Edited by Caroline Sweetman

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This book converted to digital file in 2010 Contents

Editorial 2 Caroline Sweetman Making the links: women's rights and empowerment are key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals 9 Noeleen Heyzer Gender equality and women's empowerment: a critical analysis of the third Millennium Development Goal 13 Naila Kabeer Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? 25 Carol Barton Approaches to reducing maternal mortality: Oxfam and the MDGs 36 Arabella Fraser The education MDGs: achieving gender equality through curriculum and pedagogy change 44 Sheila Aikman, Elaine Unterhalter, and Chloe Challender Not a sufficient condition: the limited relevance of the gender MDG to women's progress 56 Robert Johnson Out of the margins: the MDGs through a CEDAW lens 67 Ceri Hayes Linking women's human rights and the MDGs: an agenda for 2005 from the UK Gender and Development Network 79 Cenevieve Renard Painter Critiquing the MDGs from a Caribbean perspective 94 Peggy Antrobus Resources 105 Compiled by Kanika Lang Publications 105 Websites 109 Electronic resources 110 Tools for advocacy 115 Organisations 115 Editorial Caroline Sweetman

n 2000, the leaders and heads of state of Gender issues and the 189 countries signed the Millennium MDGs IDeclaration, which set a series of targets for global action against poverty by 2015. This collection of articles focuses on the The Millennium Development Goals MDGs from a gender perspective. It (MDGs) are the result of this process. examines the strengths and weaknesses of Meeting the MDGs would not end economic this way of understanding and addressing poverty; but meeting them could make a poverty, and suggests ways of strengthening positive difference to millions of women, the approach by using key insights and men, and children. In the past decade, 59 approaches associated with the 30-year countries - predominantly in sub-Saharan struggle to establish and uphold the rights of Africa and the former Soviet Union - have women. In 2005, there could potentially be slid further down the poverty ladder, as they real changes for women living in poverty, contend with HIV/AIDS, conflict, and and their families. But if this is going to enormous foreign debts (UNDP 2004). happen, the women's movements in In 2005, existing coalitions of activist different parts of the world need to believe organisations and individuals will come that the MDGs are part of the solution, rather together in an unprecedented global than part of the problem. movement called the Global Call to Action Contributors to this collection come from Against Poverty, wearing a white band at both sides of this debate. However, key moments during the year to symbolise ultimately, they all urge gender and their demand for immediate action to end development workers and feminist activists poverty. One of the key moments is in to engage with efforts to attain the MDGs by September, when the UN Heads of 2015. Contributors here point to the hazards Government will review progress towards of restricting action to the current priorities the MDGs in New York. The outcome of that set out in the MDG framework, if women's meeting will be critical: at current rates of full human rights are to be served and progress, the MDGs are unlikely to be supported by the approach. The alternative attained by 2015. Only Goal 1, that of halving path suggested here is to analyse and address income poverty, has any chance of being met the shortcomings of the MDG framework, - but even this achievement is due to using insights and analytical tools familiar to progress in a mere handful of countries. feminist activists who have experienced the Table 1 sets out the Goals as they were amazing progress made in the 1990s to agreed. establish an international framework of laws, Editorial

Table 1: The Millennium Development Goals

Goal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Eradicate Achieve Promote Reduce Improve Combat Ensure Develop extreme universal gender child maternal HIV/AIDS, environ- a global poverty primary equality mortality health malaria, mental partnership and education and empower and other sustainability for hunger women diseases development

Key Halve the Ensure by Eliminate Reduce the Reduce by Halt and Halve by Develop a targets proportion 2015 that all gender mortality three- begin to 2015 the non-discrimi- of people children disparity in rate of quarters the reverse the proportion natory and living on complete a primary and children ratio of incidence of of people rules-based less than full course secondary under five by women HIV/AIDS without trading $1 a day of primary education by two-thirds dying in and other access to system, by 2015. schooling 2005, and in by 2015 childbirth major safe drinking provide more Halve the all levels of by 2015 diseases water and generous aid proportion education by 2015 basic and deal of people by 2015 sanitation compre- who suffer hensively from hunger with the debt by 2015 problem agreements, and pledges to uphold women's equality and the empowerment of women. full human rights. The fact that there is a goal on gender equality Step one - of analysing the MDG and the empowerment of women at all is seen framework as it currently stands - is already by some as a powerful symbol of the success well advanced. The first issue is the limited of the international feminist movement on 'fit' between the understandings of poverty international politics and development (for underpinning the MDGs, and the reality of example, Subrahmanian 2004). Second, they economic want linked to social and political argue that it is not true to say that the MDGs inequality, as experienced by women. At are informed by an understanding of poverty present, the MDG approach to poverty is as purely economic in nature, since the goals charged by feminists with failure to place so much stress on social goods such as understand and address the gender-specific education and health care. aspects of women's experience of poverty. Another strength of the MDGs is the Decades of research and activism focusing focus on maternal mortality. Ninety-nine per on the experience of women in poverty have demonstrated that this is as much about cent of all maternal deaths occur in the agency compromised by abuse, stress, developing world (Freedman 2003, 99). In fatigue, and voicelessness as it is about lack sub-Saharan Africa, the lifetime risk of a of resources. Solving material poverty is not woman dying from pregnancy-related possible for women who lack the power to causes is 1 in 16; maternal mortality is higher challenge the discriminatory policies of there than in any other region of the world social institutions, ranging from the family and reaches 1 in 12 in East and West Africa to the state. (Panos 2005). Lynn Freedman points out that the health-care systems in high-mortality Strengths countries are 'grossly deficient' (2003,100). Supporters of the MDGs argue, first, that one The MDGs also provide a common extremely important advance in the approach conceptual framework and language for the is that the issue of gender inequality is work of governments, UN agencies, addressed in Goal 3, aiming to attain gender international financial institutions, and development organisations from civil explains in her article, the UN Millennium society. Although the indicators and targets Summit occurred at the end of 25 years of are inadequate in capturing the full reality of international progress on women's rights, the experience of poverty for women, based on the documents that emerged from progress towards them can at least be UN conferences: notably the Beijing measured. The framework also potentially Platform for Action (1995) and the Cairo provides an opportunity to assess what is Programme of Action (the output of the UN preventing particular Goals from being International Conference on Population and attained. The high profile that the MDGs Development in 1994). At the time of the UN enjoy means that they provide an Millennium Summit, many feminist activists opportunity for civil society organisations to were fighting to defend the Beijing and Cairo hold donors and governments accountable documents from being damaged by right- for their failures to provide resources to wing opposition to the hard-won victories achieve them. on women's rights: in particular, to their reproductive and sexual rights. Weaknesses It was only when the MDGs were Nevertheless, the MDGs do undeniably fail announced at the UN that women's groups to address social and political margin- alisation where these are not linked to discovered that gender equality was economic want. Hence, they are not useful in relegated to one quite limited Goal, and that supporting women whose security and the issue of reproductive rights had vanished. human dignity are compromised in contexts The fact that these essential issues were left that are not needy in an economic sense. In out, and gender concerns have not been his article, presenting a case study of the included in other Goals, despite their key position of women in Belize, Robert Johnson relevance, reflects a tendency in international reminds us of the need for context-specific development circles to depoliticise gender analysis of the empowerment of women. issues. There is a widely noted tendency to Targets and indicators may indicate that adopt an integrationist approach to empowerment of women has occurred, yet 'mainstreaming' gender concerns, in which the real picture may be very different. they are added to a pre-existing analysis and Another warning that the MDGs are agenda (Jahan 1995). This failure to allow necessary but not sufficient to address gender issues to inform and shape the gender-equality concerns comes from Sheila analysis and agenda results in gender issues Aikman and Elaine Unterhalter. Their being collapsed 'within the wider category of discussion focuses on the gender issues in poverty' (Subrahmanian 2004,11), resulting education that remain after access to in 'a fairly depoliticised and needs-based education is achieved for girls. Access is the discourse [which] ... requirefs] focus on first part of a more complex web of gender women within poor households, rather than issues which affect the teaching and content gender disadvantage per se' (ibid.). of education, and are critical determinants of the worth of the education that girls receive. It is also a fact that the MDGs are silent on Improving on the MDGs violations of women's human rights, In development circles, it cannot be taken for including gender-based violence, and are granted that all agree on the rationale for silent on the need to uphold women's challenging gender inequality. Instead, it has reproductive and sexual rights. (The latter often needed to be argued carefully. In order are, obviously, not only important in their to convince policy-makers to take feminist own right, but critically important if Goal 6, goals seriously, a synergy must be demon- on HIV/AIDS, is to be met.) As Carol Barton strated between these and the 'official Editorial development priorities' (Kabeer 1999,435) of tool for lobbyists to employ in attacks on national economic development and economic-austerity policies. It is undeniable grassroots poverty alleviation. For example, that the rights-based language of the in her article, Peggy Antrobus points out the visionary Millennium Declaration was lost need to uphold women's sexual rights if Goal from the MDG framework; yet 6, on combating HIV/AIDS, is to be attained. implementing the MDGs would reflect a How can the MDGs be made as useful as commitment to the rights of citizens to possible to women? In their articles, Ceri demand basic public goods from the state. In Hayes and Genevieve Painter consider how this light, the MDG process and framework the MDG processes and outcome can be contain much that is useful for women. strengthened immensely by learning from women's activism, and in particular from the Gaining clarity on women's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms empowerment: what is it, and how is it of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) attained? (UN 1979) and the Beijing Platform for A key criticism of the MDGs from a gender perspective is that the view of the Action. If a rights-based approach is taken to empowerment of women that it includes is a the MDGs, they become a potentially useful limited one. Naila Kabeer suggests that 'the route to attaining the vision of gender vision and values of women's groups and equality and the empowerment of women organisations across the world have been that lay at the heart of the Beijing document. translated into a series of technical goals to In her article, Ceri Hayes cites some of the be largely implemented by the very actors advances that have been made at national and institutions that have blocked their and international levels to address the realisation in the past' (this issue). inadequacies of the MDG framework. She In recent years, the empowerment of cites the UN Millennium Project's Task Force women has become a phrase which means on Education and Gender Equality, which many things to many people. One critic of has recommended six improvements for microfinance interventions that promise Goal 3, including a guarantee of sexual and empowerment as their result has observed: reproductive health rights for girls and 'The attractiveness of the concept of women, and a guarantee of an end to empowerment lies mainly in the fact that it violence against women. Ceri Hayes also legitimises various policies and practices. outlines some of the practical ways in which Empowerment is economically, politically human rights principles, and the provisions and socially useful' (Lairap-Fonderson set out in CEDAW in particular, can be used 2002,184). to ensure that the MDGs are met in a way In her article, Naila Kabeer sets out a that respects and promotes gender equality feminist model of the empowerment of and women's human rights. women, which clearly demonstrates the Genevieve Painter's article, written on paralysing effect of economic want on behalf of the UK-based Gender and women's agency to challenge inequality. Development Network, also urges However, this is not to say that addressing development workers to give support in economic poverty will result in women 2005 to efforts on the part of the women's 'solving' the issue of structural inequality for movement to reform the MDGs by themselves. Resources needed to promote integrating perspectives, and methods of the empowerment of women as a sex include, implementation, suggested by the rights- but are not limited to, financial resources. based approach of the Beijing Platform for Money is described as 'frozen desire' Action and CEDAW. In her view, the MDG (Buchanan 1997, quoted in Oseen 1999,103), framework is, therefore, a potentially useful enabling women to enact their own decisions, free from interference by outside years, which have damaged individual actors. To an extent, even if wider society women, their families, and wider society. A dislikes the idea of independent women, similar view is expressed by Carol Barton, possessing enough money allows one to live who in her article suggests that the emphasis free from interference. Yet, obviously, money on the role of the state in the MDGs is alone does not make for empowerment. confined to ensuring that the state can pave Other resources needed include less tangible the way for international capital to operate goods. These include self-confidence and securely. Genevieve Painter argues in her pride in one's own worth, and knowledge article that the MDGs 'reflect problems in the and skills acquired through formal and dominant development approach. They seek informal means. Very importantly, resources to use women in their existing social roles to also include the time and freedom to form "deliver" other aims, and do not address the strong relationships with other women, need to eradicate gender inequality, resulting which can form a counterpart to the in lack of commitment to address key issues traditional power of the family and marriage for women, including gender-based in women's lives. Only through spending violence' (this issue). time together in reflection and discussion do This view of the MDGs is coloured by women come to a point where they choose to memories of the appalling social impact on advance their shared interests. Further, if women, men, and their families of the grassroots action is to shift up a gear to effect Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) of the structural change for women in society, 1980s and 1990s, which exploited women's women need to have the chance to participate labour to shore up the negative social impact in political life at higher levels of society also. of adjustment (Elson 1991). Memories of In relation to the MDG process, Kabeer these are still vivid, since, in many contexts, states that it is critical for women to feel a similar policies continue to run. Even sense of entitlement as citizens if the MDGs Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), are to deliver: 'It is only through the with their promise of participation of mobilisation of women, particularly poor women and people in poverty, have failed to women, who are primary stakeholders in all live up to the rhetoric with which they were of the MDGs, but particularly the MDG on introduced: women's participation has been women's empowerment, that policy makers very patchy, and gender concerns have can be held accountable to ensure that the tended to slip off the agenda (Whitehead and MDGs are followed through in the spirit of Lockwood 1999, Zuckerman 2002). the various international movements and meetings that gave rise to them' (this issue). However, Genevieve Painter takes a very different line, suggesting in her article that the MDGs are 'shaking the pillars of the The MDGs, the state, and growth-driven model of development' (this citizenship: a help or a issue). The focus in the MDGs on social services, including health and education, hindrance? suggests clearly that the MDGs provide a A number of articles in this issue consider potential tool with which to challenge the question of whether the intellectual austerity spending. vision informing the MDGs is in line with, or In her article, Arabella Fraser points out inherently opposed to, neo-liberal that international financing of aid, under development models. Goal 8 of the MDGs, is essential to attaining To support the first view, Peggy Goal 5, of improving maternal health. She Antrobus considers the MDGs as conforming argues: 'Finance is a necessary, but not to the development agendas of the past 20 sufficient, condition for change to the lives of Editorial millions of women who suffer as a result of The UK Gender and Development Network, pregnancy and childbirth - and it is sorely for example, will focus all its lobbying and lacking. This is no argument for technical advocacy work in 2005 on both the MDG and quick-fixes, however. International efforts to the Beijing+10 reviews. reduce maternal mortality must concentrate Finally, all can participate in the on improving health systems - a project that advocacy around the MDG Review. As entails rebuilding states to deliver services - noted earlier, the Global Call to Action but must also look to an advocacy grounded against Poverty is a worldwide alliance in women's rights, as articulated in the committed to ensuring that world leaders Beijing Platform for Action and the Cairo live up to their promises to support countries process' (this issue). worldwide to meet the MDGs (see www.whiteband.org). For readers in the UK, 'Make Poverty History' is the UK Conclusion: the way element of the global campaign, consisting of forward a unique alliance of charities, trade unions, This collection of articles aims not only to campaigning groups, faith communities, and provide readers with information on the high-profile individuals who are uniting debates on gender in relation to the MDGs, to tackle global poverty in 2005 but aims to inspire them to action. At the time (www. oxfam. org.uk/ what_you_can_do/ of going to press, the 49th session of the campaign / mdg / mph.htm). Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York is about to commence. As References Genevieve Painter discusses in her article, there will be a formal link between the review Beijing Platform for Action (1995) 'The United Nations Beijing Declaration and Platform for of the Beijing Platform for Action, which will Action', www.un.org/ take place at the CSW, and the review of the womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/ (last Millennium Declaration and the MDGs, checked 25 February 2005) which will take place in September 2005. Elson, D. (ed.) (1991) Male Bias in the Development There is a risk that fundamentalists may Process, Manchester: Manchester University challenge some of the hard-won rights of Press women at Beijing+10, in particular their Freedman, L. (2003) 'Strategic advocacy and sexual and reproductive rights, and women's maternal mortality: moving targets and the human rights activists are prepared to millennium development goals', Gender and defend these key areas of concern and to Development 11(1): 97-108 ensure that the outcome of the CSW is as Jahan, R. (1995) The Elusive Agenda: Mainstreaming Women in Development, London: Zed Books robust as possible. Advocacy by activists at Kabeer, N. (1999) 'Resources, agency, achievements: the CSW will directly affect the MDG reflections on the measurement of women's discussions and content. The outcome of the empowerment', Development and Change 30:435-64 CSW will be transmitted, via the Economic Lairap-Fonderson, J. (2002) 'The disciplinary power and Social Council of the General Assembly of micro credit: examples from Kenya and (ECOSOC), to the high-level General Cameroon', in J. Parpart, S. Rai, and K. Staudt Assembly meeting that will review the (eds.) Rethinking Empowerment: Gender and Millennium Declaration in September 2005. Development in a Global/Local World, New York: Routledge Both Ceri Hayes' and Genevieve Oseen, C. (1999) 'Women organizing for change: Painter's articles provide guidance and ideas transformational organizing as a strategy for on ways in which activists can work to feminist development', in Marilyn Porter and ensure that women's human rights Ellen Judd (eds.) Feminists Doing Development: A perspectives are addressed in the MDGs. Practical Critique, London: Zed Books Panos (2005) 'Safe Motherhood: A Human Rights Whitehead, A. and M. Lockwood (1999) 'Gender in Perspective', www.panos.org.uk/ the World Bank's Poverty Assessments: Six Case global/projectdetails.asp?ProjectID=1017&ID=l Studies from Sub-Saharan Africa', United 005 (last checked 22 February 2005) Nations Research Institute for Social Subrahmanian, R. (2004) 'Promoting gender Development (UNRISD) Discussion Paper No. equality', in Richard Black and Howard White 99, Geneva: UNRISD (eds.) Targeting Development: Critical Perspectives Zuckerman, E. (2002)' "Engendering" Poverty on the Millennium Development Goals, London: Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs): the issues Routledge and the challenges', Gender and Development UN (1979) 'Convention on the Elimination of All 10(3): 88-94 Forms of Discrimination Against Women', www.un.org / womenwatch / daw/cedaw/ (last checked 2 March 2005) UNDP (2004) Human Development Report, New York: UNDP Making the links: women's rights and empowerment are key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals1 Noeleen Heyzer

Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from fear of violence, oppression or injustice. Millennium Declaration (UN 2000a, 2)

he Millennium Declaration, adopted So, too, is the UN Convention on the by all UN Member States in 2000, Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Toutlines a vision of freedom from Against Women (CEDAW), an international want and freedom from fear. Together with women's bill of rights - now ratified by 179 the eight Millennium Development Goals countries - which obligates governments to (MDGs), which make that vision concrete, take actions to promote and protect the the Millennium Declaration commits states rights of women (UN 1979). It is crucially to 'promote gender equality and the important that the specific and detailed empowerment of women as effective ways commitments and obligations contained in to combat poverty, hunger, disease and to these documents are not lost as governments stimulate development that is truly and the international community begin to sustainable' (UN 2000a, 5). organise around goals and targets selected to The recognition that women's equality track progress on the MDGs. and rights are central to achieving The power of the MDGs lies in the economic and social priorities is important. unprecedented global consensus and But it is not by chance that this has come commitment that they represent. They about. It is the result of work by women's establish a common index of progress, and a human rights advocates over decades, common focus for global partnership for creating a groundswell of activism for development, which emphasise the needs gender equality at global, regional, and of poor people. The MDGs also provide an national levels. The commitments to opportunity to raise awareness about the women made in the UN World connections among the eight Goals and the Conferences of the past two decades - in rights and capacities of women. The year Beijing, Cairo, Vienna, and Copenhagen, as 2005, which will mark the ten-year review well as the Special Session on HIV/AIDS in of the Beijing Platform for Action and the New York in June 2001 - are fundamental five-year review of the Millennium to the vision embedded in the Millennium Declaration, will present an opportunity to Declaration and the MDGs. assess progress in implementing both the 10

Platform for Action and the MDGs, Millennium Declaration, and are entirely especially Goal 3. absent in the MDGs themselves. They point As governments and civil society come to the lack of a goal on reproductive rights, together to track progress towards achieving or a decent work standard for women or the MDGs, we have an opportunity to re- men, the absence of issues such as violence energise gender-equality initiatives, by against women, and the narrow targets and insisting on the central importance of Goal 3 indicators for the gender equality goal. and the Millennium Declaration itself. As a As a result, many women's advocates recent World Bank report notes: 'Because the have questioned the relevance of the MDGs MDGs are mutually reinforcing, progress to their work. Why should women's towards one goal affects progress towards organisations pay attention to the MDGs others. Success in many of the goals will when the need to tackle the roll-back in have positive impacts on gender equality, women's reproductive rights, the just as progress toward gender equality will persistence of violence against women, and help other goals' (World Bank Gender and the rise in militarisms, extremisms, poverty, Development Group 2003, 3). It is thus and inequality is so urgent? Especially absolutely essential to ensure that tracking when, at face value, the MDGs are progress towards all of the eight Goals relies operational and are devoid of any analysis of on sex-disaggregated data and gender- power relations. Nor do they take into sensitive indicators. Many agencies and account the inequities within the global advocates for gender equality are producing economic system that exacerbate existing reports that will contribute to under- inequalities. standing the gender dimensions of many of Several participants in the online the goals and targets. discussion observed that, in much of the Progress, however, will again depend on work on MDGs, the gender dimensions the energy and commitment of women. were often missing or treated as an How then, do women's equality advocates afterthought. As one said: 'We have been view the MDGs? In order to find out, the witness to serious exclusions of a gender United Nations Development Fund for perspective in MDG Task Forces, MDG Women (UNIFEM), in co-operation with the Reports and PRSPs [Poverty Reduction UN Interagency Network on Women and Strategy Papers]. This is just one symptom of Gender Equality, the OECD/DAC Network a larger epidemic, that puts gender and on Gender Equality, and the Multilateral human rights on a back burner.' Development Bank Working Group on This has begun to change over the last Gender, hosted a five-week online year, as gender advocates made themselves discussion on gender and the MDGs with heard in the Task Forces working on more than 400 women's equality advocates, strategies for achieving the Goals, and in the representing UN agencies, bilateral donors, statistical agencies working on better data multilateral development banks, and civil and indicators for monitoring progress. society organisations, as well as States are already under formal, legal independent scholars and activists. What obligations to realise gender equality, did this tell us? particularly those states that have ratified First, women's advocates are dismayed CEDAW. For every area covered by the that, despite their success in pushing for MDGs, there is direction on gender equality recognition of women's rights as human that exists in the core human rights treaties, rights by governments through UN and through the concluding observations conferences, many of these hard-won and recommendations of the treaty bodies victories are not reaffirmed in the and special rapporteurs this direction has in Making the links 11 many cases already been fine-tuned to the What will it take? circumstances of individual countries. And, while CEDAW is not fully reflected in the Making gender equality and women's formulation of the MDGs, the Millennium human rights central to the MDGs means Declaration itself reaffirms a global making connections between the MDGs and commitment to implement the Convention. global agreements such as CEDAW and Progress in implementing these those that emerged from Vienna, Beijing, agreements, however, has highlighted some and Cairo. This requires a commitment from of the obstacles to be overcome in achieving donors to finance women's empowerment. It Goal 3. The five-year review of progress in requires support for women's organising, to implementing the Beijing Platform, held in push for policies to ensure that rhetoric is June 2000, showed that the path had been translated into concrete actions. And finally, bumpy at best. As the Secretary-General's it requires recognition by the international report states: 'an improved understanding of development community that the motor of gender equality does not necessarily gender mainstreaming is commitment to automatically translate into gender equality women's rights and gender empowerment. in practice. Despite progress, the persistence For this reason, we must guard against of traditional and stereotypic gender roles, falling into a kind of technocratic approach to often reinforced by legal and /or gender mainstreaming that governments and institutional structures, impedes women's agencies can adopt, without actually talking to empowerment. Promotion of gender women - particularly women who are poor equality continues to be relegated to a lower and disadvantaged. We must guard against level of national priority' (UN 2000b, 10). The regarding gender equality and women's result of this is that resources are often in empowerment as a set of technical tools and short supply. concepts de-linked from practice, power, and politics. This is because, in the last analysis, all This uneven progress results from a of these are necessary to build the vital complex set of conditions that lie at the heart partnerships needed to fulfil our commitments of women's inequality. The structures that to the world's women. What women are telling perpetuate gender inequality and us is that they need to believe in the rhetoric. In discrimination pervade economic, social, the words of one participant in our study: political, cultural, legal, and civic 'Women, and the poor in general, have institutions, norms, and practices around the suffered too much from economic recycling world. The know-how and investments and broken promises. Women have reason to required to eliminate them are rarely be very skeptical about cooptation, and committed, especially in poor countries. The attempts to use them as an excuse to push an political will required to achieve gender agenda that is not theirs. We must make sure equality is variable, or altogether lacking. that agenda setting is not done without Although positive actions have been taken in concern for our voices and warnings.' almost every country, the Secretary- General's report concludes that 'more work The MDGs may represent another chance needs to be done, at every level, to create the - perhaps the only one - to heed these voices enabling environment envisioned in the and to link the goals and aspirations of Platform for Action, in which women's women to the priorities of governments and rights are recognized as an indispensable development specialists. Achieving the part of human rights and women as well as Goals demands that we find a way to men have the opportunity to realize their full mobilise the political will and the financial potential' (ibid. 10-11). resources to turn rhetoric into action.

