by Virginia Kapembeza
The Fourth World Conference on Women, like all other UN conferences, bas come and gone and the resolutions made now need to be put into action.
A total of 181 nations were represented at the Beijing Conference where it was declared that women’s rights are human rights. While acknowledging the rights of women, the issue of resources created some controversy.
The Women’s Feature Service reports that there was a split between the North and the South over whether the Global Platform for Action would require “new and additional” or just “adequate” resources to be implemented. The US and European governments, pleading adverse economic conditions, were hesitant to commit new additional resources for the implementation of the Platform.
A Zimbabwean delegate complained that new and additional resources had been made available by the government and international community to save the black rhino from extinction but “when it comes to women, who are also an endangered species, we can’t find new and additional resources”.
Other issues discussed were domestic violence, inequalities against women imposed by patriarchy and religious extremism, genital mutilation and sexual harassment.
The need to reshape education for all children, beginning at the primary levels, to sensitize them on human rights, gender issues and non-violent conflict resolution toward world peace was highlighted.
The World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) also came under fire with women demanding their removal. The financial institutions’ representatives had a tough time justifying the SAPs, cited as major obstacles to women’s economic advancement in poor countries.
SAPs were said to have feminized poverty by hindering development and job creation, and slashing subsidies on social sectors. “There is need to include a deliberate gender programme slanted toward incorporating economic programmes where women are in the majority and stimulating involvement of more women to take provisions under ESAP, • said Margaret Samuriwo, of SARDC, presenting a paper on gender perspectives on economic reforms to the Oxfam America NGO Forum Workshop in Huairou.
NGO participation at the Beijing conference showed a dramatic increase over the 1985 Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi. Then there were 300 representatives compared with 3 000 in the Huairou forum. Among the NGOs, women from East and West Africa were more lively, vocal and better organized than those from southern Africa. There was no umbrella body representing southern Africa, unlike in the other two.
The Earth Times News Service reports that African delegates achieved much more in Beijing than at any other UN conference. “Never before has there been a conference where Africa came with a clear agenda and worked on it,” said Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, who coordinated sub-Saharan Africa’s government activities.
Other observers however, were sceptical of the commitments made at Beijing and the implications that women will no longer be underpaid, underfed, undervalued, under-represented and under constant threat of violence, even in their own homes. Others drew strength for criticism from the fact that ten years after the Nairobi Conference, the Forward-Looking Strategies have not been fully implemented by any government.
African delegates organized meetings with women entrepreneurs, rural women and donors. Nandi-Ndaitwah said “A consensus has been reached and we are talking about new and additional resources which can be mobilized by all. Even the issue of debt has been dealt with.” Nandi-Ndaitwah presented a detailed plan of action for women’s education, networking among women entrepreneurs, and creating an African regional committee to follow up on the Beijing conference.
Problems facing rural African women highlighted at Beijing included scarce water resources, lack of access to credit, communication and land. “Without owning land, poverty will perpetuate in Africa, said Tabita Siwale, a member of Tanzania’s parliament.
A statement released by the African NGO Caucus in Beijing reiterated that the success of the conference rests not on words but on resources, implementation, enforcement, and accountability. The statement also noted that not only were donor countries hesitant to commit themselves on the issue of resources but no appropriate institutional machineries for the agreed actions were identified.
African NGOs therefore called upon African states to create an enabling environment for coordination with NGOs and recognition of the significant role they play in development. Both private and public sectors of society were urged to implement and sustain affirmative action to ensure equality of women.
International financial institutions were encouraged to cancel all multilateral debt of African states as a show of commitment toward improving the status of women in Africa, to remove SAPs and respect Africa’s development priorities and interventions for recovery from debt. The UN system was urged to increase the number of African women within its key decision-making positions.
Gertrude Mongella, Secretary.General of the Fourth World Conference on Women described the Global Platform for Action as a launching pad for action for women’s rights and peace. “I am very satisfied with the outcome. Now the only thing we have to concentrate on is action. I feel confident that the commitments made here by governments will be acted upon. Some have already started working on a follow up plan … ”
The Global Platform for Action did not however, endorse a suggestion that commitments made by governments in Beijing to advance gender equality in their countries should be collated and attached to the final document. Post-conference strategies included extensive networking and mobilizing resources, to ensure commitments made in Beijing are honoured. (SARDC)
