UN Wire reported that UN officials told the Commission on the Status of Women at a meeting on 2 March 2004 that gender equality was the key to reducing poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). UN Wire documented how participants discussed the issue that despite progress towards gender parity, in many countries women’s rights are still under threat. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) research, between 10 and 69 per cent of women worldwide are subjected to some form of violence in their lives, while 1 600 women die every day due to pregnancy-related complications.