Women's rights:15 years after Beijing

by Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary General, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women

The year 2010 will be crucial for the realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The commemoration of the 15-year anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is an opportune time to assess progress made, identify good practices and lessons learned in implementation, and consider new and remaining gaps and challenges. Critically, it is the right time to close the gap between rhetoric and action, between commitments and implementation.

The Beijing Platform for Action constitutes the global policy framework for gender equality, women’s human rights and the empowerment of women and girls. Since 1995, the Commission on the Status of Women has further refi ned and expanded this blueprint for action through its agreed conclusions on a range of priority themes. Many stakeholders – governments, parliaments, civil society, entities within the UN system, the private sector – have worked to turn this blueprint into real and practical gains for women and girls in all parts of the world.

Progress and gains

There have been noticeable gains for women and girls. Globally, women accounted for 39 per cent of all people engaged in paid employment outside of agriculture in 2007, an increase from 35 per cent in 1990. Women’s labour force participation has reached an estimated 52.6 per cent in 2008. Access to education has increased for girls at all levels, particularly in primary education. In 2007, there were 96 girls for each 100 boys enrolled in first grade, compared with 92 girls in 1999. In some countries, women now outnumber men at the tertiary level. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has reached almost universal ratification, with 186 States being party to the treaty.

Policies to address HIV/AIDS increasingly place specific emphasis on prevention, treatment and care for women. A growing number of States have in place comprehensive legal, policy, and institutional frameworks to end violence against women and girls, and support services are increasingly available to victims/survivors. Women held 18.8 per cent of seats in single/lower chambers of parliament in November 2009, compared to 11.3 per cent in 1995. Twenty-five countries have reached the 30 per cent threshold of women parliamentarians, a significant increase from only five countries
in 1995.

National mechanisms for gender equality, including ministries and offices in the Executive Branch, as well as parliamentary committees and independent, advisory and monitoring bodies, play a key role in the promotion of gender equality. The gender mainstreaming strategy is increasingly applied across all sectors, supported by a wider range of tools, capacity-building programmes and training. Monitoring and evaluation of efforts has improved.

Persistent challenges

Despite these advances, the Beijing Platform for Action has yet to be fully implemented. Progress in improving women’s lives, eliminating discrimination and achieving equality has been uneven across countries and regions. Meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is similarly challenged, and there has been almost no progress with regard to MDG 5, to improve maternal health. Every year, 536,000 women and girls die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. Women are more likely than men to be living in poverty. Illiteracy remains a serious constraint for women, who continue to account for nearly two thirds of the 776 million illiterate adults in the world. Gender wage-gaps persist in all parts of the world. The global economic and fi nancial crisis has created new hurdles to women’s employment, and estimates suggest that unemployment rates are higher for women then men. More women than men remain trapped in insecure and often unpaid work. The deliberate targeting of civilians and the use of sexual violence against women continues on a large scale in ongoing conflicts.

Discrimination in law has not been eliminated, and discriminatory application and enforcement of laws prevents women from equal access to rights, resources and opportunities. Negative gender stereotypes based on societal beliefs and attitudes constrain their opportunities and choices. Women continue to be responsible for most domestic and caregiving work. This unequal sharing of responsibilities negatively impacts on their educational and employment opportunities, and limits their involvement in public life.

The way forward

Gender equality is a goal in itself, but also a means of achieving all the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs. It is now acknowledged that the success of policies and programme interventions aimed at eradicating hunger and malnutrition; achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, and protecting environmental sustainability will be enhanced when gender equality perspectives are taken into account.

In March 2010, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will reflect on gains and challenges, what works and what more needs to be done. It will also contribute to shaping a gender perspective towards the full realization of the Millennium Development Goals. In July 2010, the Annual Ministerial Review of the Economic and Social Council will focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting in September 2010 on accelerating progress towards the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The tenth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, on women, peace and security, will also be commemorated.

These occasions offer opportunities to demonstrate strong and visible leadership and commitment to gender equality, to galvanize the efforts of all stakeholders, forge strategic partnerships and improve participatory processes to achieve measurable outcomes for women. These opportunities must be seized at the national, regional and global levels to give new impetus to the promotion of gender equality and women’s enjoyment of human rights.

