ROBBI ROBSON

Looking at the World through Women's Eyes

Robbi Robson represented the IHEU at the United Nations' Fourth World Conference in Beijing in September.

THE governments of the world met in Beijing to agree a Global Platform for Action on women's rights and gender equality. The major obstacles to that global vision and agreement were the hard line Catholic and Islamic countries who spent the two weeks of the conference fighting to water down the language on a woman's right to control her own sexuality and reproductive health, as well as references to 'families' rather than 'the family'.

Having not succeeded in deleting these rights for women, the religious world, and the governments in their thrall, lodged 'reservations' against those parts of the text. So women in parts of the world still dominated by religious dogma will continue to suffer the inequality which apparently is decreed by their gods.

However, it was possible to achieve broad agreement on the need to take action on the feminisation of poverty, education, discrimination against the girl child, and the exclusion of women from economic and political decision making. The Platform for Action is a blueprint for the advancement of women over the next ten years. Although it is not binding on governments, having committed themselves to the consensus document within the United Nations, governments are morally bound to take action to meet those commitments. It is vital that humanist associations work with others in each country to ensure that governments implement the measures and keep their commitments.

The Beijing conference and the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Forum, which accompanied it, provoked controversy around the world. The NGO Forum, whose slogan was Looking at the world through women’s eyes, attracted 26,500 women activists from across the world and so frightened the Chinese Government that at the last moment they moved the whole event 30 kms out of Beijing to the small town of Huairou -- a totally unsuitable place for so many people. Huairou residents had to be moved out, houses demolished, new buildings built (but not finished in time), with the majority of workshops held in tents which were then washed away with the torrential rain. The authorities ensured that contact with Chinese people was minimised by no one being able to get into either the Beijing conference site or Huairou NGO site without special passes. Security was tight and Tibetan women, lesbian groups and prostitute representatives fell foul of the police on occasions.

The other side of the coin was that the women organised and participated in thousands of workshops on themes of human rights, gender equality, health, education, violence against women, poverty, the environment and the girl child. The determination of women to overcome the physical obstacles and work together was almost tangible. The opportunity given to each of us lucky enough to be present to meet and exchange ideas with others from all over the world was unique. Over 6,000 women from Chinese NGO's

participated and the effect of such contact on them should not be minimised.

The incongruous fact that the conference was held in China at all with that country's record on human rights, in fact gave a deeper meaning to the imperative for the struggle against gender inequality. The world's media had a focus for reporting the conference, and although that may have resulted in some negative reporting, it did ensure that the conference was reported. It was an opportunity to raise awareness about women's issues and meant that all governments had to look at, and report on, the position of women in their country.

In addition, Beijing saw the continuation of disquiet of the international community about the high profile and aggressive role played by the Vatican which first surfaced at the Cairo conference on population last year. Beijing delegates circulated a petition to Boutros Boutros-Ghali, asking him to review the Vatican's privileged status as a Permanent Observer at the UN. At a meeting of governments, an individual church should not have the power to participate in the negotiations and prevent the advancement of women worldwide.

Secular and religious states hotly debated the role of fundamentalism as a factor in women's inequality. The Platform reads: 'Religion, thought, conscience and belief may, and can, contribute to fulfilling women's and men's moral, ethical and spiritual needs ... However, it is acknowledged that any form of extremism may have a negative impact on women and can lead to violence and discrimination.' Muslim countries fought to maintain the traditional practice of favouring sons over daughters in relation to inheritance. The Platform states that governments should: 'eliminate the injustice and obstacles in relation to inheritance faced by the girl child ... by ... enacting and as appropriate enforcing legislation that guarantees equal right to succession and ensuring equal right to inherit, regardless of the sex of the child'.

People always question whether such conferences make any difference. Those who are looking for miracles or a magic wand are bound to be disappointed. But the commitments made at Beijing were an important step on the road towards gender equality. The achievements were:

• affirmation that women's rights are human rights

• recognition that 'culture' is not a reason to deny women their fundamental rights

• agreement of the importance of eliminating discrimination against the girl child

• commitments to review punitive measures against women who undergo an abortion

• recognition of the need for action against the feminisation of poverty

• declaration against violence against women

• rape acknowledged as a war crime

• agreement to recognise the economic contributions of women's unpaid work

• agreement of the need to address women's unequal share of education and power

• recognition of women's contribution towards sustainable development

• holding the UN accountable for women’s equality within its own structures

If those achievements in a global understanding are to mean anything to the ordinary woman in the street or field, pressure must be put on governments to change laws and take action. Only then will we make a difference for the millions of African girls whose genitals are mutilated each year, the hundreds of Indian women burned in dowry disputes, the thousands of Asian women and girls sold into prostitution and the unknown numbers of Western women victims of domestic violence.