United Nations-India joint issue promotes gender-equality campaign

By Denise McCarty

The United Nations Postal Administration and India Post are participating in a joint issue for International Women’s Day, March 8.

The stamps promote the United Nations’ “HeForShe” gender-equality campaign that urges men to stand up for the rights of their mothers and sisters. The campaign was developed by UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.)

The campaign’s website, www.heforshe.org, explains its mission: “The world is at a turning point. People everywhere understand and support the idea of gender equality. They know it’s not just a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue. And when these powerful voices are heard, they will change the world. The time for that change is now.

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“HeForShe is inviting people around the world to stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality. And it starts by taking action right now to create a gender equal world.”

UNPA issued six stamps March 8, two for each U.N. post office. The three post offices are located in U.N. headquarters in New York City; the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; and the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria.

Also on March 8, India issued a se-tenant (side-by-side) pair of 5-rupee and 25re stamps.

Mirko Ilic Corp., a New York-based, multi-disciplinary studio specializing in graphic design, 3D animation, motion picture titles, and illustration, designed the U.N. stamps.

Three of the stamps, denominated 49¢, 1 Swiss franc and €0.68, show images of half of a man’s face. The other three stamps, $1.20, 2fr and €1.70, picture images of a half of a woman’s face.

Each face is different, as are the backgrounds. A promotional poster for the stamps illustrates how the stamps could be combined in pairs to form various entire faces.

The se-tenant pair of stamps from India follows the same design concept, with half of a man’s face on the 5re stamp and half of a woman’s face on the 25re stamp. Linn’s has not yet received technical details about these stamps.

Lowe-Martin of Canada printed the U.N. stamps by offset lithography in panes of 20. The selvage area to the left of the stamps includes an inscription about the HeForShe campaign and another image of the face featured on that particular stamp.

The inscription is in English on the U.S.-denominated stamps, in French on the stamps in Swiss francs, and in German on the euro-denominated stamps.

The printing quantities are 120,000 each, or 6,000 panes, of the 49¢ and $1.20 stamps; 90,000 each, or 4,500 panes, of the 1fr and 2fr stamps; and 100,000 each, or 5,000 panes, of the €60 and €1.70 stamps.

For ordering information for the U.N. stamps, visit the UN Stamps website; email unpanyinquiries@un.org; telephone 800-234-8672; fax 212-963-9854; or write to UNPA, Box 5900, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-5900.

The two India stamps are available from India Post.