Tehran, April 12, IRNA - Director and Representative of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office Esther Kuisch Laroche said here on Sunday that Iran has taken great strides in women empowerment.




Talking exclusively with IRNA, Kuisch Laroche made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony marking Women�s Day in Iran organized jointly by Sa'dabad Historical and Cultural Complex, UNESCO�s Tehran Cluster Office, and the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in the Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday.

'The Islamic Republic of Iran has made a lot of progress when it comes to education, for example,' she said, 'Much more than any country in the region, we see a large number of highly-educated Iranian women.'

'Actually there are more Iranian female graduated in universities than men,' Kuisch Laroche said.

'We are witnessing that women have made considerable advances in science and technology in Iran.' the UNESCO official added.

'Not only the Iranian women play a pivotal role in biotechnology, nanotechnology, mathematics and etc, but they also have a say in art and culture.'

Touching upon the UN�s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Kuisch Laroche stressed that Iran has met MDGs of reducing poverty and improving education.

The MDGs were established in 2000 in the hope of stopping extreme poverty and hunger in the world by fifty percent by 2015 and providing clear water and fighting AIDS and child mortality.

Kuisch Laroche further remarked that UNESCO office in Tehran is working closely through the Iran's National Commission for UNESCO.

She concluded that so far, UNESCO has held several workshops in different cities including Shiraz, Isfahan and Sari aimed at talking about the challenges that women face and improving the development skills.


By IRNA