Noeleen Heyzer is Executive Director of UNIFEM. 12

Note UN (2000a) 'United Nations Millennium Declaration', www.un.org/millennium/ 1 This article is taken from an address originally declaration/ares552e.pdf (last checked March given at the Workshop on Gender Equality and 2005) the Millennium Development Goals, World UN (2000b) 'Review and Appraisal of the Bank, Washington DC, on 19 November 2003. Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Since the article was written, many of the links Action: Report of the Secretary-General', that the author laid out have been codified in www.un.org/womenwatch / detail in a UNIFEM booklet (2004). daw/csw/ecn6-2000-pc2.pdf (last checked March 2005) References UNIFEM (2004) Pathway to Gender Equality: CEDAW, Beijing and the MDGs, UNIFEM UN (1979) 'Convention on the Elimination of All World Bank Gender and Development Group Forms of Discrimination Against Women', 1249 (2003) 'Gender Equality and the Millennium UNTS13, www.un.org/ Development Goals', womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ (last checked March http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGEND 2005) ER/ Publications / 20169280 / gendermdg.pdf (last checked March 2005) 13

Gender equality and women's empowerment: a critical analysis of the third Millennium Development Goal1 Naila Kabeer

This article discusses the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG), on gender equality and women's empowerment. It explores the concept of women's empowerment and highlights ways in which the indicators associated with this Goal - on education, employment, and political participation -can contribute to it.

ender equality and women's of these resources certainly has the potential empowerment is the third of eight to bring about positive changes in women's GMDGs. It is an intrinsic rather than lives, but, in each case, it is the social an instrumental goal, explicitly valued as an relationships that govern access to the end in itself rather than as an instrument for resource in question that will determine the achieving other goals. Important as extent to which this potential is realised. education is, the translation of this goal into Thus, in each case, there is both positive and the target of eliminating gender disparities negative evidence about the impact of at all levels of education within a given time women's access to these resources on their period is disappointingly narrow. However, lives. There are lessons to be learned from the indicators to monitor progress in both. The article also considers some of the achieving the goal are somewhat more wide- other 'resources' that have been overlooked ranging: by the MDGs, but could be considered equally important for the goal in question. • closing the gender gap in education at all levels; Conceptualising • increasing women's share of wage empowerment: agency, employment in the non-agricultural sector; resources, and achievement First, however, it is important to clarify what • and increasing the proportion of seats is implied by 'empowerment' in this article. held by women in national parliaments. One way of thinking about power is in terms In this article, I interpret this as meaning that of the ability to make choices. To be each of the three 'resources' implied by these disempowered means to be denied choice, indicators - education, employment, and while empowerment refers to the processes political participation - is considered by which those who have been denied the essential to the achievement of gender ability to make choices acquire such an equality and women's empowerment. Each ability. In other words, empowerment entails 14

change. People who exercise a great deal of The concept of empowerment can be choice in their lives may be very powerful, explored through three closely interrelated but they are not empowered, in the sense in dimensions: agency, resources, and which I use the term, because they were achievements. Agency represents the never disempowered in the first place. processes by which choices are made and put However, for there to be a real choice, into effect. It is hence central to the concept of certain conditions must be fulfilled: empowerment. Resources are the medium through which agency is exercised; and • There must be alternatives - the ability to achievements refer to the outcomes of agency. have chosen differently. Poverty and disempowerment generally go hand in Below, each of these dimensions is considered hand, because an inability to meet one's in turn, as is their interrelationship in the basic needs - and the resulting depend- context of empowerment. ence on powerful others to do so - rules Agency out the capacity for meaningful choice. Agency has both positive and negative This absence of choice is likely to affect connotations: women and men differently, because gender-related inequalities often • Its positive sense - the 'power to' - refers intensify the effects of poverty. to people's ability to make and act on their own life choices, even in the face of • Alternatives must not only exist, they others' opposition. must also be seen to exist. Power relations are most effective when they are not • Its negative sense - the 'power over' - perceived as such. Gender often operates refers to the capacity of some actors to through the unquestioned acceptance of override the agency of others through, power. Thus women who, for example, for example, the exercise of authority or internalise their lesser claim on the use of violence and other forms of household resources, or accept violence coercion. at the hands of their husbands, do so However, as noted earlier, power also because to behave otherwise is operates in the absence of explicit forms of considered outside the realm of agency. Institutional bias can constrain possibility. These forms of behaviour people's ability to make strategic life choices. could be said to reflect 'choice', but are Cultural or ideological norms may deny really based on the denial of choice. either that inequalities of power exist or that Not all choices are equally relevant to the such inequalities are unjust. Subordinate definition of power. Some have greater groups are likely to accept, and even collude significance than others in terms of their with, their lot in society, if challenging this consequences for people's lives. Strategic life either does not appear possible or carries choices include where to live, whether and heavy personal and social costs. whom to marry, whether to have children, Agency in relation to empowerment, how many children to have, who has therefore, implies not only actively custody over children, freedom of exercising choice, but also doing this in ways movement and association, and so on. These that challenge power relations. Because of help to frame other choices that may be the significance of beliefs and values in important for the quality of one's day-to-day legitimating inequality, a process of life, but do not constitute its defining empowerment often begins from within. It parameters. Finally, the capacity to exercise encompasses not only 'decision making' and strategic choices should not violate this other forms of observable action but also the capacity on the part of others. meaning, motivation, and purpose that Gender equality and women's empowerment 15 individuals bring to their actions; that is, women's sense of independence, rather than their sense of agency. Empowerment is simply meeting survival needs. rooted in how people see themselves - their sense of self-worth. This in turn is critically The interrelationship between agency, bound up with how they are seen by those resources, and achievements around them and by their society. There is a distinction, therefore, between 'passive' forms of agency (action taken when Resources there is little choice), and 'active' agency Resources are the medium through which (purposeful behaviour). There is also a agency is exercised. They are distributed further important distinction between through the various institutions and greater 'effectiveness' of agency, and agency relationships in a society. In institutions, that is 'transformative'. The former relates to certain actors have a privileged position over women's greater efficiency in carrying out others concerning how rules, norms, and their given roles and responsibilities, the conventions are interpreted, as well as how latter to their ability to act on the restrictive they are put into effect. Heads of households, aspects of these roles and responsibilities in chiefs of tribes, directors of firms, managers order to challenge them. For example, in of organisations, and elites within a India, the reduction of overall child community all have decision-making mortality has been associated with rising authority in particular institutions by virtue female literacy. This can be interpreted as the of their position. The way in which resources product of 'effective' agency on the part of are distributed thus depends on the ability to women in their role as mothers. However, define priorities and enforce claims. Equally the reduction of gender disparities in under- importantly, it defines the terms on which five mortality rates has transformative resources are made available. If a woman's implications, because it shows a form of agency that is acting against the grain of primary form of access to resources is as a patriarchal values, which define daughters dependent member of the family, her as having less worth than sons. capacity to make strategic choices is likely to be limited. The focus in this article is on transformative forms of agency on the part Achievements of women and on those achievements that Resources and agency make up people's suggest a greater ability on the part of poor capabilities: that is, their potential for living women to question, analyse, and act on the the lives they want. The term 'achievements' structures of patriarchal constraint in their refers to the extent to which this potential is lives. The three dimensions that make up the realised or fails to be realised; that is, to the concept of empowerment can be seen as outcomes of people's efforts. In relation to representing the pathways through which empowerment, achievements have been these processes of empowerment can occur. considered in terms of both the agency Changes in any one dimension can lead exercised and its consequences. For to changes in others. For instance, example, taking up waged work would be 'achievements' in one sphere of life can form regarded by the MDGs as evidence of the basis on which women seek improve- progress in women's empowerment. ments in other spheres in the future. Policy However, it would be far more likely to changes that provide women with access to constitute such evidence if work was taken new 'resources' may be the result of their up in response to a new opportunity or in collective action to achieve this change. Such search of greater self-reliance, rather than as changes may occur over the life course of an a 'distress sale' of labour. It is also far more individual or group or across generations, as likely to be empowering if it contributes to mothers seek to give their daughters the 16

chances that they themselves never had. The immunised; educated women were more reverse is also true. Inequalities in one likely than uneducated ones to know about sphere are likely to get reproduced in other family planning; but only secondary- spheres of society if they go unchallenged. schooled women revealed an in-depth Today's inequalities are translated into the understanding about disease and prevention. inequalities of tomorrow as daughters Education increases the likelihood that inherit the same discriminatory structures women will look after their own well-being that oppressed their mothers. along with that of their family. A study in We are, therefore, interested in rural Zimbabwe found that among the transformative forms of agency that do not factors that increased the likelihood of simply address immediate inequalities but women accessing contraception and are used to initiate longer-term processes of antenatal care - both of which improve change in the structures of patriarchy. While maternal survival and well-being - were changes in the consciousness and agency of education and paid work (Becker). In rural individual women are an important starting Nigeria, 96 per cent of women with point for such processes, it will do little on its secondary and higher education, 53 per cent own to undermine the systemic of those with primary education, and 47 per reproduction of inequality. Institutional cent of those with little or no education had transformation requires movement along a sought post-natal care. number of fronts: from individual to There are also other effects associated collective agency, from private negotiations with education that suggest a change in to public action, and from the informal power relationships within and outside the sphere to the formal arenas of struggle household. In rural Bangladesh, educated where power is legitimately exercised. The women in rural areas participate in a wider question then is what the three resources range of decisions than uneducated ones. identified by MDG 3 contribute to these Whereas the latter participated in an average movements. of 1.1 decisions, the number increased to 1.6, 2.0, and 2.3 among women with primary, Access to education middle, and secondary education respectively. A study from Tamil Nadu The positive effects of education found that better-educated women scored There is considerable evidence for the claim higher than less educated women on a that access to education can bring about composite index measuring their access to, changes in cognitive ability, which is essential and control over, resources, as well as their to women's capacity to question, to reflect on, role in economic decision-making. and to act on the conditions of their lives and Educated women also appear less likely to gain access to knowledge, information, and to suffer from domestic violence. A study by new ideas that will help them to do so (see Sen in West Bengal noted that educated review in Jejeebhoy 1995). This is evident in women were better able to deal with violent everyday instances. In Kenya, it was found husbands: 'access to secondary stages of that women with at least four years of education may have an important schooling were able to correctly understand contributory role in enhancing women's instructions for administering oral capacity to exercise control in their lives ... rehydration salts; but only those with at least through a combination of literacy and secondary education were able to explain the numeracy skills, and enhanced self-esteem' environmental causes of diarrhoea. In (Sen 1999, 12). Similar findings were Nigeria, less educated women were as likely recorded in rural Bangladesh (Schuler et al. as educated ones to have their children 1996). Gender equality and women's empoiverment 17

