Posted Date: May 20, 1998
7th International AWID Forum highlights successes and challenges one year after Beijing
7th International AWID Forum highlights successes and challenges one year after Beijing
In the US, victims of domestic abuse can now call a hotline for help no matter where they are in the country, and in Colombia, women also have new protections under a family violence law. Women in Fiji are now able to work any hours they choose, through the repeal of a law prohibiting women from working after 6 p.m. Female representation in legislatures is on the rise in India and in Tanzania, due to adoption of one-third quotas for women representatives. Slovakian women are benefiting from a new labor law which includes paid maternity leave, and Swedish men can take advantage of increased public support for their parenting roles. Koreans have access to more child care facilities through a government funded program, while new legal literacy training programs are available to Egyptian women.
For those who wonder if a United Nations conference can make a difference in people's lives, these are examples of changes in laws, policies, and programs that resulted from the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing a year ago this month. These reports were presented recently at the Association for Women in Development Forum in Washington, DC from September 5-8, attended by 1,200 women and men from around the world, and at a special event at the United Nations on September 9.
Over 200 representatives from 40 InterAction member agencies participated in the Beijing Conference, and many of these were also active in the Beijing anniversary events. Members represented at the AWID Forum included Save the Children, Trickle-Up Program, Population Action International, CARE, ICRW, Childreach, Winrock International, FINCA, CEDPA, UUSC, World Neighbors, African-American Institute, International Rescue Committee, Appropriate Technology International, Heifer Project International, Partners of the Americas, International Women's Health Coalition, Oxfam America, Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children, and the Center of Concern. InterAction's Commission on the Advancement of Women (CAW) was a collaborating partner organization for the Forum.
Save the Children brought together practitioners from the field in a unique and highly participatory workshop on gender integration, designed to share experiences in gender training and gender analysis. Recognizing the gap between learning and practice in gender training, members of Save the Children's regional gender training teams started an lively discussion on gender analysis and its consequences for development programs and projects. Successful strategies to overcome cultural, personal and institutional obstacles to gender integration were shared by the participants, who were eager to learn from each other's experiences.
Drawing attention to the plight of refugee women around the world, the Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children convened a session to address implementation of UNHCR's "Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women." Instituted in 1991, these guidelines concern both legal and practical matters regarding the protection of refugee women, who, together with children, constitute 80 per cent of the world's displaced people. UNHCR Senior Officer Karin Lundgren told the audience of international practitioners and advocates on gender and refugee issues about implementation of these guidelines in the field, which is seen as essential for saving women's lives and increasing the effectiveness of UNHCR's programs and policies.
In a workshop on "Engendering Institutions," Commission for the Advancement for Women Director Suzanne Kindervatter joined panelists from USAID, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and the Government of Bolivia, to share strategies for integrating gender into mainstream organizations. The panelists presented specific approaches related to personnel, program, and policy issues, clearly demonstrating how much the "know-how" for gender integration has evolved in recent years.
The CAW also organized six regional roundtables to provide Forum participants with the opportunity to assess progress made in specific countries in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. These concurrent sessions stimulated discussion on achievements by NGOs in holding governments accountable for their commitments as well as on details of government action. A consensus cut across the roundtables that changes in policies are occurring, but also that most governments are not allocating sufficient resources and other still do not actively support collaboration with NGOs.
Through a special arrangement, NGOs at the AWID Forum were able to carry their message to the United Nations. The "One Year After Beijing" celebration on September 9, the first-ever anniversary of a world conference sponsored by the United Nations, was held at the United Nations in New York. This event, organized by the UN Department for Public Information in association with the International Women's Tribune Center and the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, drew hundreds of NGO representatives and United Nations officials. In addition to speeches by high-level UN officials --including the Secretary-General and three female heads of UN specialized agencies-- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala and Ugandan human rights activist Florence Butegwa delivered keynote addresses.
In an important sign of commitment to the advancement of women, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali --who was absent last year in Beijing-- addressed the audience. Reiterating the United Nations' commitment to implement the Beijing Platform for Action by "practicing what we preach," Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali acknowledged that "more progress is essential." He focused special attention on the problems of women in conflict situations and women in the workplace, and the crucial role of women's empowerment, noting that women are "a strong force for peace" and calling for greater involvement of women in the prevention of conflict.
Secretary Shalala called for integration of women at all levels of decision-making, saying that women are not a special interest group, but constitute 52 per cent of the U.S. population. Ugandan human rights activist Florence Butegwa criticized governments' current resource allocation decisions, asserting that the excuse of 'no money' is "the greatest lie of this century!" "The Beijing Conference," she said, "raised the expectations of women all around the world, now the United Nations and its member states must deliver." To this, Secretary Shalala responded that "the issues addressed in Beijing are the minimum, not the maximum." Finally, the directors of UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNEP shared the commitments and achievements of their organizations, focusing on best practices for gender integration, financial resources, and the need for balanced representation of women in decision-making posts within the UN system.
A summary report of the AWID regional roundtables was presented by Virginia Vargas of the Flora Tristan Center in Peru, who ended with several recommendations to governments and to the United Nations. Topping this list of recommendations was the importance of governments and NGOs continuing to work together, through structured meetings and other opportunities, just as they had worked together previously on preparations to Beijing. "It is absolutely crucial to create spaces where women's movements and governments come together to analyze the advances, the constraints, and the achievements in the implementation of the Platform for Action," Vargas stated. "This coming together will not only ensure the effectiveness of implementation efforts, but it will also strengthen our democracies. What is good for women is good for democracy."
Although participants from the NGO community expressed criticism with regard to the United Nations' implementation of the Platform in its own backyard and its relationship with women's grassroots movements globally, the significant progress noted has been a cause for celebration for women around the world. The Beijing Conference raised women's expectations around the world. NGOs are now using the various anniversary events of the Conference as opportunities, not only to celebrate but also to demand that their governments deliver on the promises they made to the world's women. Commenting on the gains and momentum in this first year after Beijing, CAW Director Suzanne Kindervatter concluded: "The Beijing Conference did not end in China: it will continue on until the Platform is implemented in full by all countries of the world."
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