FROM INVISIBILITY TO VISIBILITY WITH A VOICE-THE EVOLUTION AND TREND OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND CSW 1945 TO MARCH 2009

…To this end, we call on the Governments of the world to encourage women everywhere to take a more active part in national and international affairs, and on women who are conscious of their opportunities to come forward and share in the work of peace and reconstruction as they did in war and resistance. “Eleanor Roosevelt, in his open letter addressed to ‘the women of the world’ during the inaugural meeting of the UN General Assembly in London, February 1946 where he was a delegate of the United States of America. 


Historical Background of Women’s Charter and CSW
Prior to the above Roosevelt’s noteworthy remark, the UN Charter on the Advancement of Women was signed in 1945 in San Francisco, interestingly by mainly men representatives (only 4 women out of the 160 signatories). Few days after the signing of the Charter, a sub-commission was established under the Commission on Human Rights to look into the status of women. Upon start of work, the first Chairperson of the sub-Commission, Bodil Bosterup, a Danish re-echoed the necessity as been claimed by many women and Non-Governmental Organisations for the setting up of a separate body specially dedicated to women’s issues. The Chairperson requested the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in May 1946 for a change to full commission status. In her efforts to pursue her case further, Bosterup said “Women’s problems have now for the first time in history to be studied internationally as such and to be given the social importance they ought to have, And it would be, in the opinion of this Sub-Commission of experts in this field, a tragedy to spoil this unique opportunity by confusing the wish and the facts. Some situations can be changed by laws, education, and public opinion, and the time seems to have come for happy changes in conditions of women all over the world”
The efforts of these women and their NGO partners was actualized on 21 June 1946, when the Sub-Commission was formally transformed into a full-fledge body called Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The commission was aimed at ensuring women’s equality and to promote women’s rights. Its mandate was to “prepare recommendations and reports to the Economic and Social Council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields” and to make recommendations “on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights.” Shortly thereafter, the Section on the Status of Women of the United Nations Secretariat—which later became the Division for the Advancement of Women in 1978—was established in the Human Right’s Division of the United Nations to provide secretarial functions.
This proceeded the first meeting of the CSW in February 1947 in Lake Success, New York. It’s interesting to note that during this meeting all the 15 government representatives were women and this gave the Commission the unique character of gathering a majority of women delegates ever.
February 1947 session, the Commission also forged a close relationship with nongovernmental organizations. Several international women’s organizations addressed the Commission at the first session, and from then on, non-governmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC were invited to participate as observers. In the 1950’s, the average number of NGOs attending the Commission’s sessions rose to 30 and then 50. The openness of the Commission to civil society has continued up to the present time, and has allowed many NGOs’ contributions to be incorporated in its agreed conclusions and UN resolutions.
During the period 1946-1962, the Commission focused its attention on promoting women’s rights and equality by setting standards and formulating international conventions aiming at changing discriminatory legislation and fostering global awareness of women’s issues. However, the codification of the legal rights of women needed to be supported by data and analysis of the extent to which discrimination against women existed, not only in law but also in practice. The Commission, thus embarked on what could be referred to as a global research and polling of efforts to assess the status of women worldwide. Several questionnaires and studies were launched in order to collect information on the legal Status of women, their access to education, work opportunities and civil rights.
Member States provided the Commission with statistics, while non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other UN agencies provided additional information, especially of a more qualitative nature. These fact- finding efforts produced a detailed, country-by country picture of the political and legal status of women, which over time became the basis for drafting human right instruments.
The Beginning of Greater Awareness on Women’s Issues
The l960s and l970s were a time of profound change in the United Nations, whose membership had begun to expand dramatically with the emergence of newly independent nations. The organization began widening its focus to include the concerns of developing nations. The 1960s and early 1970s also saw the emergence in many parts of the world of a greater awareness of discrimination against women, and a rise in the number of organizations committed in combating those discrimination. The mushrooming international women’s movement influenced the approaches to women and development within the UN, thereby compelling the Commission to increase its focused on the role of women in development, both as beneficiaries and as agents of change.
As evidence began to accumulate in the 1960s that women were disproportionately affected by poverty, the work of the Commission centred on women’s needs in community and rural development, agricultural work, among others. The Commission encouraged the UN to expand its technical assistance to further the advancement of women, especially in developing countries. This call was further influenced by a 1970 study on Women’s Role in Economic Development. In 1968, long-term Commission member Helvi Sipilä, a representative from Finland, was nominated as special Rapporteur for the Status of Women and Family Planning Project and in this capacity launched numerous studies on the subject. The Commission also appointed a Special Rapporteur to report on ways to eliminate stereotypes in the mass media portrayal and coverage of women and girl child issues.
In an effort to consolidate standards on women’s rights that had been developed since
1945, the General Assembly requested the Commission in 1963 to draft a Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Four years on, the declaration came to light. On November 7, 1967, the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was ultimately adopted by the Genera] Assembly. However, the declaration didn’t achieve much because it was seen as a mere ‘Statement of Intent’. Their reporting procedure was voluntary, and thus the level of response from Governments was low. There was the need for a legally binding Convention that defined women’s rights—the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was ultimately adopted in 1979.