Breaking the glass ceiling and deploying diversity in economic life: The Norwegian experiencee

Nations of the world will only prosper and develop if they use the talents and competence of all their citizens. There is clear scientific evidence to support the fact that the participation of women and girls in education, the workplace and the economy, along with boys and men, makes a significant difference to GNP, effectiveness, innovation and competitive edge. Countries that do not facilitate the education and employment of girls and women seem to score much lower on the United Nations and World Economic Forum scales, not to mention the Goldman Sachs ratings, than more gender-balanced societies. The right to gainful employment and a wage to sustain one’s life is a basic human right, along with the right to political participation regardless of gender. The freedom for men and women alike, to have careers and families, and not to be forced to choose either or, is fundamental to modern society.

To reach this level of development, facilitating families and children along with developing the economy by employing the best talents and minds, governments need to design clever policies aimed at constructing enabling structures. These structures should enable people to make real and free choices, such as having babies and pursuing a career.

Norway has worked on such schemes and structures since the 1950s and has thus paved the way for making able women and girls visible in the labour market and eligible for high positions in board rooms as well as compete for top management jobs in the private and public sectors.

Five of the most important structural and universal reforms in modern Norway, initiated by the Cabinet and voted in Parliament, have been the following: The National Insurance Act (1966), the Parental Leave Provisions, or the Fathers Quota (1993), the full coverage of Early Child Care Institutions all over the country (took 25 years to complete), the fl exibility in work life when having young children (Work Environment Act), and, of course, the Gender Equality Act (1979). All these reforms were negotiated through cooperation between the Cabinet and employers’ and employees’ associations before they became legal acts in Parliament. They are prerequisites for the now famous amendment of company laws undertaken by Parliament in 2003: the requirement for gender balance (40% women) in the board rooms of four types of companies.

Any affirmative action to obtain gender balance using all talents in economic life and other sectors would be useless without a gender equal society achieved through such reforms/structures.

Affirmative action measures (quotas) are not legal in Norway regarding regular employment, but can be used to secure gender balance in elective positions, such as board room positions. Such actions can help steer a society towards achieving some goals: to recruit the most able persons to carry out strategic tasks and reallocate economic power to include diverse competences in decision-making. The search has to be carried out among both halves of the population in order to fi nd the most able persons.

All societies need political will to set goals and develop tools to achieve them. Norway has set some standards it can be proud of. But that could not have been done without long-term systematic work to promote equality and a change of mentality, culture and tradition based on undoing the stereotypes of womanhood, fatherhood, parenthood or of ”the economic man”. Read: male.

Norway leads Europe both in terms of fertility rate (1.96), and the percentage of women (43%) on the boards of the largest companies. Equality does pay off.

Giving impetus to women's political rights in Kuwait

In accordance with the 1962 Constitution of Kuwait, the democratic process began with elections to the fi rst National Assembly in January 1963. Under the Electoral Act, Kuwaiti women were not part of the political process; pursuant to Article 1 of the Act, they were denied the right to vote insofar as it defi ned the voter as “any male Kuwaiti”. Consequently, they were denied the right to stand for a parliamentary seat, as Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly provides that a candidate must fi rst fulfi l the conditions for voting.

Kuwaiti women continued to be removed and excluded from the political process until 6 May 2005, when the National Assembly approved an amendment to Article 1 of the Electoral Act, opening the way for Kuwaiti women to vote, stand as candidates and assume ministerial offi ce. Accordingly, the fi rst time that a woman became a minister and also a member of parliament by virtue of her position as a minister was on 14 June 2005. This appointment triggered a desire among Kuwaiti women to run for parliamentary seats in the fi rst elections in which women participated as both voters and candidates in 2006.

Although 29 women stood, none of them won a seat, a situation that was again repeated in the elections of 2008. Then the unexpected occurred in the elections of 16 May 2009: four women were directly elected; one came fi rst in her constituency and another second, while the third and fourth came seventh and tenth respectively in a pleasant surprise that broke the psychological barrier and stood as clear proof of impressive popular support for them.

Some were positively unhappy with this result, as signalled by the walkout by parliamentarians who opposed the principle of women’s participation in politics and voiced objections not only to the fact that two of the women parliamentarians were unveiled, but also to having a woman government minister. One of the women parliamentarians failed in her bid to stand as a candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker and another followed suit in her bid to run for membership of the Arab Parliament as a representative of Kuwait. The negative reaction to women has nevertheless started to diminish in severity, at least on the surface, although it has still not dissipated altogether.

The four women parliamentarians have managed to disperse themselves among the membership of the main parliamentary committees, including the Financial and Economic Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Education Committee, the Health Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. The same is true in the case of ad hoc committees such as the Environment Committee, the Committee for Persons with Special Needs and the Committee for Women’s and Family Affairs, through which proposals for laws on the social and civil rights of Kuwaiti women are discussed and current laws are also reviewed with a view to eliminating discrimination against women.

