Actor Yang Zichong, who won the Best Actress Award at the Academy (Oscar), called attention to the inequality women experience in disaster situations.
Yang Zichong contributed an article to the NYT (New York Times) on the 13th (local time) titled “The tragedy that changed my life 8 years ago continues to happen.”
“Many people have congratulated me on winning the award over the past few weeks, but I want to divert the world’s attention to a different issue,” said Yang, referring to the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
“I couldn’t shake the thought of how unfair it was that I had a home to return to, unlike thousands of families whose lives were suddenly reduced to ashes,” he recalled.
Yang Zichong returned to Nepal to do relief work three weeks after the earthquake, and returned to Nepal a year later as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador.
“I have witnessed that disasters of this scale cause irreversible damage to the lives of people who already have very little,” said Yang Zhi-chung, who was reminded of Nepal after watching the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria last month.
He also pointed out that the crisis has exposed serious existing inequalities. In particular, the poor and women suffer the most, and in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, lack of sanitation and health facilities and safety disproportionately affect women.
Zichong Yang, acting as a UNDP goodwill ambassador, pointed out that women are the last to return to school and the last to receive services such as clean water, vaccines, identification, counseling, jobs and loans. She also added that she is at an increased risk of being exposed to sexual violence and assault in harsh environments.
He argued that women are needed in humanitarian response to recover from disaster and prepare for the next one. He also stressed the need for women to take leadership in the recovery process. Women are under-represented in decision-making in times of crisis.
Emphasizing the role of women in sustaining communities, Yang said, “Women’s voice, leadership and full participation are key to an inclusive, successful and sustainable recovery.”
Zichong Yang concluded the article by arguing that true gender equality must be achieved if the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are to be realized.
Meanwhile, on the 13th, Yang Zichong became the first Asian national actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for the movie ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’. This is her second racial award after Halle Berry.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.