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IWD O08 - Progress not possible without gender equality to end poverty

8 March, 2008: The Global Call to Action Against Poverty GCAP is mobilising worldwide on International Women’s Day to call for gender equality to end poverty. With women representing 70% of the worlds poor, the issue of gender equality in the fight to end poverty has been carried by campaigners to the doors of governments and multilateral instiutions by GCAP coalitions since 2005. This year represents a change in gear for campaigners, concerned by signs that women are the big losers in current development strategies and the poor pace of governments in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Ana Agostino, GCAP Co-Chair and spokesperson for the Feminist Task Force said:
“Poverty cannot be eradicated without equality and justice for women. Current international policies rob women of livelihoods, healthcare and other economic rights, while feeding a fundamentalist backlash and militarism that deprive women of personal autonomy and choices.  Our demands are fundamental to breaking through this paradigm, they are not cosmetic, they need dedicated funding and integration into all existing policy decisions.”

In New York last week, GCAP members focused on the theme of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women meeting, “Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,” .  They called on the UN for increased financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment as well as support for an improved gender equality architecture of the UN.  GCAP’s Feminist Task Force (FTF) presented progress made since 2005 alongside the findings of International Women’s Tribunals on Poverty (see below), which were held in India and Peru in 2007. 

In the Arab region, GCAP has produced a statement with specific demands for their Governments.  The 2007 Arab MDG report states that the participation of women in  non-agricultural employment in the least developed Arab countries decreased by almost 5% between 1990 and 2004.   On average, women in the Arab region accounted for only 18.3% of total paid employments in the industrial and services sector in 2004.  Moreover, the continuous military occupation in Palestine and Iraq and some regions of Lebanon and Syria has increased the level of poverty in these zones and undermined the development progress, and thus limited the chances for women’s economical empowerment.   According to report, women in the Arab region held only 8.7% of the region’s parliamentary seats in April 2007, a figure among the lowest in the world.

GCAP’s Global demands for gender equality to end poverty on International Women’s Day are:
•    Trade Justice for women’s social, economic, cultural and political empowerment
•    Debt Cancellation to lift the burden on poor women and their families
•    More and Better Aid to fund an end to the feminization of poverty
•    Democratic, Transparent, Participatory and Accountable National Policy Processes to open doors for women and eliminate discriminatory policies
•    Gender Equality as central to achieving sustainable development

ENDS/
For further information contact Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP Global Media Coordinator
Tel: + 34 6790 594 809 or ciara.osullivan@civicus.org

Notes to Editors

WOMEN’S TRIBUNALS AGAINST POVERTY
In October 2007, as part of the mobilisation around the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, GCAP’s Feminist Task Force organised several Women’s Tribunals Against Poverty. The Tribunals served to inform and present testimony on the conditions women endure as well as put pressure on governments.  The tribunals took place in Peru, India and Bosnia, a fourth one is planned in Egypt in March 2008. Further requests have been received from GCAP DRC, Malta, Nepal and Pakistan, where the Balochistan Gender indicated that they are planning to organise a women's tribunal in in 2008. WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXyy1tMi2-k

GCAP’s Global Demands for International Women’s Day

• Trade Justice for women’s social, economic, cultural and political empowerment:  Trade expansion – both within and across borders – has been dependent on poor women’s labour.  Trade justice therefore implies not only more equitable terms of trade and national economic sovereignty, but also guaranteeing women’s land rights, labour rights and decent jobs, protecting women’s agricultural activities, maintaining food security, livelihoods and traditional knowledge, ensuring essential public services for all, and developing policies so that the benefits of trade will advance development objectives and reach the most marginalized members of society, particularly poor women.   
• Debt Cancellation to lift the burden on poor women and their families:  Much of the debt of developing countries is being paid for by poor women. Currently women are providing healthcare, education, child and elder care, and other services which support families, societies and economies as part of their unpaid labour.  In order to eradicate poverty and advance human rights therefore, debt must be cancelled, resources shared equitably to meet the needs of the poor, especially women, and essential services must be provided by the state.      
• More and Better Aid to fund an end to the feminization of poverty:  The volume of development assistance given by rich countries must be increased to the 0.7% of GNP goal in order to help poor countries lift themselves out of poverty.  This aid should prioritize empowering women and achieving gender equality in order to eradicate poverty.
• Democratic, Transparent, Participatory and Accountable National Policy Processes to open doors for women and eliminate discriminatory policies:  National strategies to eliminate poverty need to empower women through education, health care and HIV/AIDS treatments, reproductive rights, strategies to end violence against women, full political participation, equal citizenship, inheritance and property rights, and access to essential services including affordable housing.  Moreover, processes must be developed that facilitate the participation of all – especially women, youth, migrants and indigenous peoples – in policy development, implementation and monitoring, with mechanisms for information sharing, input, and redress.

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