- Only 14 of 193 countries currently have elected female leaders.
- Women = 70% of world's poorest inhabitants + 64% of the illiterate
- W/out greater economic, political + educational equality, womens status won't improve + society will suffer.
- estimated 5,000 women per year killed in "honor killings"
- Iraqi Du'a Khalil Aswad's murder in April 07 = recorded and on internet, gaining media's attention.
- Killed because she fell in love w/ man outside religious sect
- Killings also take place in other places: U.K. est. up to 17,000 women killed related to "honor"
* GBV = gender based violence, (i.e. honor killings + more)
- Guatemala = est. 3,000 women killed over 7 years
- most w/ misogynistic violence
- only 1% perpetrators = convicted
- India = est 5 women burned/day by husbands over insufficient dowries.
- Asia = 163 mil. females "missing" from pop.
- because of sex-selective abortion, infanticide + neglect
- Rape increased in Africa from 90's by men who believe having sex w/ virgin = cure/protection from HIV-AIDS
- 70-yr man raped 3-yr girl in Kano, Nigeria
- last 6 months = 54 cases of child rape reported
- Sexual violence common in war countries.
- Rep. of Congo = "license to rape" due to no prosecution
- est .25 mil. women raped + sometimes sexually mutilated
- Some cultures punish female victims.
- Pakistan = 1 woman gang-raped/every 8 hours
- Until recently, rape not prosecuted there unless 4 trustworthy muslim men testify witnessing attack. Otherwise victim = prosecuted for fornication + alleging false crime.
- When law changed, thousads protested.
- Pakistan honor killings = up 400% in 2 yrs.
- also acid attacks: throwing acid at women face + body
- 130 mil women undergone genital mutlation + 2 mil more at risk.
- Women work 2/3's total hours worked by en + earn 10% of income
- Women produce >1/2 world's food + own <1%>500,000 women die in pregnancy +childbirth/ year. 99% in developing countries.
- 2 mil girls btwn 5-15 forced in commercial sex markey/year
- 10 mil more girls then boys don't attend school.
- Women still have historic progress.
- 90's = 2/3 of kids not getting educated were girls, today only 57% are girls
- March 08 = 14 women are elected heads of state/gov
- Women = 17.8% of worlds parliamentary seats
- India = 1st female president: Pratibha Patil who promises to eliminate aborting female fetuses in india.
- Oct 07, Argentina elected 1st female president: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, 2nd woman in two years in s. america
- Michelle Bachelet = president of Chile in 2006 + a single mom
- Women still only hole 4.4% of world's 342 president/P.M. positions
- No country has 50% or more women in national legislative seats
- Higher women in office = dif. legislative outputs
- less funding of bombs + more on human security/well-being
- Nearly 100 countries impose gender quotes in parliaments
- 1995 UN 4th world conference on women in Beijing:
- 185 gov took goal of 30% female rep in national legislature.
- only 20 countries have reached that goal today + quotas are often attacked
- 5,000 gov reps want better health care for wmn, end to violence against wmn, equal education, promotion of economic independence + more to imorve wmn's conditions
- 10 yrs later Beijing platform still not achieved, many ? if wmn are any btter off
- International trade = bad + good: women = more employment + economic opportunities but jobs = low wages + dangerous work.
- poor countries ignore saftey + labor precautions to get foreign investors
- More international trade = more wmn forced/sold inro prostitution +sexual slabery abroad under false pretenses
- Many international agreements pledged to provide wmn w/ similar oppotunities + protections as men have missed deadlines or on track to fail.
- More then 70 countries in CEDAW giled reservations aka exemptions
-Has globalization been good for women?
- last 20 yrs trade liberalization = mass increase of goods from developing countries creatin many jobs for women.
- wmn in these jobs earn more then in traditional sectors + cash income may improve status + bargining power in the family.
- In Mexico many wmn report improvement in life due to income from working outside hoe
- Wmn in developing countries mostly = less educated then men makes most jobs part-time w/out health-care benefits, overtime or sick leave.
- wmn hold high % of jobs in garment, cut flower, and fruit industry in developing countries.