In addition to their participation in several parliamentary committees, women parliamentarians make an enthusiastic contribution to the oversight process by tabling questions for ministers and joining in the discussion of matters of public concern. They also play an active part in the legislative process by submitting proposals for bills, either on their own or together with other parliamentarians, as well as proposals on various economic, social, education, health and other matters.

By entering parliament, Kuwaiti women have genuinely triumphed over the social tradition that prevented them from enjoying their political rights for over four decades. They must now make concerted efforts to prove that they are up to their legislative and oversight functions, for they are under the microscope of relentless scrutiny and the verdict handed down on them and on those who take up parliamentary work in future will be determined by the performance of these four women parliamentarians.

For four women to become parliamentarians in this Gulf State is a great achievement and, at the same time, a major challenge in terms of proving that women are competent and up to the task.

Parliaments as champions of women and girls

Less than a year ago, the world was shocked when a court in Saudi Arabia ruled that the marriage of an eight year-old girl to a man more than four times her age was legally binding. The fact that a court, irrespective of the circumstances of the case or the legal framework in place, would deem legal the marriage of a child is horrifi c; a clear violation of the child’s rights and in contravention of accepted international human rights standards.

Public outcry from around the world resulted in a reversal of the court decision. But it was a clear and disturbing reminder that today, fi fteen years after the fi rst world conference on women, much work remains to be done to ensure that women and girls around the world are better protected.

Having travelled to nearly 70 countries in my fi ve years at UNICEF, I have heard heartbreaking stories and seen the devastation suffered by many women and girls in different parts of the world. Too many girls still face violence, abuse, discrimination, sexual exploitation, female genital cutting and child marriage.

Their suffering demands our attention. Things must change. Women and girls deserve laws that protect them, and that are enforced, so discrimination and abuse can end. Parliamentary bodies have a critical role to play in that process. They have tackled some of the greatest challenges facing women, but there is much more work to be done.

More than half of the 130 million young people in the world who are illiterate are girls. They are also overrepresented in tallies of the victims of physical, sexual, emotional abuse and economic exploitation. They are more likely to be traffi cked or to disappear, and are too often brutalized in situations of armed conflict.

Unfortunately, this travesty does not end there. Child marriage impedes a girl’s opportunity to get an education and results in early pregnancy and childbirth - significantly increasing the risk of injuries, infections and disabilities. Maternal deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth are a signifi cant cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19 worldwide, accounting for 70,000 deaths each year.

Girls also face discrimination and violence in places where they should normally be protected — in their homes, schools and immediate communities. The very people responsible for protecting and supporting their rights are often implicated in violence against girls. And some societies continue to accept this abuse in the name of culture, tradition, beliefs, and social norms. It is time for this to change.

Renewed efforts by all parties are needed to make this change. Parliamentary action in this area is critical. Legislators can be a driving force of progress that will greatly improve the lives of women and girls around the world.

Four core strategies can contribute to enhancing their situation. First, greater investments should be made in educating girls. This is still the best means of eliminating discrimination and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

This should include identifying ways and means to improve primary education, support increased transition to secondary schools and extend educational opportunities to all girls, regardless of their social, economic or ethnic status. Particular attention should be paid to girls in marginalized communities.

Second, concrete action should be taken to put an end to violence against girls in their homes, schools and communities. Law enforcement agencies, health care providers and community leaders must be encouraged to take steps to protect women and girls from all forms of violence and discrimination, and provide support to victims of violence. Violators should be prosecuted and impunity must end. Public discussion and zero tolerance policies can play a key role in ending violence, including when it is perpetrated in the name of culture and religion.

Third, stronger partnerships among civil society, the private sector and government can improve girls’ opportunities to make a successful transition from school to work. Building the life skills of adolescent girls is an important step in enabling them to participate in public life, including the economic life of their countries.

Fourth, promoting equal land and property rights is a signifi cant step to eliminating gender discrimination at the household level. For legal reform to change the lives of women and girls, national laws based on equality must be upheld over male-biased customary law and traditional practices. National legal reforms in property law and inheritance rights represent one of the most direct strategies for increasing women’s access to land and property.

Changes that give every person, irrespective of gender, the opportunity to become healthy and vibrant citizens of tomorrow will take time. In some cases, deep-seated practices, attitudes and beliefs must be changed and longstanding laws amended. But change is possible, and the longer the world delays, the longer gender discrimination and violations of the rights of women and girls will continue.