Education appears to increase women's resourced, schools, but, even within the same capacity to deal with the outside world, school, different groups of children are including government officials and service treated differently. Dalit children are providers of various kinds. In rural Nigeria, sometimes made to sit separately from others, uneducated women preferred not to deliver are verbally abused, are used for running in hospitals because of the treatment they menial errands, and are physically punished received at the hands of nurses, a treatment more often than higher-caste children. There not meted out to the more educated and self- is also evidence of widespread gender bias, confident women who were surveyed (cited with teachers showing more attention to boys in Jejeebhoy 1995). Finally, the exposure to and having a lower opinion of girls' abilities. new ideas can translate into direct collective The absence, or minority presence, of female challenges to male prerogatives. The widely teachers is a problem in many areas. documented anti-liquor movement Reinforcing the male dominance of public mounted by members of Mahila Samakhya, services, it can act as a barrier to girls' access to a literacy programme for women in India, and completion of schooling. was sparked off by images of collective Teachers in Africa also have different action against alcoholism in their literacy primer (Niranjana 2002). attitudes towards male and female students, on the basis that boys need careers and girls need husbands. They tend to be dismissive Limits to education as a route to and discouraging towards girls and to give empowerment more classroom time to boys, who are However, there are also studies that suggest that the changes associated with education usually more demanding. Even when girls are likely to be conditioned by the context in are encouraged to pursue a career, they are which it is provided and the social expected to opt for the 'caring' professions, relationships that it embodies and promotes. in other words teaching and nursing. The In societies that are characterised by extreme 'hidden curriculum' of school practice forms of gender inequality, not only is reinforces messages about girls' inferior women's access to education curtailed by status on a daily basis and provides them various restrictions on their mobility and with a negative learning experience, thus their limited role in the wider economy, but creating a culture of low self-esteem and low its effects may also be more limited. Where aspirations. women's role in society is defined purely in The less hidden content of the reproductive terms, education is seen in educational curriculum also mirrors and terms of equipping girls to be better wives legitimates wider social inequalities, and mothers, or increasing their chances of denigrating physical labour (largely the getting a suitable husband. These are preserve of poor people) and domestic legitimate aspirations, given the realities of activities (largely the preserve of women). the society. However, they do little to equip Gender stereotyping in the curriculum girls and women to question the world portrays girls as passive, modest, and shy, around them, and the subordinate status while boys are seen as assertive, brave, and assigned to them. ambitious. This reinforces traditional gender A second set of qualifications concerns the roles in society, and acts to limit the kinds of relationships embodied in the delivery of futures that girls are able to imagine for education. Social inequalities are often themselves. The design of educational reproduced through interactions within the curricula has not yet taken account of the fact school system. In India, for example, not only that many more women are entering the do the children of poor and scheduled-caste labour market around the world, making households attend different, and differently critical contributions to household income 18

and frequently heading their own initiate or expand women's own income- households. Policy makers often continue to generating activities, despite the fact that see the benefits of educating girls and these continued to be largely home-based women in terms of improving family health (Hashemi et al. 1996; Schuler et al. 1996). A and welfare, rather than preparing women recent survey of the impact of various for a more equal place in the economy and in microfinance organisations (MFOs) in India society. Women's lack of skills partly and Bangladesh noted that longer-term explains why they continue to be confined to membership of such groups also led to the poorer paid and more casualised forms various categories of wider impact, including of paid work. higher levels of political participation, These limitations to education as a route improved access to government to empowerment do not negate the earlier programmes, and practical skills, as well as positive findings, but they suggest the need knowledge of the wider society, self- for caution in assuming that the effects of confidence in dealing with public officials, education can be taken for granted or that and the likelihood of participating in protests they will be uniform across all contexts. They and campaigns (Kabeer, forthcoming). point to the various aspects of educational However, the study notes that these impacts provision that militate against not only its depend not only on the provision of financial empowerment potential but even its ability services of various kinds, but also on the to attract and retain girls in school, kinds of group that MFOs promote. particularly those from poor backgrounds. Positive implications of wage labour in agriculture Access to paid work However, the most striking feature of recent There is also a solid body of evidence to decades has been the large-scale entry of show that access to paid work can increase women into the labour market across the women's agency in strategic ways. world: the 'feminisation' of the labour force. The rise of non-traditional agricultural Positive implications of self-employment export (NTAE) production in a number of Even paid work carried out in the home has African and Latin American countries has the potential to shift the balance of power led to a rise in wage employment for women within the family. A detailed study of women in medium- and large-scale production engaged in industrial homework in Mexico units. Studies suggest that this income has City noted that in households where brought about a number of economic women's economic contribution was critical improvements for women themselves and to household survival, women had been able for their families, and show that they to negotiate a greater degree of respect exercise a considerable say in how their (Benen'a and Roldan 1987). Studies of the money is spent (see, for instance, the review impact of microcredit in societies where in Dolan and Sorby 2003). A study in women have traditionally been excluded Ecuador found that more than 80 per cent of from the cash economy have found that women in the flower industry managed their women's access to credit led to a number of own wages. Among female employees in the positive changes in women's own Kenyan vegetable industry, single women perceptions of themselves, and their role in managed and controlled their own wages, household decision making (Kabeer 2001; while married women usually managed Kabeer forthcoming). It also led to a long- their incomes jointly with husbands. term reduction in domestic violence, as well There is also significant evidence from as an increase in women's assets. Such effects the vegetable industries of Guatemala and were stronger when these loans were used to the Dominican Republic, and the flower Gender equality and women's empowerment 19 industry of Mexico, that women's Bangladesh, women in Turkey had participation in wage employment has led to previously been permitted to work outside greater independence in household decision the home only if it was necessary for family making. In some cases, as among women survival. In a study of the clothing industry, working in the fresh vegetable industry in however, many of those interviewed no the Dominican Republic, it has allowed them longer saw their work as subordinate to their to escape abusive marriages. Women familial roles, to be abandoned when they working in the flower industry in Colombia got married or had children. Rather, they reported widening their social networks in saw it as a more permanent way of life. The ways that would otherwise have proved overwhelming majority had made their own difficult in rural areas. Workers in the fresh decision to enter factory work, giving as vegetable industry in Kenya not only their reasons their desire to make use of their reported greater economic independence, skills and to be outside the home. Forty per but also new opportunities for meeting with cent of the workers, who were mainly young women from other parts of the country. single women, indicated their preference to work a considerable distance from home in Positive implications of non-agricultural order to escape the control exercised by their wage labour family and neighbours. They wanted to Evidence of changes in women's life chances work somewhere where they could move as a result of entry into waged work appears about freely during their lunch breaks and to be more marked when it occurs in the non- take the opportunity to meet their friends, agricultural sector (see the review of including boyfriends. literature in Kabeer, forthcoming). This is partly because such employment is A study of women workers in export generally associated with migration by manufacturing jobs in the Philippines found women out of rural areas and away from the that most of them earned at least as much as - patriarchal controls of kinship and and many earned more than - the legal community. In a country where women had minimum wage, and they also enjoyed more previously been denied public forms of benefits than in alternative forms of employment, women workers in the export employment. They had the opportunity to garment industry in Bangladesh expressed delay marriage and childbirth, and the scope their satisfaction at having a 'proper' job and for personal independence and self- regular wages, compared with the casual, determination that comes with relatively high poorly paid forms of employment that had wages and relatively stable employment previously been their only options. Many (compared with work in the informal had used their new-found earning power to economy). While factory employment may renegotiate their relations within marriage, not provide much satisfaction in itself, it was others to leave abusive marriages. Women suggested that it could gradually lead to who had previously not been able to help out positive changes in women's personal and their ageing parents once they got married household circumstances. now insisted on their right to do so. Yet In China, young, single women migrate others used their earnings to postpone early from the countryside to live and work in the marriage and to challenge the practice of export-processing zones in the south. Such dowry. In addition, they valued the new jobs are fiercely competed for in the country- social networks that they were able to build side, because they are more remunerative with their co-workers, and the greater sense than agricultural work. Moreover, many of independence they now enjoyed. women previously worked on family farms Similarly positive evaluations are where they never received an independent reported in a number of other studies. As in wage. Young women wanted to earn money, 20

not only to help their families but also to buy Honduras, for example, were more likely to things for themselves without having to report a health problem in the previous account to someone for whatever they spent. month than those who had been working Others used their earnings to meet the elsewhere, and they had less leisure. Studies demand for repayment of bride price or from Vietnam and Bangladesh both found child support by husbands whom they long hours of work in the same position to be wished to divorce. the major source of complaint among In Honduras, women working in women workers in the export sector, maquiladoras (assembling manufactured together with various ailments associated goods for export) earned higher wages than with this. workers elsewhere, and they reported Moreover, not all studies report positive improvements in household relationships findings concerning women's capacity to and help in domestic work from male have greater control over their lives. Many members. They were more likely to have women who leave rural areas to take up jobs voted in elections and more likely to feel that in towns, in order to make new friends and they carried some weight with the build a life for themselves, do not have time government. These trends became stronger to take up such opportunities. The division over time. This may explain why, while most of labour in domestic chores and child care is workers wanted to see improvements, rarely renegotiated between the sexes. especially in their wages, 96 per cent Despite their increased labour input into reported that they were very (49 per cent) or paid work, women (particularly married somewhat (47 per cent) satisfied with their women) either continue to bear the main jobs. Similarly, married women workers in burden of domestic work, or share it with export-oriented manufacturing factories in a other female members of the household - number of Caribbean countries reported often their daughters. By and large, gender improvements in household relations as a inequalities in work burdens appear to be result of their greater economic intensified. Despite the collective nature of contributions, with greater sharing of their work, women workers in these sectors decision making with male partners. are either forbidden to unionise or find it difficult to do so. The limits to empowerment through paid work Moreover, despite the visibility of On the other hand, most of these studies also export-oriented waged employment in highlight the exploitative conditions of work agriculture and industry, the vast majority of in which women are generally found. The women in low-income countries continue to greatest attention has been paid to women work in the informal economy in various who work in the agro and manufacturing forms of economic activities that may or may industries, which seek to compete not be affected by global markets, but are internationally through the promotion of characterised by far worse conditions. flexible labour practices. Export-oriented Within this informal economy, poorer manufacturing is associated with extremely women are concentrated in the most long hours of work during busy seasons, casualised forms of waged labour, and low- often combined with lay-offs in the slack value own-account enterprises. It is difficult season, and poor conditions. In China, most to see how earnings generated by sex work, women from the localities in which these domestic service, or daily labour on industries are based shunned such work if construction sites - which is where the they could find employment with higher poorest women are likely to be found - will status or that was less tedious. There are also do much to improve women's subordinate health hazards. Maquila workers in status at home or at work. Gender equality and women's empowerment 21 Political representation selection; and identify relevant policy concerns. Most important is the political The last of the indicators for monitoring culture in which parties operate and the progress on gender equality and women's extent to which it is conducive to the empowerment relates to the number of seats promotion of women's involvement in held by women in national parliaments. It politics: the strength or weakness of moves the focus of empowerment into the patriarchal ideology, the existence of arena of politics, and the struggle for pluralist forms of organisation, the degree of participation and representation in decision- religious opposition to gender reforms. making structures. Electoral systems are also important. The Positive effects of national ones more likely to bring women into representation political office are those where more than one As half of the population, women are clearly person can represent a constituency; those entitled to at least half the seats in that have multiple parties competing for parliament. Such an achievement could, votes; and those that practise proportional with certain qualifications, represent the representation (PR) in party lists. most ambitious of the three forms of change Those less likely to do so are majoritarian singled out to measure progress on women's systems which create the incentive to field a empowerment and could have the greatest single candidate per constituency and appeal potential for transformation. Furthermore, to the majority, rather than accommodating again with certain qualifications, it could diversity. A review of 53 legislatures in 1999 potentially address many of the constraints found that national assemblies in PR systems that limit the life chances of poor women. had nearly 24 per cent of women, compared However, because these qualifications with 11 per cent in majoritarian systems. In relate to the same constraints that have almost every case where women exceed 15 prevented women from all social classes and per cent of elected representative bodies, this groups from having a 'strategic presence' in has been the result of special measures that national parliaments, it is also the form of accord positive advantage to female social change least likely to be achieved in candidates: Mozambique has 30 per cent the near future. A review of the relevant female parliamentarians, while South Africa statistics suggests that, regardless of political has 29 per cent. Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, systems, the proportion of women in India, Tanzania, and Uganda all have national parliaments around the world is reserved seats for women in national or local extremely low, averaging 13.8 per cent in government. 2000 (Goetz 2003). This is an extraordinary The way that quotas are applied makes a under-representation of women in the difference to whether the presence of women highest structures of governance in their is 'token' or a legitimate form of countries. Various forms of bias in the representation. Where, as in Bangladesh, institutions of civil society and the political women's seats were filled by the party in sphere - more so than conscious power, they simply became an additional vote discrimination - operate to exclude women, bank for the ruling regime. In South Africa, on including women from privileged elites. the other hand, there have been attempts by The structure of the political sphere the women's movement to encourage makes a difference to how many women are members from within their ranks to enter fielded as candidates and how many win. politics. A woman MP there was active in This includes the extent to which political initiating the process of examining national parties have taken institutional root in budgets from a gender perspective; and the society; have clear rules about candidate Women's Budget Initiative, established in 22

