Subject: [fem-women2000 328] WA:5 June 25 Years of Journeying - from Mexico to Beijing+5 (fwd)
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 09:01:21 -0400
Seq: 328
Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
---------------- Original message follows ----------------
From: karen banks <karenb@gn.apc.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <b5ngonews@lists.sn.apc.org>
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 06:47:59 +0200
Subject: [B5NGONEWS] WA:5 June 25 Years of Journeying - from Mexico to Beijing+5
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25 Years of Journeying from Mexio to Beijing +5
by Gabrielle le Roux & Sonja Boezak
On Saturday, 3 June at the NGO Working Session, Devaki Jain, feminist
economist, writer and activist, reflected on the $BEX(Bomen$BCT(B conference
journey$B(B(B $Bfrom(B $BMexico(B $Bto(B $BBeijing.(B $BAs(B $Bthbeginninof(B $Bthwome$BCT(B decade,
the conference in Mexico was a time of innovation, invention and perhaps
the beginning of the world-wide women$BCT(B movement.
And now, here in New York, we are evaluating the gains made since the
Beijing Conference in 1995. It has been a long struggle since 1975, and the
questions we ask are not much different from where we started: what will be
the outcome for women? Will women be less poor, less violated? Or will this
conference result in a bigger gap between rhetoric and action?
The realities are, however, that poverty has increased, so have the numbers
of girl children dropping out of school; there is a rise in women$BCT(B
unemployment and the acts of violence against women are more cruel.
What does this say about the enthusiasm with which women went to the
conference in Mexico? Devaki Jain claims that between the conferences in
Nairobi and Beijing $BEB(B different ethos emerged. To some extent it could be
called the bureaucratisaton of the women$BCT(B movement.$B(B(B
$BThfact(B $Bthat(B $BNGOs(B $Barnoable(B $Bto(B $Bparticipatin(B $BUN(B $Bconferencefrom(B
$Bwithinanarno(B $Blonger(B $Btrying(B $Bto(B $Blobbtheigovernment(B $Bdelegationin(B
$Bforums(B $Boutsidthesconferences,(B $Bis(B $Bgain(B $Bthat(B $Bis(B $Bnoto(B $Bbe(B $Bdiscounted(B
$BWome$BCT(B NGOs now have access to their government delegations in open
forums. But it seems that in the struggle to get into the house the message
was somehow forgotten. The issues are still being discussed, but the roles
of NGOs have, in many cases, gradually switched from activist to archivist.
Jain admits, however, that there have been marked achievements. Firstly,
women$BCT(B stories are being recorded in a way that they had never been
before. And secondly, there is an increase in the visibility of the plight
(and sometimes, strengths) of women. But perhaps the most significant
achievement has been the awareness that has been cultivated within
governments and government systems. But still the challenge remains to have
these achievements turn into more than $BAQ(Baper gains$B(B(B $Banrights(B
$BIt(B $Bis(B $Bnoenough(B $Bto(B $Bspeaaboupoverty,(B $Bviolence(B $Bagainswomen,(B $Beducation,(B
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$Bbecome(B $Breality.(B $BPerhapit(B $Bis(B $Btime(B $Bto(B $Brevisiwhat(B $Bit(B $Bmeanto(B $Bbe(B $Ban(B
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$BJain(B $Bsuggests(B $Bthat(B $Bwe(B $Bperhapneed(B $BED(Bommittee of 10 wise women to gather
information on women$BCT(B mass struggles$B(B(B $BafteBeijing+5.(B $BThis(B $Bcommitte(B
$Bcouldrafproposalfoaction(B $Bwhiccoulbecome(B $Bpowerful(B $Btool(B $Btoward(B
$Bsocial(B $Bjustice.(B $BWome$BCT(B NGOs need to move away from the $BES(Beport card
approach$B(B(B $Banform(B $Bsocial(B $Bmovementthat(B $Bsharexperiences,(B $Bworkable(B
$Bstrategies(B $Banact.(B
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$BSo(B $Bwhat(B $Bhathwome$BCT(B movement learned from the past 25 years? $BE5(Bhe
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$Bwomen,(B(B $Bsays(B $BJain(B
$BAs(B $BSoutAfrica$BCT(B called for a long time during the struggle against
apartheid: Aluta continua! The struggle continues$B(B(B
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$Btel:(B $B+44/171-713-1941(B $Bfax:(B $B+44/171-837-5551(B
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$B________________________________________________________________________(B $Bfem-Women2000@jca.apc.orfoWome2000UN(B $BSpeciaSessioon(B $BBeijing+(B $BSearcheablArchivhttp://www.jca.apc.org/fem/news/women2000/index.shtm(B $Bvisifem-neHomePage(B $Bfoothemailinlisthttp://www.jca.apc.org/fem(B