- jobs = no formal contract = more poor safety + abuse
- wmn lack protection because work = domestic, in home, + part-time
- west countries recommend developing countries adopt structural adjustment economic reforms to qualify for certain loans +financial support
- countries encouraged to make jobs flexible: hurts wmn
- globalization = more cash crops for export which hurts wmn farmers who produce 60-80% of household food in developing countries.
- small wmn farmers = pushed off land for cash crops
- wmn advocates say females = benefited from broadening communication btwn countries
- communication helps human-rights campaigns: wmn in remote towns can email organizations
- domestic violence now = global issue.
- est 800,000 people trafficked across international borders/year (80% = wmn, most forced into sex trade)
- mil more = trafficked inside countries
- globalization sparked mass migration of wmn to find better jobs +lives
- 90 mil wmn, 1/2 world's migrants, reside outside home country. wmn often don't speak local language and are easy for traffickers who lure w/ promises of abroad jobs.
- real problem = lack of labor protection not migration + globalization
- countries should make agreements providing labor + wag protection for domestic workers migrating, wmn would then benefit from job + income from migration + globalization
- Should governments impose election quotas for women?
- 2003: Rwanda rebuild after genocide killed at least 800,000 hutus and tutsis. Country take new constitution requiring wmn hold at least 30% of posts
- Now, rwanda's lower chouse of parliament now leads world in female rep w/ 48.8% wmn
- Before civil war, wmn never had >18% of parliament. after genocide, country = 70% female + wmn stepped into leadership + head of household
- post-conflict countries go from military regimes to new democracies that include women
- Iraq + Afghanistan have electoral quotes for wmn _ # of wmn in political office grow faster in sub=saharan africa than anywhere.
- BUT increasing # of wmn doesn't = more women's rights. depends on which wmn in which positions
- Afghanistan mandates wmn have at least 27% of govs lower house + 17% of upper house, but rep does little to improve wmns rights.
- Journalist condemned to die for distributing wmns rights articles + record #'s of afghan wmn = killing themselves (burning alive) to escape abuse + forced marriages.
- quotas don't mean anything: depends on type of quota. Jordan has 6 seats to elect women who have most votes then other female candidates in district, even if less then men. many tribes = sending wives + sisters to gain votes since its easier. many of these wmn = conservatie + against wmns rights
- 64% of university students = wmn in Iran but gov mandates at least 40% be male, voting wmn out of school
- quotas = constitutional or statue/voluntary. also vary in requirements: nominated, on bllot, or in office
- 40 countries use gender quotas in national parliament elections + another 50 have major parties that voluntarily use quotas for candidates
- question not just quota efficiency, but also fairness. feminists traditionally oppose unfairness but it's not fair the way it is now.
- "quotas are not discrimination against men but compensatio for discriminatio against women" -- Dahlerup
- quotas don't solve all problems
- Do international treaties improve women's rights?
- There have been many treaties, but little as happened: there has been little funding
- Female HIV cases more then male in many areas
- Long standing social + cultural traditions block progress of laws
- International agreements still critical because impact norms and standards
- MDG aims to improve lives of all world poop by 2015 but only 2/8 address wmn''s issues
- Goals set already aren't being reached and others aren't likely to
- Goals are too broad to have effect in rights
- Dif. sides on the question. some yes, some no.
- CEDAW better success. 185 countries submit reg reports to UN on progress
- USA refuses CEDAW because it would "promote abortion" and require gov to pay for child care + maternity leave.
- 'Structural Defects'
- Used to be matriarical societies: didn't understand conception so wmn giving birth = miracles
- 8th cen BC creation stories = fall of man from weakness of wmn
- Greek = pandora; Judea = Eve
- Ancient greece wmn = children w/out basic rights. couldn't leave house unchaperoned, no education/land. Father could sell daughter who had sex before marriage + rape lead to outcast
- Roman = only a little better: eventually divorce + wmn owned property until early Christian leaders
- Early church = wmn dependent on + subordinate to men
- wmn = "man's helpmate" to "preserve species/provide food +drink"
- 14th-17th cen religious leaders blame tragedies + more on witches.