1995, brought together parliamentarians and that many of the elected women were NGOs to scrutinise the allocation of public gaining self-confidence. They questioned the resources (Budlender, Hicks, and Vetten priorities of panchayat (local government) 2002). development programmes, emphasised At the same time, it should be noted that, issues affecting women such as fuel and at present, the women who enter national water, and had begun to build broad parliaments are not generally drawn from alliances among themselves. One study the ranks of poor people, nor is there any showed that women representatives were guarantee that they will be more responsive likely to allocate resources differently from to the needs and priorities of poor women men, suggesting that their presence allowed than many men in parliament. a different set of priorities to be expressed. Positive effects of local government There is some debate about whether greater Building citizenship from participation and influence in local the grassroots government structures are more relevant goals for poor women than increasing It is clear that each of the resources in women's seats in national parliaments. The question had the potential to bring about the former, after all, make the decisions that kinds of change that could lead to most directly affect the lives of poor people. renegotiations of the boundaries between In recognition of this, a number of states in public and private life, to collective forms of India, where there is now 33 per cent struggle, and to women's greater represent- reservation of seats for women in local ation in the structures of decision making. government, have added further induce- Together, they could also provide the basis ments to local communities to encourage on which women could organise to address women's participation. Madhya Pradesh the other aspects of the patriarchal structures and Kerala, for example, require that one- on which the MDGs are silent: reproductive third of participants in the regular open rights, violence against women, unjust laws, village meetings are female before there is and so on. However, it is also clear that there considered to be a quorum. Kerala also are likely to be powerful forces, some within allocates 10 per cent of development funds the policy domain itself, that will militate received by local councils from the state to be against this happening. It is only through the used for 'women's development' and to be mobilisation of women, particularly poor managed by representatives of female women, who are primary stakeholders in all groups of the village assembly. of the MDGs, but particularly the MDG on Clearly, all these measures, including the women's empowerment, that policy makers reservation policy itself, are open to abuse. can be held accountable to ensure that the There has been much discussion in India MDGs are followed through in the spirit of about the possibility that women are merely the international movements and meetings proxies for husbands or powerful men that gave rise to them. Yet it is precisely this within their family or caste. Objections are that is missing from the letter and spirit of the raised on the grounds that only supporters MDGs. The vision and values of women's of parties in power attend village meetings; groups and organisations across the world or that women are being harassed to spend have been translated into a series of technical funds in ways that do not benefit poorer goals, to be implemented mainly by the very women. While these are valid concerns, they actors and institutions that have blocked may also alter over time, as women become their realisation in the past. more experienced in the political arena. If the vision and values that gave rise to Studies from India, for example, showed the demand for gender equality and Gender equality arid women's empowerment 23 women's empowerment in the first place are Conclusion to be restored to MDG 3, then those with most at stake in its implementation in Gender relations, like all social relations, are multi-stranded: they embody ideas, values, accordance with this spirit must be in a and identities; they allocate labour between position to participate in the processes by different tasks, activities, and domains; they which it is translated into objectives, determine the distribution of resources; and activities, and outcomes. This is most likely they assign authority, agency, and decision- to happen if the women in question, together making power. This means that gender with their allies in government and civil inequalities are multi-dimensional and society, are mobilised to participate in these cannot be reduced to some single and processes. Sometimes such mobilisations universally agreed set of priorities. Any have begun to occur because of the nature of attempt to do so will run the danger of being certain activities. We have noted the way in either too narrow (as the MDGs have been which microfinance can provide the basis for accused of being) or a wish list that is too building women's capacity for collective long and complex to act on. However, action. We have also noted how such action gender relationships are not internally can spill over into the political sphere, not cohesive. They contain contradictions and simply in the form of voting, but also in imbalances, particularly when there have interactions with locally represented been changes in the wider socio-economic environment. Consequently, a shift in one officials and participation in protests. We are aspect of social relations can initiate a series also seeing evidence of greater willingness of changes in other aspects, with on the part of women workers to challenge unpredictable consequences. To that extent, their employers and the state through it could be argued that each of the three organisations such as SEWA (Self-Employed indicators embodied in MDG 3 has the Women's Association) and Mahila potential to make a difference. Each can Samakhya in India, and Kormojibi Nari and bring about immediate changes with longer- Nijera Kori in Bangladesh. We have seen the term consequences. Indeed, the same could innovation of Women's Budget Initiatives in be said of any set of policies that seeks to a number of countries, not simply as a improve women's access to resources. Some technical exercise but as a way of learning may be more strategic than others, but all more about how governance structures have transformatory potential as long as the function and how resources are raised and change in question is a genuine expansion of allocated. It is through the mobilisation of women's choices, rather than a token gesture women as women but also as workers, of paternalist benevolence. mothers, and citizens that the international However, this article has also argued that community can ensure that the MDGs speak unless provision is made to ensure that to the needs and interests of half of the policy changes are implemented in ways world's population. Building this collective that allow women themselves to participate, capacity of women in all spheres of life to to monitor, and to hold policy makers, participate and to hold authorities corporations, and other relevant actors accountable is thus the only basis on which accountable for their actions, this potential is the world's policy makers can keep the unlikely to be realised. Women's access to promises that they have made on the issue of education may improve their chances of a gender equality. good marriage or their capacity to sign their names on a document, but unless it also provides them with the analytical capacity and courage to question unjust practices, its 24

potential for change will be limited. Africa: expanding into diverse initiatives' in Women's access to paid work may give them Gender Budgets Make More Cents, London: a greater sense of self-reliance and greater Commonwealth Secretariat purchasing power, but if it is undertaken in Dolan, C.S. and K. Sorby (2003) Gender and conditions that erode their health and exploit Employment in High Value Agriculture Industries, their labour, its costs may outweigh its Agriculture and Rural Development Working Paper series, no. 7, Washington DC: World Bank benefits. Women's presence in the Goetz, A.-M. (2003) 'Women's political effectiveness governance structures of society clearly - a conceptual framework', in A.-M. Goetz and carries the potential to change unjust S. Hassim (eds.) Wo Shortcuts to Power: African practices, but if the women in question are Women in Politics and Policy Making, London: Zed drawn from a narrow elite, if they have been Books invited rather than elected, and if they have Hashemi, S.M., S.R. Schuler, and A.P. Riley (1996) no grassroots constituency to represent and 'Rural credit programs and women's answer to, their presence will be only a token empowerment in Bangladesh', World one. Development 24(4): 635-53 The question, therefore, is to what extent Jejeebhoy, S. (1995) Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour: Experience from the international community is prepared to Developing Countries, Oxford: Clarendon Press provide support to women at the grassroots Kabeer, N. (1999) 'Resources, agency, achievements: - support which will ensure that they have reflections on the measurement of women's the collective capabilities necessary to play empowerment', Development and Change 30(3): this role. 435-64 Kabeer, N. (2001) 'Conflicts over credit: re- Naila Kabeer is Professorial Fellow at the evaluating the empowerment potential of loans Institute of Development Studies, University of to women in rural Bangladesh', World Sussex. She can be contacted at Development 29(1): 63-84 [email protected] Kabeer, N. (forthcoming) 'From social exclusion to citizenship: wider social impacts of microfinance', in J. Copestake, M. Greeley, N. Note Kabeer, S. Johnson, and A. Simanowitz (eds.) Money With A Mission. Microfinance and Poverty 1 This article is an edited version of a chapter in Reduction, Rugby: ITDG Publications Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Niranjana, S. (2002) 'Exploring gender inflections Millennium Development Coals: A Handbook for within Panchayat Raj institutions. Women's Policy-makers and Other Stakeholders, by Naila politicisation in Andhra Pradesh' in K. Kapadia Kabeer, published by the Commonwealth (ed.) The Violence of Development. The Politics of Secretariat, London, in 2003. Identity, Gender and Social Inequalities in India, New Delhi: Kali for Women References Schuler, S.R., S.M. Hashemi, A.P. Riley, and A. Akhter (1996) 'Credit programs, patriarchy and Becker, S. (1997) 'Incorporating Women's men's violence against women in rural Empowerment in Studies of Reproductive Bangladesh', Social Science and Medicine 43(12): Health: An Example from Zimbabwe', paper 1729-42 presented at seminar on Female Empowerment Sen P. (1999) 'Enhancing women's choices in and Demographic Processes, University of Lund responding to domestic violence in Calcutta: a Benen'a, L. and M. Rold^n (1987) The Crossroads of comparison of employment and education', The Class and Gender: Industrial Homework European journal of Development Research 11(2) Subcontracting, and Household Dynamics in Mexico City, Chicago: University of Chicago Press Budlender, D., J. Hicks, and L. Vetten (2002) 'South 25

Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? Carol Barton

This article explores different responses of women's rights activists and organisations, in various regions of the world, to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) agenda and processes. It gives a brief overview of the current state of play regarding the engagement of women's movements with the MDGs. It then focuses on campaigning and advocacy, and the activism of grassroots movements; women's critiques of the MDGs; and the different ways in which women are choosing to engage with the MDGs, to advance their own agenda.

omen's organisations1 have had an poverty, particularly for women, and ambivalent relationship with the obscured the human rights framework WMDGs since their inception. When present in the Millennium Declaration. As leaders gathered at the UN Millennium a result, many women's groups chose to Summit in 2000 and agreed on the Millennium stay on the sidelines. Declaration, many women's organisations Over the past two years, however, there were engaged in a pitched battle to defend the have been intense debates among women's Cairo Programme of Action (the output of the groups at the local, regional, and global UN International Conference on Population levels regarding whether to engage, or how and Development) and the Beijing Platform to engage, with the MDGs. This reflects a for Action (the output of the UN Fourth World larger assessment of an intense decade of Conference on Women) from right-wing women's organising within the UN arena; assaults, which took place at the five-year the growing strength of the World Trade reviews of the accords in the same year. Few Organisation (WTO), the International women's rights activists were focused on the Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank Millennium Summit. in influencing domestic economic and social When the MDGs emerged from the UN policy; the fundamentalist backlash against Secretariat, women's groups were women's rights; and the relative weakness of dismayed that gender equality as an issue women's movements worldwide. in its own right was relegated to one quite In addition to these concerns, women are limited Goal, and that the issue of debating who sets the agenda of reproductive rights was not explicit among international development and what the Goals. Much more, the Goals appeared implications the answer to this question has to assume a continuation of the for advancing their goals, not only of gender Washington Consensus2 on macro- equality and women's human rights, but of a economic policy, which has increased just, peaceful and sustainable future for all. 26 Women's movements at a As women's organisations gained skills crossroads in influencing international policy-making and in mobilising for national accountability In 2005, women's organisations around the to commitments, the world was changing world celebrate a 30-year history of making around them. The DAWN network (Develop- their voices and demands heard in the UN ment Alternatives with Women for a New arena. Since the First World Conference on Era - a 25-year-old Southern-based global Women, in Mexico City in 1975, women have feminist network) notes that women's global used the UN framework to push forward strategies in the 1990s involved seeking global affirmations of basic rights for global 'social contracts' through the UN, women. Nationally, women have then used which could set international standards to be these commitments to pressure their govern- used as tools to put pressure on recalcitrant ments for action. In the decade of the 1990s nation states in relation to issues of women's through to 2001, after the end of the cold war, rights (DAWN 2005). women used a series of UN conferences to Yet the WTO, which emerged in 1995, integrate or 'mainstream' gender-equality used the same 'supra-national' model to concerns into such arenas as human rights, impose a very different agenda, in this case population, habitat, social development, the with legal 'teeth'. The WTO served to environment, and racism. What emerged strengthen the neo-liberal 'free trade' from UN intergovernment conferences were agenda at the expense of a human rights plans of action addressing commitments to development framework. Increasingly, the equality, human rights, peace, and notion of policy 'coherence' between the development. In particular, the Beijing WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank has Platform for Action, despite the limitations meant the restructuring of Southern of a consensus document, offered a broad economies and the rewriting of legislation to framework for advancing women's equality open national economies further. For many in 12 critical areas, from the economy, to nations, the leverage has been - and communications, to health, to peace. In turn, continues to be - the massive debt owed to the Cairo Programme put women's multilateral institutions and private banks, reproductive health at the centre of the the need for continuing credit, the hope of population and development agenda. The possible debt relief, and meagre aid. UN World Summit on Social Development This poses strategic questions for (WSSD), held in Copenhagen in 1995, women's movements. The human rights recognised that gender equality is central to strategy, while recognising the key role of the development agenda, that macro- nation states, has sought to affirm universal economic policies such as Structural rights over national limitations. The WTO Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) use strategy succeeded in overriding national existing gender inequality to serve their sovereignty to undermine those rights, ends, and intensify this inequality as they do particularly in relation to the formulation of so, undermining social development goals. macro-economic policy. Thus, there is a Each of these documents involved tension between political strategies that commitments, by nations in both the North defend the ability of nations to set their own and the South, to address these concerns economic policy, and strategies that domestically and to create an international demand a global agenda to respect human context that is supportive of these rights and environmental and social commitments. In addition, each document commitments. This debate will continue as called on countries to develop plans of action women create responses to this new for their implementation. political moment. Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? 27

