Australia’s ambassador for women and girls Natasha Stott Despoja, will visit the Aga Khan Foundation [projects] in Nizamuddin Basti …
Australia is working towards increasing its foreign aid to 0.5 per cent of its GDP, which brings it closer to a commitment made by developed nations to help boost development in rest of the world, says Australia’s ambassador for women and girls Natasha Stott Despoja.
Britain is one of the first countries to raise its foreign aid to at least 0.7 per cent of GDP. Australia, on the other hand, has mandated that 80 per cent of the foreign development aid must support gender equality projects.
The Australian foreign aid, administered by the foreign ministry led by Julie Bishop, focuses on economic and political empowerment of girls and women and on elimination of violence against women and girls.
“But, of course, underpinning all that is women need access to good health and quality education,” says Ms Stott Despoja, whose remit is to promote gender equality and gender equity internationally, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
“There’s no one country that has got it right in terms of gender equality, so I am here to learn, I am here to support and Australia is here to partner with countries like India,” says the Australian ambassador, who was elected to the Australian Parliament in the mid-1990s at the age of 26.
Ms Stott Despoja, who also heads the Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and Their Children in Australia, says immigrant women along with indigenous women and women with disabilities are most vulnerable groups facing disproportionate violence in Australia. “The biggest issue for us is that in Australia over one-third of women, above the age of 15, have suffered some kind of violence and one in five have experienced sexual assault,” she says.
Australia is also keen to build links with areas in India where a substantial number of Indian Australians have their origin. “We are keen to build links with these areas, like Punjab. Our population of Indian origin from Punjab is just growing and growing.”
Ms Stott Despoja, who is on a short visit to India, celebrated the Day of the Girl Child at a South Delhi slum with women and children on Saturday. In Delhi, she will visit the Aga Khan Foundation in Nizamuddin Basti and a Wateraid project in Vasant Kunj. In Mumbai, she will also visit Shivaji Nagar slum communities.
Via http://www.asianage.com/delhi/australian-foreign-aid-focused-gender-equality-226
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