- est 30,000-60,000 people executed for alleged witchcraft. 80% female, as young as 8
- Push for Protections
- Age of Enlightenment + industrial revolution = 18th + 19th cen: more opportunites for wmn in jabs + more social freedom
- 1792: Mary Wollstoncraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women: "feminist declaration of independence."
- Similar to French rev. but french refused wmn's rights in 1789
- British Mines Act, 1842: prohibit wmn from working underground
- Married Women's Property Act, 1870
- 1893: New Zealand = 1st nation to grant full suffrage rights to women
- Over next 2 decades Finland, Norway, Denmark + Iceland all granted rights
- USA grants wmn's suffrage in 1920
- 1906: 1 of 1st international labor conventions, Berne Switzerland, all about wmn. prohibited night work for wmn in industrial, signed by 12 nations
- 1924: US supreme court upheld night-work law for wmn
- 1946: UN created Commission on Status of Women, received much attention
- 1950's = many UN conventions for women: 1952 = wmn right to vote, ratified in 120countries + 1957= wmn marrying alien doesn't automatically change her nationality, only 57 countries, not USA
- 1951: UN promote equal pay for equal work, 164 countries, not USA
- 1958: convention ensuring equal opportunity + treatment in employment, 166 countries, not USA.
- some americans argue there is already equal pay
- Women's 'Bill of Rights'
- 1979: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) made in General Assembly: 130-0 w/10 abstentions but many counties said afterwards "yes" votes don't = countries committed support.
- CEDAW took <2>
- CEDAW participants = sexual equality in legal systems + abolish discriminatory law, end trafficking of wmn + ensure equal access to life.
- Also grants wmn reproductive choice, 1 of main reason USA not ratified.
- Doesn't directly mention violence
- 1993: UN said violating wmn = violating fundamental human rights
- Yugoslavia + Rwanda's wmn protected (some) during wars
- 1996: 8 Bosnian Serb police indicted from mass rape of Muslim wmn during Bosnian war: 1st time sexual assault prosecuted as war crime
- 1998: Rwandan mayor convicted for genocide, crimes against humanity, rape, + sexual violence. 1st time rape + sexual violence = recognized as acts of genocide
- Beijing and Beyond
- 1975 UN world conference on wmn, mexico city = 44 pg plan of action for a decade of special measures to give wmn equal status + opportunities in law, education, employment, politics, + society.
- Wmn conferences every 5 yrs. 1985 = more then 10,000 reps from gov. largest gathering on wmns issues at the time.
- 10 yrs = failure due to bad economics + new plan for last 15 yrs of cent.
- 1995 = Beijing conference: Beijing Platform addressed 12 critical areas against wmn
- 1990's = more wmn in top political positions then ever before: 10 countries = wmn presidents btwn 1990 + 2000, 17 countries = wmn prime ministers.
- 2006: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia = Africa's first elected woman president, same year as Chile + Jamaica.
- World Bank report = gov corruption declines as women elected to office. wmn = more "helping behavior", vote on social issues, score higher on integrity tests, stronger stances on ethical behavior + more generous w/ economic decisions.
- Rise of Fundamentalism
- Political gains = coming but violence + repression of wmn = daily occurrences, connected to global growth of religious fundamentalism
- 2007: 21 yr wmn in Saudi Arabia = 200 lashes + jailed for 6 months after being raped by a gang of 7 men. woman = 19 at time + w/former boyfriend. Illegal for wmn to meet in private w/ an not husband or relative.
- King Abdullah pardoned wman in December bcause of political pressure, not personal view.
- Other Saudi woman faces beheading on charges of witchcraft + is yet to be pardoned
- Iraq: rise of religious fundamentalism = rise in # of wmn being killed/beaten in honor killings for flirting-"allowing" herself to be raped. Relatives believe must murder her to end families shame.
- oct 07 UN mission found 255 wmn killed in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1st 6 months of 07, most by their communities or families
- Debate of wmn wearing head scarves in Muslim world.
- Turkish president's wide wears head scarf, in Feb turkey vote ease 80 yr ban on wearing head scarves @ universities.