As the global corporate agenda has Economic Reforms in Africa network has strengthened its reach, it has increasingly pointed out, this has had a devastating impact marginalised - or co-opted - the UN as a on women's livelihoods (GERA 2005). space for influencing global economic Alejandro Bendana notes that the notion policy, as was evident in the UN Financing of 'good governance'4 and the MDGs have for Development process from 2001-2. The been linked in current development UN International Conference on Financing discourse, promoting human rights, for Development was held in Monterrey, democracy, rule of law, property rights, and Mexico, in 2002. The Monterrey Consensus neo-liberal economics (Bendana 2004). Yet he represented a deal between the countries of argues that 'the faulty notion of "good the global North and South, in which poor governance" is taking us away from the Southern countries would take more internal [MDGs] because it entails placing the state responsibility for addressing corruption, and society at the service of the market' adopting fiscal policy perceived as sound by (ibid.). In his view, the Washington the international financial institutions, and Consensus version of 'good governance' is to generating internal resources. In exchange, strengthen the state in terms of its ability to there would be some debt cancellation (with administer economic policies that serve continued conditionalities3), opening of transnational capital. In this equation, Northern markets to Southern goods, and governance has been separated from popular increased Official Development Assistance democracy and sovereignty. Civil society (ODA). gets involved as 'stakeholders', not political This deal was incorporated into the actors. The IFIs and donors 'limit themselves MDGs in Goal 8 (global partnership for to procedural definitions of democracy ... development). It is worth noting that NGOs, imposing neo-liberal economic policies as including many women's organisations, part of liberal political values that... further rejected the Monterrey Consensus, partic- transfer power towards the top ... Both the ularly because it did not address systemic public and standing governmental structures issues of power and wealth distribution in become disempowered' (ibid.). The global global financial governance. trade and finance regime, and global political Despite the consensus, there has been little misgovernance, are unquestioned in the willingness on the part of the USA and the EU MDG framework. Hunger and poverty are to change their agricultural trade policies or to seen not as political issues, but as technical open markets, as witnessed at the Cancun concerns. Yet, notes Bendana, 'poverty, Ministerial of the WTO in 2003. Similarly, the hunger and bad government cannot be Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) eliminated without the democratisation of Initiative of the World Bank and the IMF aims policy-making to the most local level to provide meagre debt cancellation in possible' (ibid.). exchange for economic 'reforms', through Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). Globalisation and the In actuality, the PRSP process has led to little backlash against women's debt cancellation. In comparison, it has led to enormous changes in terms of the rights privatisation of public services, the opening The world has changed in many other ways of Southern markets to imports, the end of too in the time since the UN conferences of the subsidies for agriculture and other key sectors 1990s. Women are experiencing a backlash in poor economies, and the influx of foreign against equality and human rights, as the capital and foreign goods at the expense of outcome of the current rise of the three local economies. As the Gender and interrelated forces of economic neo-liberalism, 28

political-religious fundamentalisms, and aid is now coupled with deals related to militarism. While a simple cause-and-effect 'anti-terrorism' efforts at home and abroad. relationship cannot be implied here, we As in the USA, copy-cat 'anti-terrorist' policy would argue that the imposition of a in countries such as India or Colombia serves hegemonic culture - through markets and to suppress internal dissent (Danner and media - and the undermining of traditional Young 2003). Meanwhile, as critics including livelihoods, which are both phenomena Naomi Klein argue, the overt intervention of produced by neo-liberal economic global- the USA and its allies in Iraq seeks to cement isation, have caused many communities to US economic dominance in the region (Klein respond to fundamentalist calls to return to 2003, 2004). Recent and current civil wars in 'tradition'. This is happening in very diverse various countries of Africa, including regions, and among the followers of many Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the religions. While notions of tradition imply a Congo, Sudan, Somalia, and others, are in fixed, ahistorical way of being and doing, part the result of the collapse of weak states which may never have existed in the past, the and national economies, poverty, as well as calls to assert tradition have attracted transnational economic interests (from oil, to followers set adrift by the cultural and diamonds, to natural gas, to private security economic uncertainties of the global economy. systems) (Deen 1999; Elbadawi and Many religious fundamentalist groups have Sambanis 2000). In the midst of this, also stepped in to provide essential social thousands of lives are lost and thousands are services to poor communities whom states displaced, poverty has increased, states are have abandoned. further weakened, and violence against women intensifies. Despite their traditionalist stance, the fundamentalists' rise to political power It is in this context that women are asked nonetheless builds on and incorporates the to engage with the MDGs, which address a corporate global agenda in some instances. development agenda but not the broader In other cases, it utilises an anti- context of fundamentalisms, war, foreign globalisation, anti-imperialist rhetoric that intervention, and a main focus on national may be appealing to those hurt by the effects security. of globalisation. One of the key tools in In the quest for greater government gaining a mass following has been an 'us accountability on all women's rights (both versus them' mentality. This mentality uses personal and economic rights), women's and women and the control of their bodies and feminist organisations have been assessing behaviour as a marker of culture and how to reposition their UN advocacy, given tradition. 'Our' women are controlled and the global factors discussed earlier in this policed, while 'their' women are attacked, section. At the international level, some are often in brutal ways. This political also active in advocacy aimed at the IMF, the phenomenon is felt most directly by women World Bank and the WTO, the G8, and in their homes, communities, and countries, private industry, and also in anti-war but has also been seen at the international movements. level as fundamentalist forces have allied at This global advocacy builds on work at the UN to push back a women's rights the local and regional levels, around agenda. economic rights (such as efforts to secure Since September 11 2001, the USA has good-quality jobs, assert land rights, and effectively shifted the global debate to 'anti- reclaim public goods), peace (such as terrorism' and national security. This has national peace-building efforts and post- served US internal political interests, while conflict negotiations), and personal rights extending US military reach. Development (anti-violence, control over women's bodies Where to for women's tnovements and the MDGs? 29 and choices, reproductive health, sexual including it as one of the eight Goals. For rights, and legal protections). Of greatest example, they include Goals related to importance is the need to advocate for these HIV, maternal health, and gender rights in an integrated way that does not equality, but have left out the overall prioritise one set of rights while ignoring Cairo goal of universal access to sexual others, forcing women into impossible and reproductive health care for all by trade-offs. Many women's rights activists 2015. In so doing, they vastly reduce are concluding that they must work in government accountability on women's multiple arenas at multiple levels, without rights and obscure key concerns such as abandoning one arena for another. Beyond violence, labour, reproductive rights, strategic questions about how and when to and women's unpaid labour. This is engage with official institutions in the quest critical: overcoming male domination of for accountability, the larger question is how women in the private sphere of the women can build movements that can household, violence against women, and challenge the forces of neo-liberalism, the invisibility of women's unpaid labour political fundamentalisms, and militarisms in the economy are all central to women's in a way that affirms gender equality and all ability to secure their own livelihoods human rights. and participate in development.

The MDGs do not use the human rights Limitations of the MDGs framework of the Millennium The MDGs emerged from the UN system as Declaration, which includes affirmation an attempt to develop concrete, measurable of the UN Convention on the Elimination commitments that would advance the of All Forms of Discrimination Against agendas of the UN conferences of the 1990s Women (CEDAW), and the depiction of and the Millennium Declaration. The goal people as 'rights holders' who can was to provide real momentum for mobilise to demand the realisation of accountability, including follow-through by their rights, rather than as 'stakeholders'. the North on the Monterrey Consensus. They seek to eradicate poverty with a There is merit in focusing on a few top-down approach that virtually concrete goals and mobilising energy to excludes poor people, particularly achieve them after decades of setbacks. Yet women, from decision making. there are also serious limitations. Among many critiques that women have raised They assume that growth, via macro- about the MDGs are the following: economic policies that conform to the Washington Consensus, is the means to • The MDGs drastically limit the scope of eradicate poverty; even when per capita their attention, and set a minimalist income fell in 54 countries in the 1990s agenda. during the years of this same 'economic • They are a technocratic effort to solve reform' (Bendana 2004). systemic political issues, which have to The MDGs focus on implementation in do with global distribution of power and the global South, without mechanisms of wealth between and within nations. accountability being set up to govern the • In their initial formulation, they have actions of nations of the North. For omitted too much of the Beijing and peoples in the South, this is particularly Cairo agendas (as well as the outcomes of important in relation to Goal 8 on 'global other key UN conferences); and they partnership', which calls on the North to restrict their focus on gender equality, increase aid, support debt reduction, and 30

open markets in the North to Southern them as a tool to advance their agendas. goods. For peoples in the North, this is These issues are part of an important problematic because it apparently dialogue in which women's organisations absolves their governments of respon- are just beginning to engage. The Association sibility to address issues of poverty, for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) gender equality, and environmental is conducting a broad study on the sources sustainability within their own borders and nature of funding for women's (commitments that they made in the movements, and their implications for the 1990s). kinds of agenda that these movements can consequently further. For women's groups, a All this goes some way to explain women's reticence to embrace the Goals, and why key question is how to assess strategically the Peggy Antrobus, in her article in this issue political impact of engagement in particular and elsewhere, has referred to them as issues at this moment, in the context of their 'Major Distraction Gimmicks'. own agenda, and grounded in their Yet, as the UN system and bilateral and particular local realities. private donors mobilise their resources to implement the MDGs, and the Beijing ten- Women mobilising for year review (Beijing+10) in March 2005 is action minimised on the global agenda, many women also feel that they need to be where Women's organisations have responded in the action is, to influence and shape policy multiple ways over the past two years, often and the flow of resources. At the local level, reflecting different regional realities as well many Southern countries are developing as where they find themselves in global plans to implement the MDGs that ignore social movements and vis-a-vis donors. What gender and Beijing commitments. A second is beginning to emerge are efforts to use the Millennium Summit in September 2005 MDGs to continue to advance women's (MDGs+5) will measure progress on the broader social-justice agenda, without being MDGs and may continue to ignore gender distracted by the limitations of the MDG issues if women's voices are not present. So conceptual framework. the ongoing task is to discern where the key At the global level, women activists are battles are, and how much should be insisting on the importance of integrating invested in the process. the Beijing+10 and MDG+5 Reviews. This One further aspect of the debates among entails demands that commitments made in women's organisations is about the extent to Beijing in 1995 be reflected in efforts to which donors may be setting the agenda. implement the MDGs, and that these Many government and private donors have commitments be structured into the debates embraced the MDGs, and are seeking civil and official outcome documents of these society partners. Funds are flowing for MDG intergovernment meetings. This work is also work. For struggling women's groups and being done at a conceptual level by NGOs. other civil society organisations, it is hard to As an example, the International Planned ignore this reality. This creates further Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Western tensions, and many groups have expressed Hemisphere Region and partners hosted doubts about the process. After many two symposia in 2004 to explore the negative reactions to the MDGs in the early centrality of sexual and reproductive health stages, some groups are now getting on in relation to the MDGs. Their meeting in Rio board because they find that their donors are de Janeiro in December 2004 addressed the tying funding to MDG engagement. Others interaction between the MDGs, sexual and feel they can engage with the MDGs and use reproductive health and human rights, Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? 31