In the follow-up to a recommendation from the World Conference of the International Women’s Year, the UN declared 1976-1985 the United Nations Decade for Women
Equality, Development and Peace. The Decade contributed to bringing legitimacy to the international women’s movement, and moved women’s issues forward on the global agenda. Over the course of the decade, the belief that development served to advance women shifted to a new recognition that development was not possible without women.
The period 1986-1995 was considered as era of Putting Women on the Global Agenda. In 1987, the Commission began to meet annually instead of biennially. It took the lead in coordinating and promoting the UN system’s work on economic and social issues for women’s empowerment when the General Assembly mandated it to monitor the global implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women. As a result, the Commission’s efforts shifted to promote women’s equality as a cross-cutting theme in economic development, human rights, political, cultural as well as social policy issues. Its approach was to deal with women’s issues as part of the mainstream rather than as a separate issue. The late l980s and early l99Os, the Commission, the CEDAW Committee and the Commission on Human Rights brought the issue of violence against women (which were then considered as a private matter, rather than a public or a human right issue requiring government or international action) to the forefront of the international agenda. This was encouraged by an active NGO movement that saw this issue as a major organizing tool for the women’s movement. The Commission undertook the drafting of the Declaration for the Elimination of Violence against Women in the early 1990s.
As the preparatory body for the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the Commission was mandated by the General Assembly to play a central role in monitoring, within the UN system, the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and advised the Economic and Social Council. Multi-year programmes of work for the Commission were decided for 1997-2001 and 2002-2006, under which the Commission reviewed each of the 12 critical areas of concern, making recommendations on concrete measures to accelerate the implementation of the Platform for Action.
The 53 Commission on the Status of Women (53rd CSW)
Throughout its sixty three years of existence and its fifty third sessions, the Commission on the Status of Women has consistently promoted the advancement of women. It has been instrumental in expanding the recognition of women’s rights, in documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, in shaping global policies on gender equality and empowerment of women and in ensuring that the work of the UN in all areas incorporates a gender perspective. It continues to play a critical role by bringing together governments, UN entities, NGOs, and other international and regional organizations to promote women’s rights and advance gender equality.
The 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held in New York from 2’ to 13th March 2009. The session brought together participants representing Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations all over the world. In an effort to incorporate a gender perspective, the 2009 session being the 53rd, has its theme as “equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men including care giving in the context of HI V/AIDS”. The session witnessed various presentations around the theme from governments and non government entities. Other sessions focused on policy issues, governance and actions already taken by government and their agencies in connection to the theme.
Whilst governments sessions were more focus and directed towards governance and policy issues facing various continents, regions and governments, the non governmental organizations and other civil society organizations, are more concerned with the implementation of those policy issues, advocacy for policy pronouncements and implementation.
The Gambia, which was represented by personnel from government including Her Excellency the Vice President Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy and other high profile representatives and Non-governmental organisations, have a lot of good and similar practices in relation to the theme of the 53 CSW. However, the scope and scale is minor and therefore needs more expansion and active involvement of male especially on State run events and programs so as to enable the male counterpart become more active and committed to the fulfilment of women’s rights specifically, their economic, social and political empowerment.
Personal Recommendation for Further Events
Ø It’s always good for those participating in the CSW from the same country to team up as one delegation and strategies on who to attend which session and what to contribute. Meaning, the Gambia’s delegations from both government and NGO would teamed up and divide themselves on different thematic issues Most counties at the session has country delegation that employed this strategy and share a debriefing session at the end of the day
Ø The delegation to the CSW should always be more than one. There are so many interesting events being organized at the same time and so if there is more than one representative it would be easier for the delegates to attend as much forum as possible.
Ø There were side events organized by country’s permanent mission to the UN in collaboration with its national and international NGOs, and civil society organizations. In this kind of events, country specific experiences are shared from government and non government entities. Most Countries’ permanent missions had organized side events; such as Nigeria and Philippines. It would be great if The Gambia could do the same and use the platform to share experiences and challenges on the status of women.
Ø It is absolutely important for countries to gather data and shared them in audio visual forms. People are more likely to listen and watch audio visual materials than just verbal or power point presentations. Even though I shared the findings of the situational analysis I conducted before attending the session, people wanted to have copies of it in CDs because it is much easier to carry and store.
Ø It is always advantageous and good for first time delegate to the CSW to be chaperone/mentored/coach by someone who had participated in the event before. This will help the new recruit to understand how the whole process works. I was grateful I had the opportunity to be briefed adequately about this meeting.
The Author (Muskuta Badjie) is a Staff of the Child Protection Alliance and member of the Gender Action Team of the Gambia. She was an NGO Representative to the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women. Her participation was funded by African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHR S).


