Gender
became an analitycal category such as race, social class, religion affiliation,
ethnicity and so on. Briefly, when it
comes to gender issues, we refer to a variety of difficulties faced by women when in comes to
economical, political and social aspects – difficulties embodied in what we call
“discrimination”. Over the centuries, women of all races and social categories
were discriminated on the assumption that they are inferior (intellectual and
physiological) then men. Even if it happens in family (women are not allowed to
speak or have no acces to education) or outside the family (women were not
allowed to vote or no right to take a political position) women had and still
have to fight heavy battles since the past events have repercussions upon
present and are hard to refute.
Fight
against women discrimination started centuries ago when writers like Poullain de
La Barre (De l’egalite des deux sexes,
1673), Mary Astell (Serious proposal to
the ladies, 1697), Marquis de Condorcet (Progress of human mind, 1790), John Stuart Mill (The subjection of women, 1869) understood the importance of women and began to
support the promotion of women’s rights and women’s empowerment by changing
dogmas, overcoming traditional position occupied by women in family, church,
society, policy. Over the years this trend gained momentum therefore, nowadays
the gender problem is among the main goals of
one of the most important international organizations, United Nations (Millenium
Development Goals : 1.eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, 2.achieving
universal primary education, 3.promoting gender equality and empower women,
4.reducing child mortality rates, 5.improving maternal health, 6.combating
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other deseases,7.ensuring envinronmental sustainability,
8.developing a global partnership for development).
A
considerable step in supporting women emancipation was when the Economic and
Social Council of the UN organization established its Commission on the Status
of Women, as the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to
gender equality and advancement of women. Among its
earliest accomplishments was ensuring gender neutral language in the draft Universal Declaration of Human Rights
In
1979, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is
often described as an International Bill of Rights for Women. In its 30
articles, the Convention explicitly defines discrimination against women and
sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. The
Convention targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender
roles and family relations, and it is the first human rights treaty to affirm
the reproductive rights of women.
On
2 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously voted to create a
single UN body tasked with accelerating progress in achieving gender equality
and women’s empowerment.
The
main roles of UN Women are:
- To support inter-governmental
bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their
formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
- To help Member States to
implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical
and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge
effective partnerships with civil society.
- To hold the UN system
accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular
monitoring of system-wide progress.
Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its
achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels
thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities
remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and
face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied
access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world
suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and
economic decision-making processes. For many years, the UN has faced serious
challenges in its efforts to promote gender equality globally, including
inadequate funding and no single recognized driver to direct UN activities on
gender equality issues.
UN Women was
created to address such challenges. It will be a dynamic and strong champion
for women and girls, providing them with a powerful voice at the global,
regional and local levels.
to be continued.