health-sector 'reform', and macro-economic supersede Cairo and Beijing commitments policy in Latin America and the Caribbean (UN 2001). These are important points of (Girard 2004). Similarly, women's groups leverage in ensuring that this new concerned with poverty have been working development initiative remains grounded in to influence the Global Call to Action against international treaties and previous Poverty (GCAP - see later in this section) by intergovernment commitments. integrating women's equality as an essential Other priorities include efforts to element of poverty eradication. DAWN integrate national plans of action for Beijing comments, 'our ability to critically engage and Cairo with national MDG plans; and a with the MDG process is conditioned upon a focus on expanding MDG indicators strong reaffirmation of Vienna, Cairo and through advocacy at the national level to Beijing' (ibid.). affect national plans. Another priority is to The Millennium Project, an effort reaffirm and utilise the human rights directed by Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to framework of the Millennium Declaration. the UN Secretary-General on the MDGs, This includes initiatives to use CEDAW as a aims to refine MDG indicators and provide tool for national accountability on gender- more specific targets and indicators for sensitive implementation of the MDGs from implementation (Sachs 2005). This work has a human rights perspective.5 There are drawn on the involvement of task forces for efforts, particularly by women trade most of the Goals. Women working on these unionists, to highlight the creation of good- task forces have made intense efforts to quality jobs as a necessary part of poverty introduce gender equality into all of the eradication, the first MDG. This reflects Goals. Those working on the Task Force on recommendations of the ILO World Education and Gender Equality have Commission on the Social Dimension of recommended expanding the targets and Globalization (ILO 2004). indicators to reintroduce elements of the A very interesting initiative of civil Beijing Platform and Cairo commitments, society groups, supported by the UN including women's access to land, women's Millennium Campaign, is GCAP, launched unpaid labour, violence, reproductive with the support of President Lula da Silva at rights, including abortion rights, adolescent the World Social Forum in Brazil, January sexual education, and labour rights (Grown 2005. The campaign brings together groups et al. 2005). Significant work was also done in working nationally and/or internationally the Task Force on Child Health and Maternal against poverty, and seeks to build global Health and several other task forces of the momentum for the MDGs on civil society's Millennium Project to incorporate strategies, own terms. That is, the campaign focuses on additional targets, and indicators on sexual what member organisations see as the and reproductive health. The Sachs report bottom-line steps for progress on the MDGs, recommends 'protection of sexual and including fair terms of trade, debt reproductive health and rights (including cancellation, an increase in quality and access to information and family planning quantity of aid, the creation of anti-poverty services)' (Sachs 2005,30). programmes that are accountable to citizens, Many women advocates note that the and the attainment of gender equality. Millennium Declaration is strongly REPEM, a Latin American feminist grounded in a human rights perspective and network, and DAWN, an international is the intergovernment agreement that network, have been involved in the co- frames the MDGs. Others have observed that ordination of the campaign. Other feminist the MDG Roadmap, issued by the UN groups have joined the process, seeking to Secretariat, recognises that the MDGs do not strengthen gender perspectives in the 32

campaign. They organised a high-profile monitoring mechanisms and instruments for launch of the campaign during the Beijing+10 implementing MDGs through the leadership Review in New York in March 2005.6 GCAP is of women, and to train women to participate. open to interested organisations, and is AWOMI wants to ensure that any resources primarily nationally based, building on mobilised for the MDGs are put in the hands ongoing anti-poverty work and global of poor women leaders at the local level. economic-justice programmes. This campaign Likewise, Hellen Wangusa of the will hold a White Band Day on 1 July 2005 at Millennium Campaign sees the MDGs as a the time of the G8 meetings, and will be critical entry point for African women to present at the World Bank and IMF Meetings engage with their governments in a critique (April), the Millennium Summit (September), of the PRSP process, and to strengthen the and the WTO Ministerial (December) (GCAP hand of local officials vis-a-vis the IFIs. It is an 2005). As noted above, feminists are working opportunity to push for an end to to make their voices heard in this process. privatisation of water supplies, health care, education, and other basic services, to seek national control over economic policy- Regional responses making, and to insist on debt cancellation as a necessary step towards achieving the MDGs. Africa There seems to be a higher level of Latin America engagement on the part of women with the The issue of reproductive rights, ignored in MDGs in Africa, where a large number of the MDGs, has been central to the feminist governments are working with the IMF and agenda in Latin America. Consequently, the World Bank within the PRSP framework, some Latin American feminist groups have and are particularly dependent on promised wanted little to do with the MDGs. A foreign aid and possible debt reduction. One gathering of Latin American feminists at the of the problems here is how to reconcile 2005 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre PRSPs, which have often entailed cuts in was entitled, 'We Don't Want a Few Goals, government services, with the MDGs to We Want All of the Platform!'. However, eradicate poverty, infant and maternal others are exploring how to imprint their mortality, and infectious diseases. agenda on the MDG framework. Susanna Women's groups see the MDGs as an Chavez of Flora Tristan, a 25-year-old entry point to try to reclaim the right to public Peruvian feminist organisation, notes: services that dramatically affect their lives, and to point out the contradictions with the in the current climate of conservatism and PRSP process. A new initiative, the African fundamentalisms, the MDGs do not encompass Women's Millennium Initiative for Fighting the full historic accumulation and recognition Poverty Through Gender Equality (AWOMI) of human rights. The MDGs are minimal in seeks to do just this. The Director, Yassin Fall, order to set a global baseline, but as such, they notes that because Goal 3 on gender equality do not oblige mid-sized semi-industrialized is central to all of the other Goals, 'the MDGs countries to advance further. Thus, the MDGs propose concrete steps that women can use may actually limit human rights demands and as initial actions towards realisation of aspirations since they set lower standards than Beijing recommendations' (AWOMI 2005). Cairo and Beijing and governments may She notes that women's involvement has perceive them as sufficient to meet their been relatively marginal to the PRSP commitments. processes, and women's movements have (Allen and Falu 2004, 41) been ill-prepared to shape MDG plans The response of Flora Tristan has been to nationally. Thus, AWOMI seeks to define promote additional indicators nationally, Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? 33 which raise the bar. As noted earlier, the aid, and for a reduction in military spending conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2004, to meet MDGs and their 'related livelihood sponsored by the IPPF Western Hemisphere rights' (ibid.). The groups made a concrete Region, gathered regional feminists to suggestion of using the MDGs as 'one of the explore how to affirm reproductive rights tools that enable the advancement of human within the MDGs. Several events at the 2005 rights and sustainable development within World Social Forum, including one co- the context of people's ongoing struggle for sponsored by the Latin American and their basic right to live and sustainable Caribbean Committee for the Defence of livehoods' (ibid.). They called for alternative Women's Rights (CLADEM), sought to 7 people-centred reports on MDG implem- '"engender" the MDGs'. entation, participation in the MDG+5 Asia Review, and in the 5th WTO Ministerial in Responses to the MDGs in Asia reflect a Hong Kong in December 2005. Sunila reality of poverty, racial, ethnic and caste Abeyesekera of the Sri Lankan human rights divisions, and militarism. Women's organisation, INFORM, who was present at responses have often been linked to those of the event, described the rationale as follows: broader social movements with which they work. The statement of the Asian Civil as women's rights activists, we are faced with Society Forum, held in Bangkok in the challenge of engaging in a serious attempt November 2004 by the Conference of NGOs to transform the MDGs at the national level, to (CONGO), and including women's and fulfil at least some of our most primary feminist organisations, affirmed 'critical aspirations in terms of women's health and engagement' with the MDGs. They focused education, while at the same time engaging in a on the Millennium Declaration, which critical evaluation of the overall implications of underscores the need for a human rights reducing the sum total of human aspirations in perspective for the implementation of the the 21st century to a few basic needs ... In MDGs, and also affirmed the UN particular, the framework for fulfillment of the Declaration on the Right to Development: MDGs [must] confront and overcome violence and discrimination against women and the MDGs can be meaningfully achieved only guarantee the equality of women within the if issues of exclusion and discrimination, as family and in the 'private sphere'. luell as structural causes of poverty ... are (Abeyesekera 2004, 7) made central to the implementation process ... Governments and relevant agencies have to draw on international commitments and Europe obligations [to gender equality] as set out in ... Some women's organisations in Europe, the Beijing Platform ... and... CEDAW. particularly the Nordic countries, have taken (Asian Civil Society Forum 2004) on the task of holding their governments The Asian Civil Society Forum expressed accountable on Goal 7 (environment) and concerns about the potential use of the Goal 8 (global partnership), while MDGs to justify privatisation of public continuing work to convince both govern- services, proposals emerging from the ments and NGO colleagues to integrate Millennium Project to promote genetically gender analysis and a commitment to modified organisms, and the perception of gender equality into these Goals. KULU marginalised sectors as 'stakeholders' (Women in Development of Denmark) is one instead of rights-holders. The members such group engaged in this process. called for commitments from the North on Goal 8, including debt relief, fair trade, and 34

Conclusion Notes 1 I differentiate here between women's As we have seen, many women are reluctant organisations and feminist organisations. players in the MDG game, but they continue Women's organisations may organise around to feel the need to be at the table to push for a women's needs, including a social and economic gender-equality agenda that is integrated agenda, but may not claim to be feminist. I refer into all areas of development and peace. They to feminist organisations, self-defined, as groups are not conceding any terrain on Beijing and that bring a systemic analysis of patriarchy to Cairo commitments, but many are using the their activism. I refer to women's movements MDGs as a vehicle to keep women's issues on (plural) because they are many and diverse. the global agenda. They are challenged to 2 The Washington Consensus refers to a set of link with other social movements, and to policy prescriptions emanating from the IMF and the World Bank which have encouraged the address systemic macro-economic issues, opening of markets, a reduced role for the state while insisting on the need for gender justice in the economy, and export-oriented growth. and an integrated analysis of inequality, 3 'Conditionalities' here refers to the economic including race/ethnicity, caste, and class. and legal prescriptions urged by the World This means strengthening women's Bank, the IMF, Regional Development Banks, movements and organising to tackle the and often bilateral donors, as a condition for aid, powers behind neo-liberalism, fundament- credit, or debt relief. Early on, these included alisms, and militarism. It means, also, being calls to liberalise trade, focus on exports, cut strategically present in multiple international wages and social spending, and devalue arenas, from the UN, to the G8, to the WTO, currency. More recently, conditions have included calls to privatise public goods and while strengthening local work. It is always a enterprises, and to change laws and even dual task to convince male allies that the constitutions to comply with WTO rules and feminist agenda is central to the social-justice guarantee the rights of foreign capital. agenda and to mobilise with these allies to 4 As understood within the UN and international challenge entrenched power. Despite global financial institution (IFI) development context, backlash, there are signs of vitality in 'good governance' refers to national government women's movements, including young commitments to adopt 'responsible fiscal women organising around feminist concerns, policy', contain corruption, and establish legal and the Feminist Dialogues (2005). These, structures that enable capital, particularly among others, offer hopeful signs for the foreign capital, to be managed according to future. predictable rules. It does not tend to refer to respect for human rights, including economic Carol Barton is co-ordinator of Women's and social rights, people's political participation, International Coalition for Economic Justice equitable taxation, national economic sovereignty, or other concerns of civil society. (WICEJ) (www.wicej.org), a coalition of more than 40 organisations from all regions of the 5 The United Nations Development Fund for Women has a new resource to assist women's world, addressing gender and macro-economic organisations in this area; see UNIFEM (2004). policy from an integrated feminist perspective 6 Co-sponsors included, among others, ActionAid, which explores gender, race, and class AWID, Centre for Women's Global Leadership oppressions. (CWGL), Comite de America Latina Y el Caribe Para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer (Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women's Rights - CLADEM), INFORM Sri Lanka, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN), International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC), Red de Educaci6n Popular Entre Where to for women's movements and the MDGs? 35

Mujeres, Sancharika Samuha (Women's Media GCAP (2005) www.whiteband.org (checked Forum) Nepal, Women's Environment and February 2005) Development Organization (WEDO), and GERA (2005) http://twnafrica.org/gera/ Women's International Coalition for Economic gera_default.asp (last checked February 2005) Justice (WICEJ). Girard, F. (2004) 'The Millennium Development 7 The CLADEM event was called 'Reviewing the Goals and Sexual and Reproductive Health in MDGs with a Gender Lens'. It was co-sponsored Latin American and the Caribbean', summary of with other partners, including Social Watch. symposia discussions, International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere References Region (www.ippfwhr.org), Rio de Janeiro, 30 Abeyesekera, S. (2004) 'Development and women's November 2004 human rights', in C. Barton and L. Prendergast Grown, C, G. Rao Gupta, and A. Kee (2005) 'Taking (eds.) Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Rights: Women Debate the UN Millennium Empowering Women', Millennium Project Task Development Coals, Mumbai: WICEJ, Force on Education and Gender Equality, w w w. wicej .add r.com / mdg / index.html Earthscan, London, Allen, A. and A. Falu (2004) 'Engendering the http://unmp.forumone.com/ MDGs in the Andean region', in C. Barton and eng_task_force/GenderEbook.pdf (checked L. Prendergast (eds.) Seeking Accountability on February 2005) Women's Human Rights:Women Debate the UN ILO (2004), 'A Fair Globalization: Creating Millennium Development Goals, Mumbai: WICEJ, Opportunities for AH', www-ilo- www.wicej.addr.com / mdg/ index.html mirror.cornell.edu / public / english / wcsdg Asian Civil Society Forum (2004) 'Statement on Klein, N. (2003) 'Privatisation in disguise', The Millennium Development Goals', www.acsf.info Nation, New York, 15 April 2003 (checked February 2005) Klein, N. (2004) 'Outsmarting terrorism with AWOMI (2005) 'African Women's Millennium outsourcing', The Nation, New York, 6 March Initiative for Fighting Poverty through Gender 2004 Equality', AWOMI (unpublished concept paper) Sachs, J. (ed.) (2005) 'Investing in Development - A Bendana, A. (2004)' "Good Governance" and the Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium MDGs: Contradictory or Complementary?', Development Goals', paper presented at the Institute for Global http://unmp.forumone.com/ (checked Network, Information and Studies conference, February 2005) Oslo, 20 September 2004. Published in Focus on UN (2001) 'Roadmap Towards the Implementation Trade 105, Focus on the Global South, of the UN Millennium Declaration', Secretary- www.focusweb.org General's report, UN, 6 September 2001, Danner, M. and G. Young (2003) 'Free markets and A/56/326, www.un.org state control: a feminist challenge to Davos Man UNIFEM (2004), 'CEDAW, Beijing and and Big Brother', Gender and Development 11(1): the MDGs Resource Guide', 82-90 www.mdgender.net/resources/ DAWN (2005) 'Remaking the Social Contract', DAWN Supplement for the World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 26-31 January 2005 Deen, T. (1999) 'Diamonds Cause of African Civil Wars', Media Institute of Southern Africa/Inter Press Service, 17 March 1999 Elbadawi, I. and N. Sambanis (2000) 'Why are there so many civil wars in Africa? Understanding and preventing violent conflict', Journal of African Economies 9: 244-69 Feminist Dialogues (2005) http: / / feministdialogue.isiswomen.org/ (checked February 2005) 36 Approaches to reducing maternal mortality: Oxfam and the MDGs Arabella Fraser

