There was also a shortage of current and former world leaders, with the notable exception of Iceland’s President Halla Tómasdóttir, who spoke at a side event titled “Women Rise for All: Turning Hope into Action,” hosted by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet attended the session, presiding at a ceremony unveiling a commemorative U.N. stamp that promotes greater equality for women on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing conference.
She also hinted she may take a stab at the race for a new secretary-general. As a former head of state, Bachelet already enjoys broad name recognition and she has plenty of U.N. experience, having served a term as U.N. high commissioner for human rights. But she is likely to face an uphill battle winning over the Trump administration. During Trump’s first term, the U.S. unsuccessfully tried to torpedo her bid to become the top U.N. rights official, citing her criticism of Israel and her views on abortion.
Meanwhile, the Gambian activist and regional UN Women ambassador for Africa, Jaha Dukureh, brought her campaign against female genital mutilation and child marriage to New York.
“I stand before you as a survivor of a system that told me my worth was tied to my silence, my obedience, and my ability to endure, to endure female genital mutilation, to endure going from one marriage to the next when I was still a child,” she said on International Women’s Day at the U.N. General Assembly hall. “But I did not just endure and survive. I resisted. I fought for my freedom, for my daughter’s freedom, and for the freedom of all women and girls who deserve more than to survive.”
Read: Is the world ready for a woman at helm of the United Nations?