Subject: [fem-women2000 382] At Beijing+5
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:45:35 -0500
Seq: 382
Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org> ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: "liz" <liz@gn.apc.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <b5ngonews@lists.sn.apc.org> Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 17:26:29 +0200 Subject: [B5NGONEWS] At Beijing+5 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Global Women's Media Team/Electronic News Bulletin distributed by Isis International-Manila mailto:owner-bpfa-news@isiswomen.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- At Beijing+5 By Kavitha Koshy* New York, June 5, 2000 We sit in the cafeteria at the United Nations, New York, having lunch together. Olayinka is from Sierra Leone and Carol is an American. Speaking about her war-torn country, Olayinka says, "We women are caught in the crossfire, our young daughters raped." Carol, who works with an advocacy group, also has stories to tell of increasing violence in her society. We all agree the world we live in is an unsafe place for women. And yet we have travelled half across the globe, to share our experiences and, perhaps, create a new society. As the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) gets underway on June 5, this part of New York wears a festive look. Official delegates in formal attire rub shoulders with the colourful NGO women from all over the world. The New York Police Department is out in force, directing traffic, trying to keep order among the thousands lined up in long queues, five abreast, waiting for a pass to get in. The Beijing+5, as this special session is popularly called, is kicked off by the expected slew of speeches and declarations of intent. The Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, spoke of the new challenges facing the world like trafficking in women and children which he called "an outrage dating back to biblical times (that) has now become a worldwide plague". He added, "In economic terms, the gender divide is still widening. Women earn less, are more often unemployed and generally are poorer than men. Women's work is still largely part-time, informal, unregulated and unstable. The fact that they have productive as well as reproductive roles is still all too rarely recognized." The start of the official conference has suddenly changed the mood and tone of the activities going on in the UN building. The whole of the last week, hectic parleys were going on between government representatives to arrive at a consensus document which the conference can ratify. Meanwhile, on a different level, NGO meetings were also being held. The official NGO working session held on June 3, in conference room no.4 was a total contrast to the formal opening session today. NGO groups from Africa, the Asia/Pacific, North America/Europe, Latin America/ Caribbean and Western Asia presented their update on the post -Beijing developments. The African team set the ball rolling. Joanna Foster from the Women in Law and Development in Africa, spoke of how much had changed and yet nothing had changed. She illustrated this eloquently with the story of a woman who was raped and filed a case for compensation. She managed to win but, ironically, the presiding judge insisted on paying the money to her husband. What is the use, asked Foster, of all these policies and programmes our governments design when deep down, embedded in our psyche is a patriarchal mindset? What do we mean by progress if we are "still beaten in the morning and still beaten at night". The presentations from other regions that followed reiterated the same points: Social biases and religious and cultural practices ensure women's subservience. Globalization has adversely affected women all over the world, be it retrenchment in Canada or its effect on local markets in Asia. The representation of women in legislative bodies continues to be abysmal. Trafficking in women has increased. The coordination between governments and NGOs remains poor. Almost everyone who spoke at the session referred to the way in which policymakers continue to ignore the reality of women's lives. Their problem seems to be one of a lack of political will when it comes to women's concerns. The Asia/Pacific presentation by Pam Rajput and other members summed up what women's groups all over the world are feeling. Choosing to make their point graphically, the women waved a black sari symbolizing the violence, blood and tears that make up a women's life today; suddenly, with the wave of a magic wand, the somber dark fabric gave way to a bright, multi-hued banner of life and laughter, a harbinger of what the future holds for womankind. As one of the members of the group explained, women can weave together with their laughter and strength a better life. "United we stand for justice, peace, harmony and change," chorused the whole auditorium, giving a standing ovation to the lively presentation. * Kavitha Koshy is a member of the Global Women's Media Team (GWMT) for the UN General Assembly Session to Review the Beijing Platform for Action. The team is composed of NGO women and women journalists from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. The GWMT is coordinated by Isis International-Manila and generously supported by UNIFEM-East and Southeast Asia, UNIFEM-South Asia, Canadian International Development Agency-Southeast Asia Gender Equity Programme, UNDP-Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP-Mongolia, British High Commission in Vanuatu, Foundation for Sustainable Society, Inc; National Centre for Cooperation in Development (NCOS-Pilipinas), World Council of Churches, and WomenAction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- BPFA-NEWS is archived at: http://www.isiswomen.org/womenet/lists/bpfa-news/archive ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ fem-Women2000@jca.apc.org for Women 2000, UN Special Session on Beijing+5 Searcheable Archive http://www.jca.apc.org/fem/news/women2000/index.shtml visit fem-net HomePage for other mailing lists http://www.jca.apc.org/fem