Transcript Ann Stewart Director, International Development Law and Human Rights Programme  Women in Development – ‘adding women in’ to existing policies  Gender and Development –

Ann Stewart
Director, International Development Law and Human Rights
Programme
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Women in Development – ‘adding women in’ to
existing policies
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Gender and Development – recognises
◦ ‘women’ and ‘gender’ not the same
◦ social and cultural assumptions and
expectations important
◦ understanding power in relationships important
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Through 1990s UN conferences
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Environment and development (Rio de Janeiro 1992)
Population (Cairo 1994)
Human Rights (Vienna 1993)
Social Development (Copenhagen 1995)
Women (Beijing 1995) and Platform for Action
Women and Gender became part of public sphere
of development discourse
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Success!
Gender ‘mainstreamed’ into development institutions
(UN, World Bank, Development Agencies, Non
Governmental Organisations) and policies
Success?
Women’s position improved?
Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal
World 2005 (UNRISD)
Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice
2011 (UNWomen)
Gender analysis lost in MDGs?
Relationship between work and caring (division of
labour)
Importance of social support
Role of family and community institutions
Impact of gender based violence – public and
private
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Development of women’s international human rights
movement
Focus on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women 1979/81 (CEDAW)
Definition of Discrimination
Wide coverage – civil and political, social and economic
rights including harmful practices, position of rural
women and equality within family
State obligations
Optional Protocol (for individual compliants)
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Women not objects of development but ‘fully
acting citizens’
Entitled to rights
Development bodies, particularly states,
obligation to ensure that women able to exercise
rights –
Ensure empowerment and support advocacy
and participation
MDGs with a rights approach?
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Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1: (% of people on 1$ a day) women as individual
citizens not members of households in indicators
Target 2: (full and productive employment) access to
labour markets not necessarily alleviate poverty, adds to
existing burdens unless social support; flexible working
=precarious working without employment protections –
not employees; consider extending protections
Target 3: (% suffering from hunger) women less ‘entitled’
to food yet responsible for food security/family
provisioning; consider barriers to access and measure to
increase food security
Goal 2 Achieve universal primary education
Consider gender implications of food insecurity and
vulnerable employment – girl child caring for siblings
 Goal 3 Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Consider ‘positive action’ policies (substantive
equality) to enable women to participate fully in public
life – in Parliaments etc but also, using CEDAW, to
develop specific anti discrimination laws (in addition to
constitutional guarantees where necessary) and a legal
concept of public duty to promote gender equality
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Goal 4 (infant mortality) Goal 5 (maternal health)
Mothers’ education = powerful determinant of child
survival but empower women through increased
accountability of health systems at local levels –
participation of users (duty to consult?), remove financial
and social barriers to welfare
Ensure rights to reproductive health – recognise
individual’s right to exercise sexuality – safely. Tackle
barriers to access to contraception. Consider position of
young women (adolescent) – tackle early marriages
through family law reforms
Goal 6 (combat HIV/AIDS etc)
Targets1 and 2: consider use of legislation to tackle
discrimination – recognise specific provisions relating to
women – in relation to ethics of testing in pregnancy but
also in access to services – involve (empower) women in
development of services – duty to consult
 Goal 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability)
 Targets 1, 2, 3, recognise differential impact of
environmental degradation, access to clean water and
sanitation on women and men – ensure that women
participate equally in policy development
 Target 4 recognise insecurities of women in slums –
including vulnerability to violence
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Recognise the interactions between the ‘public’ and the
‘private’
State law might not be very important (or important at
all) to women even when grants rights
Consider other forms of regulation that might matter
(particularly) to women – family, community, religious
institutions
Ask what matters to (different groups of ) women?
(managing work and family responsibilities, moving in
public or living in family without fear; equal access to
family property)
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Ask where do women go to resolve problems? To
family or community bodies? To religious institutions?
Then consider how to ensure justice? Are there ways of
introducing /encouraging ‘equality/human rights’
concepts into these systems? Is justice better served by
encouraging use of state institutions?
When legislating in any area consider a ‘gender audit’
If so how to ensure women’s access? Require gender
training for those who administer the system (police,
magistrates and judges etc), encourage women’s
representation – easy access/facilities- women’s toilets