Unicef – the United Nations Children’s Fund – has done something unique with its just-released annual report, The State of the World’s Children 2007. In the past, the yearly flagship document has focused, variously, on the world's most vulnerable youngsters, on lost childhoods, on education for girls, on child participation in issues that affect them, on health and nutrition, on the effects of war. This time around – and to mark the agency's 60th anniversary -- Unicef is emphasising gender equality.
Making an argument that may appear self-evident, the report declares that "gender equality produces a double dividend: It benefits both women and children. Healthy, educated and empowered women have healthy, educated and confident daughters and sons." Says Ann M. Veneman, Unicef’s executive director: "Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand-in-hand. When women are empowered to lead full and productive lives, children and families prosper."
The benefits of gender equality don't end there, however. They exceed their direct impact on children, for without such equality, "it will be impossible to create a world of equity, tolerance and shared responsibility – a world that is fit for children." Indeed, gender equality is considered central to realisation of the UN's Millennium Development Goals – the global blueprint for building a better world in the 21st century. It is, in fact, the third of the eight goals, a moral imperative intrinsically linked to the others (which include the reduction of poverty, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases and fostering environmental sustainability) because promotes prosperity and universal well-being.
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan puts it starkly: "Until there is gender equality, there can be no sustainable development. It is impossible to realise our goals while discriminating against half the human race."
In particular, Unicef is calling for gender equality in three areas which the agency views as critical, spelling out some of the remaining challenges:
The household -- Women are often excluded from decisions, which can emerge from a bargaining process that favours men and boys. Education levels, age at marriage and control of assets influence how much say a woman has in household decisions – choices that can have a devastating impact on children’s health and nutrition.
Employment – The working conditions of women have vital implications for children. Studies show that women generally work more, but earn and own less than men. Often their work is unpaid. Equal opportunities tend to foster fulfilment of children’s rights.
Politics and government – Women’s involvement in politics, at whatever governmental level, can advance legislation that is more focused on children and families. (Women entering politics – often powerful advocates for children -- often come from different backgrounds than men, such as via social work or NGOs.)
"Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the AIDS pandemic," writes Veneman in the forward to the new report. "Many girls are forced into child marriages, some before they are 15 years old. Maternal mortality figures remain indefensibly high in many countries. In most places, women earn less than men for equal work. Around the world, millions of women and girls suffer from physical and sexual violence, with little recourse to justice and protection."
Veneman's latter point is particularly relevant at this time, given that Unicef’s sister agency, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), recently launched 16 days of activism to end violence against women – a campaign that openDemocracy joined via its staff blog, oD Today. While UNFPA cites 16 forms of gender-based violence, the sources of such violence basically reduce to two: the home (domestic violence is the most common form of violence perpetrated against women), and armed conflict (rape and sexual assault are often used as weapons of war).
"World leaders know," says the report, "that human development is stunted by entrenched discrimination and injustice. Yet although 27 years have elapsed since CEDAW [the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women] was adopted – and despite the fact that the convention has received 184 ratifications, accessions and successions by States parties – millions of women and girls throughout the world remain powerless, voiceless and without rights. The negative consequences of women's inequality reverberate throughout society."
That said, progress is slowly being made, in areas such as improved school attendance and performance by girls, and increased economic and political activity by women. A big job still lies ahead, however. Unicef says the task "requires societies to examine openly and honestly the extent of gender discrimination and rights violations suffered by women and girls, and commit themselves to eliminating its root causes."
The report adds: "Every person who argues that women have an equal place in decision-making forums, every community that demands girls go to school, and every government committed to ensuring that violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination against women have no place in society brings the double dividend of gender equality a step closer for this and future generations of women and children."
In the end, taking on the challenge will be worth the reward.
