UNFPA battles "Norm" of gender inequality
Thalif DEEN
Despite a slew of U.N. conventions and international agreements
against discrimination of women, gender inequality is widespread and
remains deeply rooted in many cultures, according to the U.N. Population
Fund (UNFPA).
"We know that cultural traditions and beliefs are often stronger than
laws," UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid told reporters.
But she warned that cultural sensitivities do not mean acceptance of
harmful traditional practices or a free pass for human rights abuses.
"Far from it," Obaid said.
These practices include child marriages, female genital mutilation,
gender violence, honor killings and widespread gender inequality - most
of which are regarded as cultural norms in some societies.
Launching the UNFPA's annual "State of the World Population 2008",
Obaid said culture is created by people, and people can change culture.
"Culture is the way we think, act and believe. And values and
practices that infringe human rights can be found in all cultures," she
pointed out.
The UNFPA has been engaged in a long-standing battle against two
harmful practices prevalent mostly in the developing world: child
marriages and female genital mutilation.
"In many countries, these practices are illegal - they are against
the law - and yet, they persist. They persist, because they are deeply
rooted within the culture," she added.
Tamara Kreinin, executive director of the U.N. Foundation's Women and
Population Programme, admits there are many complexities to addressing
harmful cultural practices such as child marriage, female genital
mutilation/cutting, and opposition to women's right to family planning
information and services.
Still, "We believe that UNFPA's and other agencies' partnerships with
local women's rights and human rights non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) are absolutely critical to ensuring the end to what amount to
systematic human rights violations perpetuated through these practices,"
she told IPS.
The UNFPA report says that cultural power operates through coercion.
"Coercion may be visible, hidden in the structures of government and
the law, or ingrained in people's own perceptions of themselves."
The study points out that advances in gender equality have never come
without cultural struggle.
Women in Latin America, for example, have succeeded in making gender
violence visible, and in securing legislation against it. But
unfortunately, enforcement remains a problem.
"It is risky to generalise about cultures, and it is particularly
dangerous to judge one culture by the norms and values of another," the
report warns.
Even in the same culture, the report argues, not everyone agrees on
norms and values - in fact, change comes about when people resist
cultural pressures.
The movement towards gender equality is a good example of how this
works, the report notes.
Although women and girls are three-fifths of the world's one billion
poorest people - and women are two-thirds of the 960 million adults who
cannot read, and girls are 70 percent of the 130 million children who
are out of school - gender inequality is a fact of life in most
societies.
Cultural norms and traditions may perpetuate gender-based violence,
and both women and men can learn to turn a blind eye, the report adds.
The study says it is important to make alliances with opinion-makers
and leaders, as well as people and organizations working in the field.
"Sometimes, the cultural gatekeepers themselves are advocates for
women's rights," it notes.
Kreinin of the U.N. Foundation said that UNFPA and other U.N.
agencies have a mandate from global human rights agreements and the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to identify strategies to ensure
that culture is not used as a proxy for violations of women's rights.
"There are local NGOs in every part of the world who are poised to
take the lead locally in crafting and implementing such strategies to
end these harmful practices," she added.
They are critical partners with U.N. agencies and other stakeholders,
particularly in advocating to their governments to fulfill their
international obligations to promote, protect and ensure women's rights
through appropriate and fully-implemented laws, policies and programmes.
"There is a synergy that comes from UNFPA working in close
collaboration with these local NGOs to address these challenging issues
the effectiveness of both is strengthened," Kreinin told IPS.
"My organisation, the U.N. Foundation, sometimes plays a brokering
role to be sure those partnerships flourish and we also work to
strengthen local NGOs capacity to use international agreements and U.N.
partnerships to enhance their impact."
She said the most critical output of strong partnerships between the
United Nations and local NGOs to tackle these challenging issues is that
the lives and well-being of more women and girls are preserved and
sooner rather than later.
IPS |