Where are we on women's rights 20 years after Beijing Platform for Action?

Over a century ago, in 1910, women gathered together in Copenhagen and came to a unanimous decision to determine a day to celebrate and push for women’s rights. In 1995, history was made in Beijing with the production of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This was the outcome of 5,000 government delegates from 189 countries, thousands of journalists and over 4,000 NGO representatives who gathered at the UN’s fourth World Conference on Women. Today, the Platform for Action still remains the most comprehensive global policy framework and action plan, and is considered a foundation for guidance and motivation to realise gender equality and the human rights of women and girls around the world.

The Platform for Action covers 12 critical areas of concern that remain as relevant today as they were 20 years ago: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment and the girl child. While many efforts and achievements towards gender equality have been made in these areas, we still have a long way to go in implementation, as no country has completed what was envisaged.

The theme of International Women’s Day 2015 on 8 March is “Make It Happen” and it encourages effective action for recognising women and advancing their rights. There have been great strides made in women’s and girls’ education, and a deadline was set by the international community to achieve universal primary education in 2015. In addition to this, we have seen a rise in the number of women in power, including national parliaments, in many countries, led by Rwanda, Bolivia, Andorra, Cuba and Seychelles.

Despite the progress that has been made with regards to certain aspects of life for girls and women, there is much more that needs to be done. Although the issues affecting them differ from region to region and country to country, the fact remains that each have their own set of issues that must be addressed.

Pay gaps and fewer opportunities

Historically, women have suffered inequality in the workplace and lower wages. This was addressed by the United States over 50 years ago when it passed the Equal Pay Act, while a series of similar laws have been passed in Britain over the past 45 years. The pay gap between men and women is closing slowly and the UN has warned that if the pace remains the same, it will take another 70 years for it to disappear completely.

This is not just a third world problem; it affects those in so-called developed countries as well. Patricia Arquette used her Oscar acceptance speech to address gender inequality in Hollywood, even though it claims to be liberal and progressive. The same can be said for almost every other industry.

Women generally earn 82.1 per cent of what men are paid for equivalent work; the pay gap widens as women get older and enter the childbearing years. While young women aged 16 to 24 earn 92 per cent compared to men of the same age, those aged 25 to 54 earn just 81 per cent of their male counterparts’ salaries. There have been some improvements in women’s wages, however; in 1979, for example, women were making less than 65 per cent of what men did and the boost received by women at every level of education outpaced that of men.

According to a 2014 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Korea, Estonia and Japan have the largest gender pay gaps, with 36.6 per cent, 31.5 per cent and 26.5 per cent respectively. The United States ranks 12th in terms of the highest gender pay gap at 17.9 per cent, while Britain trails closely behind with 17.48 per cent.

Violence

The Beijing Platform for Action promised to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, but women are still victims of domestic violence, random attacks, rape, stalking, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage all over the world. The statistics are staggering, with one in four women experiencing domestic violence in their lifetime; on average, they suffer for three years before seeking help.

A serious factor in the vulnerability of women is the culture of blaming the victim. Recent examples include the gang rape and murder of 23-year-old Jyoti Singh aboard a moving bus in Delhi in 2012. One of the convicted rapists has since claimed that she was responsible for the rape, as “decent girls” do not go out at night, and that she would have lived if she hadn’t fought back. A documentary highlighting the attack has been banned in India, thus adding to the problem by refusing to address such issues in the open.

In 2006, seven men raped a 19-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia. The men guilty of the crime were given lenient custodial sentences; amazingly, their victim was sentenced to 90 lashes for failing to be accompanied by a male guardian at all times in public, thus violating the kingdom’s interpretation of religion regarding segregation of the sexes. On appeal, the Saudi General Court increased her sentence to 200 lashes and doubled the prison sentences for the seven rapists.

