on women's rights. Sixteen years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution in 2000, the women, peace and security agenda remains relevant and critical in the face of rising violence, extremism and deadly conflicts, she said

Even as women continue to bear the brunt of war, there is increased recognition of their pivotal role as peace builders. For example, in 2015, 7 out of 10 peace agreements signed included gender specific provisions -a vast improvement compared against the analysis showing that only 73 out of 664 agreements produced between 1990 and 2000 included a reference to women. More security sector personnel are now trained to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, and more countries are implementing national action plans or related strategies, Puri said.

Women make only 3 per cent of UN military peacekeepers. In conflict-affected countries, women's share of seats in parliament is four per cent lower than the global average of 22.7 per cent. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently urged all actors, including governments, to earmark 15 per cent of peace building funds to projects that directly advance gender equality, which would not always require new funding, but rather, a prioritization within existing funds.

Kavita promised to take up issues such as gender equality, discrimination against women, education of girl child and Women's Campaign Planet 50-50 that provides equal opportunity to women in all areas such as employment, and achieve complete gender equity by 2030.

Ravi Karkara, strategic advisor to UN Women, said UN Women was glad to work with celebrities in India such as Sania Mirza in India to promote gender equality

Photo captions

Bollywood Singer Kavita Krishnamurthy welcomed by Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations at his office in New York. Photo Jay Mandal/On Assignment 

Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin (left), India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations during an informal conversations with violin virtuoso Dr. L Subramaniam (right) and his singer wife, Kavita Krishnamurthy at his office in New York. Photo Jay Mandal/On Assignment 

Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurthy displays the UN Women scarf placed on her by Lakshmi Puri to her husband and violin Virtuoso Dr. L Subramaniam at UN Women Headquarters in New York.Photo - Jay Mandal/On Assignment.

Lakshmi Puri UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women put a lapel pin of 'He For She' campaign on violin maestro Dr L Subramaniam as his wife, Kavita Krishnamurthy looks at during a brief ceremony at the Organization's Headquarters in New York. Photo: Jay Mandal/On Assignment 

Bollywood Singer Kavita Krishnamurthy welcomed by Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations at his office in New York. Photo Jay Mandal/On Assignment

Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin (left), India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations during an informal conversations with violin virtuoso Dr. L Subramaniam (right) and his singer wife, Kavita Krishnamurthy at his office in New York. Photo Jay Mandal/On Assignment

Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurthy displays the UN Women scarf placed on her by Lakshmi Puri to her husband and violin Virtuoso Dr. L Subramaniam at UN Women Headquarters in New York.Photo - Jay Mandal/On Assignment