Distorted sex ratios are unbalancing societies in many parts of the world. In China and northern India for example, for children born in the early 2000s, the imbalance has risen to 120 boys to 100 girls born. Similar tendencies can be found in other East Asian countries, including Taiwan and Singapore, and in former communist states in the western Balkans and the Caucasus. Wealth does not seem to be a factor; within China and India the areas with the worst ratios are the richest, best-educated ones.

When these children reach maturity, a shortage of brides will be evident. China for example will have as many unmarried young men as the entire population of young men in America. In many countries, rootless young males are associated with higher crime rates, bride trafficking and sexual violence. A study in China shows that higher sex ratios accounted for about one-seventh of the rise in crime.

Only South Korea has managed to reverse its cultural preference for sons. Female education, anti-discrimination suits and equal-rights rulings made “son preference” seem old-fashioned and unnecessary. Concerned countries should therefore promote actions that raise the value of girls through the encouragement of female education, the engagement of women in public life and the abolishment of laws and customs that prevent daughters inheriting property.

Is gender preference an issue in your country? What actions could IFUW together with its NFAs and other NGOs take to help protect baby girls in the regions concerned?

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The  Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), starting next week, will undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Platform identifies twelve critical areas¹ of concern considered to be major obstacles to gender equality and women’s empowerment.  It also gives strategic objectives and actions to be taken by governments, the international community, non-governmental organizations and the private sector on implementation.

The CSW Beijing +15 meeting will emphasize the sharing of experiences and good practices to date, and will look at solutions on how to overcome remaining obstacles and new challenges. Governments were asked to provide reports on progress and regional reviews were undertaken in all five United Nation’s regional commissions.

In the ECE countries for example, some of the main challenges that remain are systematic gender-budgeting, unequal pay, social protection (such as pension benefits for unpaid care work) and implementation of existing legislation, in particular regarding violence against women².

What are the critical areas of concern in your country? How far has implementation of the Platform For Action come in your country? What are the biggest remaining barriers and challenges? What do you think the Beijing +15  review will show and what could Beijing +25 bring?

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¹1. women and poverty;  2. education and training of women; 3. women and health; 4. violence against women; 5. women and armed conflict; 6. women and the economy; 7. women in power and decision-making; 8. institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; 9. human rights of women; 10. women and the media; 11. women and the environment; 12. the girl child.

²UN-NGLS article: Beijing +15 ECE Regional Review Meeting; challenges remain

To help combat this growing atrocity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently appointed Margot Wallström as his Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. This new position (lobbied for by NGOs and called for in resolution 1888) was created to focus international action and to ensure a more effective prevention of and response to such crimes.

Ms Wallstöm commented: “Violence against women is the most common but least punished crime in the world…In far too many parts of the world women are excluded from the decision-making process and from conflict resolution and peacekeeping. This absolutely has to change and I am determined to play my part in making that change happen.”

A clear understanding of the root causes of rape in conflict is essential, including the myths that fuel this violence and the availability of the weapons that facilitate it. It is hoped that Margot Wallström will find a way to address these issues and that she will help empower women and fight impunity.

IFUW has adopted several resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. What can IFUW do to help advance the work of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict?

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For more information and for action ideas: www.stoprapenow.org (UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict)

Pension systems are usually based on employment related contributions.  Women’s working patterns – long career breaks because of child rearing, part-time work , lower salaries and lower retirement ages – all result in reduced pension benefits.  Many women rely upon their partners for retirement income, but this is not always a secure option.  Coupled with their longer life expectancy,  these factors are forcing older women into the poorest demographic groups in many nations.

One solution would be for women to increase optional contributions to pension schemes, but during the economic downturn, fewer women can afford to save, especially those with dependent children.

Some developed countries try to compensate  for these differences through systems providing a universal minimum pension and credits for child rearing years. A few have even established pension schemes based on residence instead of employment or family work.

What is the situation in your country? How can the gender pension gap be addressed?  Most young women  do not think about the later impact of “lost” working years, lower salaries and part-time hours. How do you think women can build a financially secure future?

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Apart from the economic and social benefits to the state and community-building, individual benefits seem to be an important aspect of volunteering. On Wikipedia one can read: “volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to improve human quality of life, …but people also volunteer for their own skill development, …to meet others …and to have fun”.

What do volunteers look for today? What kind of organizations and activities interest them? Are the individual benefits of volunteering becoming more important? Does IFUW need to change to better meet the needs of the new volunteers?

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IFUW Board and Staff would like to wish all readers a peaceful 2010.

