Difference between revisions of "Women's NGOs"
(→CEDAW) |
(→Global Forums) |
||
| Line 76: | Line 76: | ||
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by consensus on 15 September 1995. The Declaration embodied the commitment of the international community to the advancement of women and to the implementation of the Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective is reflected in all policies and programs at the national, regional and international levels. The Platform for Action set out measures for national and international action for the advancement of women over the five years until 2000. | The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by consensus on 15 September 1995. The Declaration embodied the commitment of the international community to the advancement of women and to the implementation of the Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective is reflected in all policies and programs at the national, regional and international levels. The Platform for Action set out measures for national and international action for the advancement of women over the five years until 2000. | ||
| − | In June 2000, women from around the world gathered for a series of symposia to analyze the impact of globalization on women and girls, and to review the progress of the Beijing Platform for Action. Dubbed Beijing +5, the United Nations’ post-mortem drew 3,000 delegates, 7,000 NGO representatives and thousands of world press representatives to determine the effectiveness of the 1995 Beijing conference. The Beijing delegates adopted a platform signed by 189 countries | + | In June 2000, women from around the world gathered for a series of symposia to analyze the impact of globalization on women and girls, and to review the progress of the Beijing Platform for Action. Dubbed Beijing +5, the United Nations’ post-mortem drew 3,000 delegates, 7,000 NGO representatives and thousands of world press representatives to determine the effectiveness of the 1995 Beijing conference. The Beijing delegates adopted a platform signed by 189 countries (120 of them adopted action plans of their own) that called for big changes in 12 areas they said were of critical importance to women, including: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, the economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for advancement, human rights, media portrayals, the environment and "the girl child." |
| Line 82: | Line 82: | ||
“Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child” was the priority theme of the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, held in February and March 2007. For the first time, young women's voices were included, featuring an opening address given by a 17-year-old South African girl, who reminded attendees that discrimination and violence waged against girls continues to undermine their rights, as well as having harmful effects on societies overall. | “Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child” was the priority theme of the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, held in February and March 2007. For the first time, young women's voices were included, featuring an opening address given by a 17-year-old South African girl, who reminded attendees that discrimination and violence waged against girls continues to undermine their rights, as well as having harmful effects on societies overall. | ||
| − | Over 1,000 NGO representatives participated in the Session among more than 100 member states of the United Nations, as well as representatives from UN agencies and multilateral institutions. One crucial issue that was addressed at length was the recommendation to strengthen the gender equality architecture of the U.N. The key characteristics for a women-specific entity at the U.N. include: agency autonomy, high-level leadership, universal country presence, and adequate resources. At this year's CSW, and in honor of International Women's Day, representatives from over 150 women's organizations and allies delivered an Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the U.N. and to U.N. Member States to support the proposed gender architecture at the U.N. This statement was born out of a series of discussions held in the NGO Linkage Caucus convened by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL), the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), and the Committee on the Status of Women. The General Assembly will convene to discuss the Panel's recommendations in the coming months, and in the meantime civil society, and in particular women groups will be strategizing and organizing around next steps in the process. | + | Over 1,000 NGO representatives participated in the Session among more than 100 member states of the United Nations, as well as representatives from UN agencies and multilateral institutions. One crucial issue that was addressed at length was the recommendation to strengthen the gender equality architecture of the U.N. The key characteristics for a women-specific entity at the U.N. include: agency autonomy, high-level leadership, universal country presence, and adequate resources. At this year's CSW, and in honor of International Women's Day, representatives from over 150 women's organizations and allies delivered an Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the U.N. and to U.N. Member States to support the proposed gender architecture at the U.N. This statement was born out of a series of discussions held in the NGO Linkage Caucus convened by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL), the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), and the Committee on the Status of Women. The General Assembly will convene to discuss the Panel's recommendations in the coming months, and in the meantime civil society, and in particular women groups will be strategizing and organizing around next steps in the process. |
==Measuring the Global Gender Gap== | ==Measuring the Global Gender Gap== | ||
Revision as of 07:47, 5 August 2008
This article is based on an article written for the NGO Handbook by Kate Perchuk titled "Women and Civil Society."
The modern landscape of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to causes and issues critical to women is the legacy of human rights activism in times of historical crisis and is rooted in the fundamental principles of equality first articulated by philosophers in the age of Enlightenment.
Early women’s rights groups challenged the prevailing social order arguing that all individuals were born with natural rights that made them free and equal; that all inequalities that existed among citizens were the result of an inadequate educational system and an imperfect social environment and that these inequalities would be justly remedied by improved education and more egalitarian social structures.
Among these thinkers was Mary Wollstonecraft, a British author best known for her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which was one of the first to claim that women should have equality with men. The book was inspired by the democratic principles of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Wollstonecraft argues that the quality of women’s lives was directly related to their inferior educational opportunities.
Riding the momentum of the American Revolution, the nascent campaign for women’s rights in the U.S. was born from the passion of patriots with a mission to improve American democracy by helping to deliver on the promise of better, more egalitarian lives for all its citizens, outlined in the Declaration of Independence (adopted on July 4, 1776). A small group of educated women, known to one another through their work in the Abolitionist movement , gathered in a corner of New York State in 1848 to address “the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of woman,” and invoked the powerful language of the seminal document to make their case. The positions articulated in their “Declaration of Sentiments” echoed the hallowed predecessor: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