Parliaments, with their leadership status and their infl uence on policy and practice, can play a vital role in ensuring a brighter, more prosperous and better world for all women and girls. The benefi ts of success will be felt not only by girls and women, but by their entire communities and countries.

A challenge to the achievement of women's rights and development

Violence against women concerns us all because it poses a serious threat to human security. It is the violation of the human rights of women that takes place in both public and private life, and manifests itself in multiple forms. Domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, prostitution, traffi cking, hate crime, pornography, rape as a weapon of war, are just a few examples. Some forms of violence against women take place across borders, making them particularly diffi cult to tackle. Within each national context, the community and society at large often contribute signifi cantly to the problem by sanctioning and condoning violence against women.

Although some common grounds underlying violence against women can be identifi ed, as evidenced from the collective wisdom enshrined in the international standards and norms which have been developed during the past three decades to address the common issues, we should bear in mind that there are still important aspects which refl ect each country’s or each society’s unique local context as a result of its own tradition, faiths, culture and economic history. In this article, therefore, I would like to present some of the awarenessraising work that I have been involved in in Thailand, along with my observations on the critical factors that contribute to the success of the campaign.

The Thai experience

Addressing violence against women requires multiple responses, both in the formal and informal sectors. Thailand has long endeavoured to develop its criminal justice responses, but such legal and formal approaches alone will have very limited success unless we can ensure that these interventions take place in an environment that is conducive to follow-up during the implementation phase. Although Thailand has been fortunate to have strong networks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups, which have been consistently active in the provision of emergency assistance and victim advocacy, such a complimentary approach still needs more comprehensive support from society.

In this connection, awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns in the form of a social movement can be regarded as cross-cutting approach to supplement the efforts by the public and non-public sectors. This is an important lesson I learned from working with various stakeholders to promote the cause of women’s rights, especially those in the administration of justice fi eld. In this article, I would like to share some of my experiences working with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In 2008, I served as a UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador with a view to promoting the “Say NO to Violence against Women” campaign in Thailand. Through mobilization of key stakeholders and utilization of various media, the campaign resulted in the collection of over 3 million signatures in support of the elimination of violence against women.

The campaign was successful in reaching out to society at large, thanks to great support and strong partnership among key stakeholders, ranging from the government agencies, private sectors and NGOs. The campaign also benefi ted from a very clear set of objectives and goals, one of which is to reach the key target groups that have long been left out of the loop. I am talking about the boys and men, and one prime example is the project we undertook in close collaboration with UNIFEM, in which we set out to focus specifi cally on the prevention of violence against women among school children.

The idea is to engage school children to rethink the norms and values that condone the practice of violence against women and girls. Boys and girls are given free rein to tailor their own activities, which helps create an environment of openness and empathy in school. Through this type of youthinitiated activity and a review of the school curriculum, young students have been sensitized to the problem and to changes in the ideas, perceptions, values, and behaviours that generate gender-based violence.

Key challenges and the way forward

One observation I would like to make here is that the above-mentioned approach taken in schools has just begun to address violence against women at the fundamental level. We are still faced with tremendous challenges, given that violence against women does not take place in a vacuum, but that there are numerous contributing factors. One of the major obstacles is the notion of masculinity, which has long been ingrained in social norms and value systems, and this entails both physical and psychological domination. The notion also runs deep and manifests itself in the form of gender inequality, which in turn underlies much of the violence against women.

It is therefore very encouraging that recent initiatives have been taken to address this particular issue at the global level. Some positive examples include those which put men and boys in the forefront against gender-based violence by fostering a culture of tolerance and respect for women. I believe that involving men leaders is the right direction to go in. The recently launched Network of Men Leaders, spearheaded by the United Nations Secretary-General, is a prime example of this new direction. With new and enlarged groups of stakeholders, and with renewed momentum, I believe the international community will be able to achieve the goals of safeguarding women’s rights and promoting their development. What we need is a new environment where men and women leaders work side by side to replace the mindset of masculinity with one of gender sensitivity.

Finally, I believe the success of our fight against gender-based violence in the long run will depend on our ability to make our agenda inclusive and relatable to a wide range of social movements, such as those advocating for empowerment and human security. If we are to fi nd sustainable solutions to such a deep-rooted and pervasive problem as violence against women, we need a large enough well of wisdom to put up an effective fi ght. After all, we are all in this together.