During the next three weeks the blog will take a break. In the meanwhile, we would like to give you the opportunity to suggest future blog topics. Please write to us and share the topics  that are “close to your heart” .

We will be back with a new blog post on13 January 2010.

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A detailed structure proposal will be finalized mid-December; once approved by the Secretary-General, Member States will consider it in a special session in February 2010. The new entity will be headed by an Under Secretary-General thus securing a high level of authority within the UN. The recruiting process will start as soon the UN General Assembly has allocated funding for the position. The appointment will hopefully be confirmed by March 2010.

The GEAR Campaign (Gender Equality Architecture Reform), a network of more than 310 civil society organizations of which IFUW is a member, played a key role in the campaign to achieve the above changes.

GEAR believes that the effectiveness of the new entity depends largely on the level of funding and is calling for an annual budget starting at $1 billion. Some parties would prefer a large percentage of this to come from voluntary donors. IFUW believes that most should come from the regular assessed contributions.

GEAR continues to push for a “systematic and meaningful participation of civil society, especially women’s organizations” in the work of the new entity. Civil society should be given “a voice” through access of meetings, participation in policy formulations, agenda setting, monitoring etc.

What commitment has your government made towards the implementation of the entity? IFUW urges its national federations and associations to contact their government to lobby for adequate funding for the entity’s works and for a strong civil society role in the process.

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UNIFEM has taken a leading role in advocating for the elimination of violence against women in form of a world-wide campaign, Say NO to Violence Against Women. The first phase of this campaign, of which IFUW was a launch partner, generated over 5 million signatures in a global call to make this issue a top priority worldwide. Heads of States and Ministers from 69 Governments and more than 600 Parliamentarians have added their names to Say NO since then.

The second phase of the UNIFEM campaign, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women, is a global platform for advocacy and action. It aims to trigger and highlight actions by individuals, governments and civil society. Actions can range from adding your name to the Say NO petition, volunteering at local shelters or women’s organizations, advocating for legislation to reaching out to students at schools, spreading the message through blogs and tweets or donating funds that support local organizations on the ground. The initial goal is to reach 100,000 actions by March 2010. IFUW members are encouraged to add their actions taken on the Say NO website.

Every action is counted to showcase the global wave of engagement, urging governments to make ending violence against women and girls a top priority. People must engage at all levels, transform beliefs and attitudes, and ensure laws, programmes and services are implemented and well resourced.

What actions have you taken? Share your experience and inspire others.

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© UNESCO (Afghanistan, Kandahar)

Recently the United Nations Security Council voiced deep concern about the continuing under-representation of women at all stages of peace processes. Nearly nine years have passed since Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted, but to date only 16 countries* have developed national action plans.

The Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon urged all Member States to adopt national action plans before the 10^th anniversary of the resolution next year. Having national plans is not enough however. Implementation is key to achieving the goals of the resolution. Member states were also encouraged to address such female needs as greater physical security, better socio-economic conditions through education, income generating activities, access to health services and access to justice.

The Secretary General pointed out that “a growing body of evidence suggests that bringing women to the peace table improves the quality of agreements reached, and increases the chances of successful implementation”. Yet, UNIFEM reports that women average less than 10 per cent of the members of official negotiating teams at peace talks.”

What steps have been taken in your country towards implementing resolution 1325? What are the barriers to promoting women’s role as peace builders?

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* Austria, Belgium, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Liberia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2009 Security Council report: Women and peace and security by the Secretary-General

From the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

The Human Rights Council adopted, by a vote of 26 to 15 with 6 abstentions, Resolution 12/21: Promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms through a better understanding of traditional values of humankind. The resolution recognizes “that all cultures and civilizations in their traditions, customs, religions and beliefs share a common set of values that belong to humankind in its entirety, and that those values have made an important contribution to the development of human rights norms and standards.”

Conchita Poncini, IFUW representative to United Nations in Geneva, has pointed out that the words “traditional” and “values” are both relative terms. There is a danger that these can be used to excuse or exacerbate certain harmful practices that are considered “traditional”, such as male guardianship, female genital mutilation, early marriage, inheritance laws that exclude women, etc.

The resolution also reiterates that “while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, all States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, have the duty to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

The Human Rights Council will convene a workshop in 2010 for an exchange of views on how a better understanding of traditional values of humankind underpinning international human rights norms and standards can contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

To help IFUW to prepare its input, we would like to have a better understanding of what “traditional values” means in your country and whether there are any traditions that could be harmful to women.

Click here to read the whole 12/21 Resolutions.

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