source: Foroyya

COMMIT ACT DEMAND: Freedom of choice for women

Introduction-MOREMI INITIATIVE

About Moremi

Founded in 2003, The Moremi Initiative for Women's Leadership in Africa strives to engage, inspire and equip young women and girls to become the next generation of leading politicians, activists, social entrepreneurs and change agents: Leaders who can transform and change institutions that legitimize and perpetuate discrimination against women. We firmly believe that the full and active participation of women in leadership is a pre-requisite for positive change and development in Africa, and addresses leadership imbalances. Moremi Initiative is headquartered in Ghana with offices in Nigeria and the United States- and works throughout Africa.

About MILEAD Fellows

I was honored to be nominated among 25 outstanding young African women leaders as 2009/2010 MILEAD Fellows. The MILEAD Fellows represent some of Africa’s most extra-ordinary young women leaders with the courage and commitment to lead/effect change in their communities. The Fellows, selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants represent 21 African countries and the Diaspora and include emerging young women leaders engaged in actively leading change on critical issues that range from women’s health and HIV/AIDS, economic justice, community development to political participation and environmental justice. They are between 19 to 25 years but have already demonstrated their commitment to serve and lead society at large. Together, they form a unique community which can dramatically affect the lives of future generations.

About 16 Day of Activism Against gender Violence

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence which is an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day against Violence against Women, and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a human rights violation. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

• raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels

• strengthening local work around violence against women

• establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women

• providing a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies

• demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women

• creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women

The theme for this year’s campaign is: Commit ▪ Act ▪ Demand: We CAN End Violence against Women!