- Ban lifting = good + bad. wmn can be pressured into wearing head scarves but ban kept conservative wmn from becoming doctors, lawyers + teachers
- Forced marriages + honor killings = against islamic law, part of the sharia law which was created by men
- UN est 5,000 wmn = honor killed/year. millions more= abused + killed in violence not islamic
- btwn 10-50% of all wmn in world = physically abused by intimate partner in life.
- there is partner killings in USA + UK as well, not considered honor killings
- christian +islam fundamentalism growing.
- 2006 poll = 1/3 of americans feel Bible should be basis of law in US
- fundamentalism threatens wmn's rights, especially w/ reproductive issues.
- religions don't say do bad things, bad things are done in the name of religion.
- UK = dealing w/ honor killings via police and courts.
- Evolving Gender Policies.
- UN report criticized Suadi Arabia's treatment of wmn: ban on wmn drivers, male guardianship denying wmn equal inheritance, child custody + divorce rights
- US = 1/8 countries that refuses to ratify CEDAW, also Iran, Sudan, + Somalia
- last yr, 108 members of US house of reps send resolution for Senate to ratify CEDAW, still not voted on.
- UN vote last nov = encouraging govs to meet obligations under CEDAW: US = only nay vote against 173 yea votes.
- American opponents of CEDAW = pro-life + Republicans: would enshrine right to abortion + very expensive, potentially = US gov provide paid maternity leave + more child-care to all wmn.
- Argue CEDAW = too much power over US to UN
- CEDAW stalled in Senate: needs 67 votes.
- Failure to ratify = bad for wmn + US image ( only other countries = Sudan and Vatican)
- Turkmenistan = 1st national law for wmn equal rights
- Royal decree in Saudi Arabia = end to old ban on wmn checking into hotels w/male guardians.
- Canadian military tries to understand wmn in Afghanistan + how they can help + are affected
- Feb = new 7-r campaign at ending violence towards wmn
- 4 agencies in UN for wmn, only $65 mil all together
- Political Prospects
- Wmn sv. men in politics = miniscule, still achieving gains unthinkable a few years ago.
- Wmn = tight race for US presidency nomination.
- S. America has most wmn-led govs.
- Brazil: Dilma Rousseff: female chief of staff, maybe pres after next terms ends in 2010
- Paraguay: Blanca Ovelar: pres nominee for conservative party, although defeated.
- Spain: Carme Chacon = 1st wmn in armed forces (Defense Minister), also pregnant at appointment. 9/17 members of spain cabinet = wmn
- Pakistan: elected 1st female speaker of National Assembly: Fahmida Mirza
- India: Patil = 1st wmn pres
- Iran = disappointing: many wmn run, only three elected.
- Kenya: greatest campaign expense for wmn cnadidates = 24 hr security to protect against rape
- Many threats of violence against wmn
- Impunity for Violence
- Mothers teacher sons dif from daughters
- 80% of wmn in rural Egypt believe man = justified to beat wmn if she refuses to sleep w/ him.
- Ghana: 50% of wmn + only 43% of man believe man can beat wife if she uses contraception w/out his consent
- Guatemala: 3,000 wmn killed in 7 yrs w/no war.
-Rapists now can't escape charges by marrying victi, but not prison for domestic abuse + abusers can't be charged if bruising fades before 10 days
- Mexico authorities = indifferent to 400 wmn murdered in 14 yrs w/ unsolved crimes.
- Rwanda = 49% of reps in lower house = female.
- 2006: improved reporting, investigation +response = 1,777 referred cases of rape + 803 convicted men.
- Many violent acts not going to court: dem rep of congo = no gender-based crimes despite over 250,000 wmn = raped + sexually abused
- Economic Integration
- Don't need another big conference, resources instead should improve UN oversight of wmns issues
- Fear growth of religious fundamentalism + economy = setting back wmns progress?
- conferences = backlash from growing fundamentalist movement
- Wmn's well-being needs to be incorporated in all politics, not separate legislatures
- Despite years of work, economy getting worse
- Malawi: % of wmn in poverty increased 5% btwen 1995-2003
- Growing food shortage hit wmn especially hard
- Poverty issues must address wmn specifically as well
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