Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, speaks during an emergency ... [+]
In sharply worded comments, Abdulla Shahid, who just served as president of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, said it’s high time for a woman to be elected secretary-general.
“After 70 years, we should be ashamed,” said Shahid. In its storied 77-year history, the UN has never elected a woman as secretary-general. In 2016, seven women ran to be the next secretary-general, but member-states ultimately elected Portugal’s António Guterres.
Ahead of the high-level week at the UN, Shahid, who will continue in his role as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, took time to reflect on his term and on the lack of women leaders at the UN. He was adamant that the UN should elect a woman as secretary-general.
One of the first things he noticed during his tenure was how women leaders were vastly underrepresented during the General Assembly, which is taking place this week in New York. Just 14 out of 198 speakers attending in 2021 were women, he recalled, and only a handful led countries.
“I thought it was shameful,” he said. “If we can't find one single woman in seven decades to lead the agency, I think there is absolutely something wrong.”
During his term from 2021 to 2022, Shahid traveled the world, dealing with the organization’s latest crises, including the war in Ukraine. As he returns to his home country, the Maldives, he intends to use his international influence to raise this issue.
Several women are rumored to be contenders for the next UN secretary-general, especially in the Latin American region, including Brazil’s former president and former UN human rights high commissioner Michelle Bachelet, former president of the General Assembly Maria Espinosa of Ecuador, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
Shahid’s remarks have been edited and condensed for clarity.
At your end-of-presidency press conference, you made a point of mentioning that the next Secretary-General should be a woman. Why was it important for you to say that?
To reach gender parity, UN Women [said] in its last report that it could take centuries. Previously, we were talking about 138.5 years, but this new report said that it could take even up to 300 years.
When you look at the UN system, there is a lot of effort to reach gender parity. The Secretary-General is doing a lot of work. But for me, always the question is: ‘Is it enough? Can individuals do more in positions of power? Are they able to do more? Are they able to target at the highest level?’’
Out of the 198 [speakers in 2021], only 14 were women. I thought it? was shameful. Out of the 14, only eight [were] at the level of heads of state or government. When you walk in the corridors and see [former] Secretaries-General pictures, they’re all men. I mean, it's so stark;, there's something definitely wrong. Because half the population of the world is women. And then, if we can't find one single woman in the seven decades, I think there is absolutely something wrong.
Someone needs to start talking about [it] very loudly. And that someone could be any of the 8 billion people around the world. But then also what happens is that sometimes just any out of the 8 billion doesn't get the voice. I was privileged to be presiding the General Assembly. The 193 countries looked at me as the person who had the power to convene, and that gave me a stronger position to say this and when I said it, people listened.
I know there will be people who may not like a small man from a small island country coming out and saying something like this. But then I see no controversy in saying something like this. Because, morally, there shouldn't be controversy. And for short men like me, the only high ground I stand on is the moral high ground. On this issue, I'm on the moral high ground. Nine Secretaries General, all men.
So it is time we all get together and get a woman there because there are so many qualified, eminently qualified, women around the world. You should be able to get one.
You say you’re a small man from a small country, but you’ve held a very influential post at the UN and had access to the highest echelons of government. How are you going to use your influence to promote this idea?
I'll keep working on it, because I truly believe in this. And the question is, how can I work out what the strategy should be for everyone to talk about it? The more voices we get, the stronger it will be. By the time we begin the process of appointing the next Secretary General we should have a huge chorus – and I hope it will be a chorus of the 193 countries together saying, ‘Look, let's do this, because we need a woman to be here.’
We can't let half the population of the world [be] forgotten. I have started. I want people to join, I want leaders to join me, foreign ministers to join. I'll be taking up this in all my meetings in the future as foreign minister, former president of the General Assembly, or even as I speak as friends to people. Even though I speak to journalists, I'll still continue to keep saying this. And I hope that others will start seeing it so that by the end of [Secretary-General] Guterres's term, there'll be huge acceptance.
Do you believe it is possible that no permanent member of the Security Council will veto a woman to be Secretary-General?
I really hope that none of the five permanent members would veto the secretary-general based on gender. I don't see gender to be something that [they] would or should veto. Many countries in the world have not had female leaders. But many countries are becoming much, much more progressive. And that shouldn't be a reason why they should veto or stop a woman secretary-general at the United Nations.
Do you intend to back a specific woman candidate?
I'm not going to back anyone. But there are so many eminently qualified women around the world. They will be ready to carry forward this institution.
