Race Against Time
Stephen Lewis' fourth lecture of the Massey Series focused on the plight of women and the total negligence paid to women's issues on the world stage. He attacked governments of the world and the UN organization for their unconcern. Women make up half the population of the world -- and they are the underserved half. Women's rights are human rights, yet, women need particular focus -- as their concerns are diluted, forgotten and ignored when included in the mix of everything else. Yet women's impact and potential is so great -- especially in the developing world.
Over 180 UN member countries have recognized women's rights via the UN Women's Treaty -- yet when it comes to upholding those rights in their respective countries -- a task of which ratification requires -- they mostly fail. Why? Because they don't have the political will -- they don't have the funding -- they don't care -- or simply, they can get away with it. The UN does absolutely nothing in trying to enforce the rights of women. Even the UN organization is not above disparaging treatment of women. Lewis highlighted how gender inequality permeates the UN organization -- an organization that supposedly represents all of the world; an organization that owns the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Lewis labouriously described the various attempts to get the plight of women the attention it requires on the world stage -- those that he was personally involved in; that other UN officials championed; that the various NGOs focusing on women's issues tried to advance. All were met with little or no success. When it came time to support the women's movement, the males in the established political systems failed repeatedly to make any effort to lay a foundation for change. Lewis passionately argued that the UN is where the leadership to make such a change is needed. The UN is the world body, that has the reach, and the resources to make a lasting change for women.
Lewis supported his arguments with examples of the plight of women in Africa -- especially in light of the fight against HIV/AIDS. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on women, and without intervention, what hurts women eventually hurts all African society. Women are the providers of food to most African homes -- they are the farmers. HIV/AIDS infection kills -- or women are taken out of their daily routines to care for the sick. Without food, malnutrition and starvation occurs. HIV/AIDS feeds on the hungry body easily, as the body can't hold the disease at bay. The cycle is vicious. Yet, little is done to prevent infection in women -- to protect women from rape -- to educate women of the dangers of having unprotected sex. Worse yet, some donor countries, such as the US, impose the ludicrous requirement that their aid funding cannot be used to purchase contraceptives.
Lewis appealed repeatedly in his lecture for a UN body specifically for the advocacy of gender equality for women. A body that has the funding and mandate to uphold the Treaty for the Rights of Women. An organization that would be a watchdog, to blame, shame and offer up solutions to countries that fail to meet the requirements of Treaty for the Rights of Women.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the United States has still not ratified or acceded to the Treaty for the Rights of Women. The main opposition comes from conservative minded senators in the US, who oppose giving women rights over their own bodies. In their upholding of conservative values, the US remains in good company. There are sixteen other countries of the world that have not ratified the treaty. They are: Monaco, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Brunei Darussalam, Marshall Islands, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, Cook Islands, Nauru, and Tonga. (The last three are not members of the UN.)
Related reading:
Over 180 UN member countries have recognized women's rights via the UN Women's Treaty -- yet when it comes to upholding those rights in their respective countries -- a task of which ratification requires -- they mostly fail. Why? Because they don't have the political will -- they don't have the funding -- they don't care -- or simply, they can get away with it. The UN does absolutely nothing in trying to enforce the rights of women. Even the UN organization is not above disparaging treatment of women. Lewis highlighted how gender inequality permeates the UN organization -- an organization that supposedly represents all of the world; an organization that owns the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Lewis labouriously described the various attempts to get the plight of women the attention it requires on the world stage -- those that he was personally involved in; that other UN officials championed; that the various NGOs focusing on women's issues tried to advance. All were met with little or no success. When it came time to support the women's movement, the males in the established political systems failed repeatedly to make any effort to lay a foundation for change. Lewis passionately argued that the UN is where the leadership to make such a change is needed. The UN is the world body, that has the reach, and the resources to make a lasting change for women.
Lewis supported his arguments with examples of the plight of women in Africa -- especially in light of the fight against HIV/AIDS. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on women, and without intervention, what hurts women eventually hurts all African society. Women are the providers of food to most African homes -- they are the farmers. HIV/AIDS infection kills -- or women are taken out of their daily routines to care for the sick. Without food, malnutrition and starvation occurs. HIV/AIDS feeds on the hungry body easily, as the body can't hold the disease at bay. The cycle is vicious. Yet, little is done to prevent infection in women -- to protect women from rape -- to educate women of the dangers of having unprotected sex. Worse yet, some donor countries, such as the US, impose the ludicrous requirement that their aid funding cannot be used to purchase contraceptives.
Lewis appealed repeatedly in his lecture for a UN body specifically for the advocacy of gender equality for women. A body that has the funding and mandate to uphold the Treaty for the Rights of Women. An organization that would be a watchdog, to blame, shame and offer up solutions to countries that fail to meet the requirements of Treaty for the Rights of Women.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the United States has still not ratified or acceded to the Treaty for the Rights of Women. The main opposition comes from conservative minded senators in the US, who oppose giving women rights over their own bodies. In their upholding of conservative values, the US remains in good company. There are sixteen other countries of the world that have not ratified the treaty. They are: Monaco, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Brunei Darussalam, Marshall Islands, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, Cook Islands, Nauru, and Tonga. (The last three are not members of the UN.)
Related reading:
- Human Development Report 2005 -- check out the Human Development Indicators section and you will find the usual suspects at the bottom of the list when it comes to inequality.
- Association for Women's Rights in Development -- they've got some excellent publications, like A Resource Guide for Young Women on HIV/AIDS; as well as a number of publications looking at gender equality. AWID also has two sister sites focusing on Women's Human Rights and Challenging Fundamentalisms.
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