Therefore, we all have a role to play; we all have a responsibility to end gender-based violence together as women, girls, men, boys, and individuals of all generations, religions, occupations, sexual orientations, abilities, political persuasions, and socio-economic backgrounds. In my capacity as the first and only Gambian to be awarded the MILEAD Fellowship 2009/2010 which enables us, the fellows to cross-examine concepts of leadership in a broad African context, cultivate the skills and experiences women need to occupy and excel in leadership positions and gain knowledge on cutting-edge issues critical to African women and their communities. We are each empowered and supported to create change in our community. Each fellow is leading change on a critical issue of importance to her community, and I am doing my part here in my community.
My project on early and forced marriage: In my fight against violence against women, I am looking at one of the major courses of domestic violence in my community which is early forced & arranged marriage which today results in profound physical, psychological and emotional consequences for affected girls and most often cut off educational opportunity and chances of personal growth for them. It further results in premature pregnancy and childbearing and potential lifetime of domestic and sexual subservience over which these girls has no control. These phenomena is destroying the lives of too many girls and young women in our community and denying them opportunities and rights that they may never have back. It requires urgent and immediate action Therefore, my project is a small but an important step in this direction- to mobilize and sensitize parents, girls and the community on the negative implications of this practice, promote community dialogue and action on the issue.

2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the United Nations’ formal recognition of November 25th as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. There are many other landmark dates and documents that are the direct result of ACTION that women’s rights activists and defenders have taken. The anti-violence against women movement provides one of the best illustrations of how local activism can translate into global action. Individuals, organizations, governments, etc. should take action on the commitments they have made to ending Violence against women. Each commitment – be it a personal pledge to speak out, a local or national law, an international convention or resolution, the Beijing Platform for Action – should be seen as a promise that has been made to women. NOW is the time to act on these promises. Every action, no matter how big or small, can make a difference!

At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995; women’s organizations from around the world met with government representatives and collaboratively produced the Beijing Platform for Action – one of the most forward-thinking government negotiated documents on women’s rights to date. This ground-breaking document set forth a list of actions, which, if implemented, would significantly reduce incidences of violence against women. 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Conference on Women. Therefore, we must all demand implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as other key documents, and demand state accountability for ending impunity, allocating adequate resources, and implementing good laws and national action plans to address Violence against Women. We also call on the UN to take bolder action on the UN Secretary-General’s “Unite to End Violence against Women” Campaign.

What each and every one can do to end violence against women:

• Don’t abuse your daughter, wife, mother, girlfriend or any female

• Speak out against violence against women when you see one

• Parents must desist from forcing their young and innocent daughters into marriages that they are not ready or prepared for.

• The media should help create awareness about this important issue.

• Those who want to be part of my campaign or wish to support my campaign can contact me on +220 6206600 or send an email to fcmalang@hotmail.co.uk

IS THERE A CURFEW AT THE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AREA?

A CASE FOR THE FEMALE LAWYERS ASSOCIATION OF THE GAMBIAThey were put under the camera for the whole world to see. Women of diverse ages were bundled up and taken to the police station to give account of themselves or face criminal charges. It is claimed that they were found loitering in the Tourism Development Area.