Rape and domestic violence are also major problems for women in Britain. Recent studies show a very low conviction rate for rape. It is estimated that around 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales every year, but only 1,070 rapists are convicted; only 15,670 rapes on average are reported to the police each year.

Not surprisingly, these statistics discourage women from speaking out against their attackers and reporting such crimes, as they are shamed and punished despite being the victim. Until the sexist blame culture across the world is addressed and women feel safe enough to come forward and report such attacks, they are unlikely to decrease in number.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is believed to be practised in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. It is practised widely in Egypt, despite being banned; the UN estimates that 91 per cent of married Egyptian women between 15 and 49 –Muslims and Christians alike – have experienced FGM. If it is eradicated in Egypt, a quarter of the world’s cases of such mutilation would disappear.

Last year Dr Raslan Fadl performed the procedure on 13-year-old Sohair Al-Bataa in a village in northern Egypt; she died as a result. Although acquitted of manslaughter the prosecutors appealed against the verdict and Fadl was found guilty of both causing Sohair’s death and mutilating her; he was sentenced to two years in prison for manslaughter and three months for the mutilation.

That conviction is a step in the right direction. According to UNICEF figures, Somalia (98 per cent), Guinea (96 per cent) and Egypt (91 per cent) have the highest FGM rates. Attitudes towards the practice need to be changed in these countries. According to a survey regarding FGM, two-thirds of women and almost two-thirds of men living in the countries where it is customary think that the cutting of girls should stop.

Abduction and grooming

The abduction of women and girls is carried out for a number of purposes. We have seen instances recently where abduction has been used to make a bizarre political statement, such as the enforced disappearance of three Emirati women on 15 February. The women were summoned to a police station in Abu Dhabi for questioning, but haven’t been seen since. They are the sisters of Issa Al-Suwaidi, a prisoner of conscience imprisoned in the UAE along with 93 others for their political activities. It is believed that the authorities have abducted them not only because of their campaigning on their brother’s behalf but also to send a message to the families of political prisoners not to speak out against the state.

In 2014, more than 270 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by “Boko Haram”, an extremist gang which claims that “Western education” is forbidden in Islam and women should stay within the home. While some have managed to escape from their captors, 230 girls are still missing. This sparked a “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, supported by many prominent figures, including Michelle Obama and Malala Yousafzai, but it has lost the all-important attention of the media.

Other abductions have taken place with the aim of sexual abuse. Elisabeth Fritzl “disappeared” from the town of Amstetten, Austria, in 1984 when she was 18 years old. She emerged in 2008 from the basement chamber where her father, Josef, had kept her captive for 24 years. She bore him seven children during her period of captivity, one of which died.

Kidnapper Ariel Castro abducted Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27 and Gina DeJesus, 23, from Cleveland, Ohio between 2002 and 2004. They were rescued after Berry and her six-year old daughter born in captivity managed to escape in May 2013. Castro was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole plus 1,000 years; he was later found hanged in his prison cell.

In Europe, the trafficking of young women across borders for purposes of prostitution and pornography is a major issue. They are often taken to Western capitals from their homes in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Britain has a problem with gangs of men grooming girls and then sexually abusing them. Although not exclusively, the perpetrators have often been identified as gangs of predominantly Pakistani Muslims, usually taxi drivers. Young girls are the targets for these gangs; they are lured into “friendships” and emotional relationships (which sometimes include the family) in order to lower inhibitions before sexual abuse takes place.

These are just a few of the problems faced by women and girls around the world. Some of the issues are linked directly to male attitudes towards women within different cultures and social groups; such discriminatory social norms and laws must be addressed and changed.

The mixed record of achievements in the past 20 years suggests that while some progress is being made, it is very slow and unstable, and simply not enough. Many of the promises made in Beijing remain unfulfilled and real gender equality eludes most women across the globe. If the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action are to mean anything at all, political action must be taken, with suitable policies put in place and enforced. In short, for the sake of our mothers, sisters and daughters, we must “make it happen”.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.