A threat was issued that any body found loitering in the tourism development area after midnight will be arrested and required to give account of oneself or be charged. The threat raises two fundamental issues; Is it a crime to move about in any part of the Gambia after midnight? Has a curfew been declared for the Tourism Development Area?Section 19 subsection of the Constitution states that “Every person shall have the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law.”Section 25 subsection (2) of the Constitution adds that “every person lawfully within the Gambia shall have the right to move freely throughout the Gambia to choose his or her own place of residence within the Gambia and to leave the Gambia”Hence every person who is lawfully resident in the Gambia has freedom of movement. It has been a subject of debate that freedom and liberty is not absolute. Some have even argued that the freedoms given have been taken away by other provisions of the Constitution. Some even claim that the draconian provisions of decrees which allowed for arrests and detentions are still applicable under the Constitution. The unfortunate thing about the debate is that it hardly goes with quotations of what the Constitution says to restrict the exercise of freedom. Section 4 of the Constitution has made it abundantly clear that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It states categorically that “any other law found to be inconsistent with any provision of the Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency be void.” In short, it is a constitutional provision that one must not be detained for more than 72 hours without appearing before a court. Hence no law should be passed and no decree could be maintained which justifies the detention of a person without trial for more than 72 hours. Suffice it say, section 25 subsection (4) which seeks to establish boundaries for the exercise of freedom of speech, conscience, assembly, association and movement does not authorise the use of any draconian legislation to restrict the exercise of freedom. It states: “The freedom referred to in subsections (1) and (2) shall be exercised subject to the law of the Gambia in so far as that law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the rights and freedoms thereby conferred which are necessary in a democratic society and which are necessary in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of the Gambia, national security, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court” Hence the boundaries to be established for the exercise of freedoms must be reasonable and must be necessary in a democratic society. This provision gives the court the final say in determining whether laws designed to set boundaries for the exercise of freedom are reasonable and justifiable in a democratic society. Laws can therefore be declared unconstitutional.The point should therefore be clear as far as freedom of movement is concerned, in the absence of a curfew any person with an ID card should be able to move about in any public place at any time without any restrictions. A security officer is only given legal authority to request a person to produce an ID card. Once that is done, such a person should not be subject to any investigation unless he is suspected of committing or about to commit a crime. Hence the Female Lawyers Association of the Gambia and Foundation for Legal Aid, Research and Empowerment should come together to interview those who had been shown on TV to find out whether they had their ID Cards and whether there had been any violation of their freedom of movement and other personal liberties. They should be ready to provide them with free legal services to pursue redress. The Public Order Act is quite clear. What is to be done to restrict movement in disturbed area? Section 10 states that “the president may, by notice published in such manner as he may direct, declare in respect of any area in The Gambia that such an area is a disturbed area in which an abnormal state of affairs exists.”Upon publication of such a notice the inspector general of police in respect of the City of Banjul and Kombo Saint Mary or the Governor or any other public officer authorised by the President; ‘impose a curfew in the disturbed area or in any part thereof, and may by such order or by permit exempt any person or class of persons from any or all of the provisions of such order:”“Prohibit, restrict, regulate or control the movement of any person or persons within the disturbed area, or into or out of such area.”The restrictions they are trying to impose in the TDA are only lawful under a curfew. The Government should therefore declare the TDA a disturbed area and impose a curfew or leave the people to go about their normal lives without hindrance.


source: foroyaa news

Why is girls' education important?

There are several compelling benefits associated with girls’ education, which include the reduction of child and maternal mortality, improvement of child nutrition and health, lower fertility rates, enhancement of women’s domestic role and their political participation, improvement of the economic productivity and growth, and protection of girls from HIV/AIDS, abuse and exploitation. Girls’ education yields some of the highest returns of all development investments, yielding both private and social benefits that accrue to individuals, families, and society at large by

• Reducing women’s fertility rates. Women with formal education are much more likely to use reliable family planning methods, delay marriage and childbearing, and have fewer and healthier babies than women with no formal education. It is estimated that one year of female schooling reduces fertility by 10 percent. The effect is particularly pronounced for secondary schooling.
  
• Lowering infant and child mortality rates. Women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure their children are immunized, be better informed about their children's nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. As a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished.
  
• Lowering maternal mortality rates. Women with formal education tend to have better knowledge about health care practices, are less likely to become pregnant at a very young age, tend to have fewer, better-spaced pregnancies, and seek pre- and post-natal care. It is estimated that an additional year of schooling for 1,000 women helps prevent two maternal deaths.
  
• Protecting against HIV/AIDS infection. Girls’ education ranks among the most powerful tools for reducing girls’ vulnerability. It slows and reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS by contributing to female economic independence, delayed marriage, family planning, and work outside the home, as well as conveying greater information about the disease and how to prevent it.
  
• Increasing women’s labor force participation rates and earnings. Education has been proven to increase income for wage earners and increase productivity for employers, yielding benefits for the community and society.
  
• Creating intergenerational education benefits. Mothers’ education is a significant variable affecting children’s education attainment and opportunities. A mother with a few years of formal education is considerably more likely to send her children to school. In many countries each additional year of formal education completed by a mother translates into her children remaining in school for an additional one-third to one-half year.

Girls’ education and the promotion of gender equality in education are vital to development, and policies and actions that do not address gender disparities miss critical development opportunities.

source:worldbank.org