The political momentum of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), coupled with a technical consensus about how to tackle maternal mortality, greatly improves the prospect of reducing women's death and disability rates. In its campaigning and advocacy work on the MDGs, Oxfam will focus on the need to raise the national and international finance for the investments that this requires. Finance is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for change to the lives of millions of women who suffer as a result of pregnancy and childbirth - and it is sorely lacking. This is no argument for technical quick- fixes, however. International efforts to reduce maternal mortality must concentrate on improving health systems - a project that entails rebuilding states to deliver services - but they must also look to an advocacy grounded in women's rights, as articulated in the Beijing Platform for Action and the Cairo process.

Oxfam and the MDGs despite all this, the MDGs are under threat. Only the target of halving income poverty Oxfam has adopted the MDGs as a has any chance of being met, and even this is framework for action in 2005 and beyond, in due to progress in just a few countries the belief that they represent an (World Bank and IMF 2004). Suggestions are unprecedented opportunity to combat even emerging to the effect that the MDG global poverty and suffering. The commit- deadlines should be postponed to 2050 ments made by developed and developing- (Painter 2004). country governments in 2000, the constellation of events in 2005 (in particular the UN Special Assembly on MDG The importance of the progress), and the political momentum that MDG on maternal health this is now generating provide civil society organisations with a critical opportunity to The high level of maternal death in the effect change. Undoubtedly, the aims of the developing world is a tragedy in itself. It MDGs fall far short of the eradication of reflects a gross violation of human rights by global poverty and suffering: it is estimated the world's governments. At a conservative that reaching the Goal 1 target to halve estimate, at least 530,000 women die each income poverty would still leave 694m year from causes related to pregnancy and people living on less than $1 a day in 2015 childbirth (WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA (Pogge 2003); but it is also true that they 2003) - a toll that amounts to one death every should be both realistic and achievable. They minute. On top of this, severe pregnancy- represent a mechanism for political related complications induce high levels of accountability that is linked to outcomes and morbidity, affecting around 15 million is multi-sectoral - delivering results where it women each year and in many cases leading matters, to tackle the broad underlying to long-term disability. The impact on family causes of poverty. The sad fact is that, and community is equally stark. Beyond the Approaches to reducing maternal mortality 37 immediate suffering and grief caused, outcome-based targets, only two - on gender maternal deaths diminish children's own life equity and education, and maternal health - chances. Death rates for these children, are specifically directed at issues of gender measured over the two years after their inequity. As Lynn Freedman has argued mothers' deaths, are between three and ten previously in Gender and Development in times higher than for children with both response to criticisms of the limited attention parents living (Panos Institute 2002). Recent paid to gender in the MDG framework, estimates for Africa, where almost half of all 'there is space for feminist action around the maternal deaths take place, are that between remaining MDG on reducing maternal 2001 and 2010 there will be 2.5m maternal mortality' (Freedman 2003). It is the only deaths, 7.5m child deaths, and 49m maternal goal with an explicit connection to women's disabilities, with a cost to economic health, but it also represents an opportunity productivity of US$45m (WHO 2004). to highlight the political, cultural, and More than any other indicator for health, economic barriers that women face when maternal mortality figures reveal huge gulfs seeking access to health care. between rich and poor countries. The risk of death over the course of a woman's A new opportunity for reproductive lifetime in the UK is 1 in 3,800; the figure is 1 in 8,700 in Canada (WHO, progress UNICEF and UNFPA 2003). But in Setting international targets to reduce developing countries, the risk is of a maternal mortality is not new. In 1987, the different magnitude. In Sierra Leone and Safe Motherhood Conference set the Afghanistan, a woman's lifetime risk of objective of reducing the number of maternal death is 1 in 6. Estimated maternal maternal deaths by at least half within a 1 mortality ratios, the basis for the MDG decade. However, the conditions for action target, are 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in on maternal mortality have changed, the UK, compared with 1,800 in Malawi. meaning that the MDG set of targets should Maternal mortality-related measures also be operationalised more effectively. First, show the depth of national disparities in there is far greater knowledge about access to health care. In Yemen, half of all maternal health than ever before. The first women in the richest quintile are cared for by global estimates of maternal mortality were a skilled attendant at birth, compared with not made until the mid-1980s (Standing less than 10 per cent for the poorest women 2004). Measuring maternal mortality is still (Public World 2004). difficult: under-reporting, incorrect diag- The outlook for progress on maternal nosis, and poor recording systems make mortality is currently grim. On current statistics unreliable, and the measure of trends, only 17 per cent of developing deliveries by skilled health personnel is countries are likely to meet the target of commonly used as a proxy for maternal reducing the maternal mortality ratio by mortality ratios. Nevertheless, since the three-quarters (Wagstaff and Claeson 2004). founding of the Safe Motherhood Initiative Maternal mortality ratios have barely in 1987, a vast body of evidence has been declined in many developing countries, and generated about its causes and consequences have even increased in Africa, exacerbated (Weil and Fernandez 1999). by the spread of HIV/AIDS (DFID 2004). There is also a much clearer consensus The MDG on maternal health, for which than at any time previously about the maternal mortality is the specific indicator, is strategies required to reduce maternal also significant within the theoretical context mortality. Based on the fact that 80 per cent of gender and the MDGs. Out of seven of all deaths are caused by complications (in 38

particular haemorrhage, or severe bleeding, are certainly more grounds than ever before infection, hypertensive disorders, and to believe that these preconditions are obstructed labour) that are easily treatable, it coalescing at an international level for a is recognised that the interventions with reduction of maternal mortality in the greatest life-saving potential are (1) the developing world. provision of skilled attendants at birth and (2) Emergency Obstetric Care, with an effective referral system in place to ensure Financing gains in maternal that when complications are identified, mortality women access the necessary health care One of the main obstacles to capitalising on (Freedman et al. 2004). In the 1980s and early these trends is the failure to finance maternal 1990s, practitioners focused on training health. Increased finance alone is not a Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and sufficient condition for achieving progress, providing antenatal care. Both are important but it is nevertheless a necessary one. In the aspects of improving attendant factors to absence of additional finance for countries maternal mortality, such as poor nutrition or with high maternal mortality levels, the anaemia, which increase a woman's MDG will undoubtedly be missed. susceptibility to complications. However, Developing-country governments need neither alone will bring down death rates. to allocate greater shares of their public Complications are difficult to predict, budget to basic social services. In Abuja in meaning that antenatal care is unlikely to be 2001, African governments committed able to identify women at greater risk. And themselves to devote at least 15 per cent of when potentially fatal complications do their spending to improving health services; occur, attendants need to possess a far higher but almost all countries in sub-Saharan level of skill than can be expected of TBAs. Africa allocate less than 10 per cent of their Even then women may ultimately require budgets for this purpose (Oxfam access to emergency care facilities capable of International 2004). However, for performing Caesarean section operations developing countries to mobilise the and blood transfusions. There has also been necessary resources to improve health increasing recognition that although family services will take many years - and women planning reduces the number of are dying today. The Commission on pregnancies, and therefore the number of Macroeconomics and Health estimates the deaths, it does not alter the risk of dying once additional cost of providing an essential pregnant (Weil and Fernandez 1999). health 'package' in low-income countries at Both developments are the result of a more than double current average health broader shift in attitudes to maternal health, budgets. Even allocating developing- away from seeing it as instrumental to country expenditure more efficiently, the population control and child welfare, to amount that developing countries could recognising it as an end in itself (Kabeer mobilise by 2007 would be less than half the 1994). This is an important step. In a study of level required to cover a basic health the preconditions for reducing maternal package, with a 30 per cent shortfall in 2015 mortality in industrialised countries, De (Commission on Macroeconomics and Brouwere, Tonglet, and Van Lerberghe Health 2001). For the poorest countries, identify the following as key factors: marginalised from the global economy, aid awareness of the magnitude of the problem, is the only source of finance that can be a recognition that it is avoidable, and the released in the time-frame and in the mobilisation of health professionals and the predictable, targeted manner required to fill community (De Brouwere et al. 1998). There the financial gap to meet the MDGs. It is for Approaches to reducing maternal mortality 39 this reason that the MDGs include a HIV/AIDS epidemic, but it remains low: in requirement for rich countries to provide 2002, aid to health and population more generous aid. programmes amounted to only 8 per cent of The scale of mortality rates can create the development assistance (DAC 2004). Of this, impression that resolving the problem will it is difficult to tell how much is allocated to require vast financial resources. However, programmes that contribute to reducing the investment needed is relatively modest. maternal mortality (a problem in itself), but The World Bank and World Health just over one-third supports reproductive Organization (WHO) estimate that the cost health-care and population activities, one- of providing basic maternal services third funds basic health care, while the rest averages around US$3 per person in goes to general health care and non-basic developing countries (Goodburn and health services. Studies from 1990 showed Campbell 2001). The total cost of such health finance for reproductive health to be coverage for sub-Saharan Africa would strongly biased towards family-planning amount to around US$1.5bn. This is just half programmes; 42 per cent went to family a day's total health spending in the USA. The planning, while just 0.2 per cent went to Safe annual incremental cost of cutting maternal Motherhood programmes - the main mortality by 75 per cent is around US$4bn - initiative at the time with responsibility for a price equivalent to 0.01 per cent of the maternal mortality (Standing 2004). combined GDP of the OECD countries, or just two days' worth of military spending by the G8 countries. Financing health-care services that are responsive Yet the major aid donors have yet to make available the necessary finance. to women's needs Overall, at least US$50bn extra a year is Maternal mortality ratios highlight the estimated to be necessary to meet the MDGs, importance of investment in building and the value of existing aid is reduced by effective health systems. Indeed, maternal such practices as tying aid to the purchase of mortality rates are often seen as a key goods and services in the donor countries indicator of the state of a country's health (Oxfam International 2004). Countries system, with poorly functioning systems continue to pay out more in debt service than unable to supply the necessary skilled they spend on essential health services: 10 personnel and emergency obstetric facilities. out of 14 African countries included in the More broadly, the effect of the MDGs has Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) been 'to place the expansion and improve- Initiative, which aims to relieve countries of ment of basic public services at the heart of heavy debt burdens, continue to spend more international development policy' (Public on debt repayments than health (ibid.). World 2004). The UN Task Force on Child Meanwhile, major health initiatives remain Health and Maternal Health describes weak starved of cash: at the 1994 Conference on health systems as 'the primary obstacle to Population and Development, developed meeting the MDGs' (Freedman el al. 2004). countries agreed to pay around one-third of Without doubt, legal, managerial, and the cost of a programme to deliver sexual human-resource reforms need to accompany and reproductive health and rights to all by the provision of finance for health systems. 2015. Despite a target of providing US$5.7bn However, it also needs to be recognised that by 2000, only US$2bn of this amount was the potential for institutional and organ- made available (UNFPA 2003). Aid to the isational change is undermined by the lack of health sector in general has been increasing, resources. In addition, undertaking to build in large part due to concerns about the effective health systems has implications for 40

the type of international finance provided. paying for services may not be taken by Donors will need to finance recurrent costs, women themselves, and where cost places salaries, and maintenance, not just one-off increased constraints on families' use of capital investments. Funding needs to be health care, women's health needs are not predictable and long-term. Donors need to prioritised. move away from funding their own stand- An important lesson from the history of alone projects and other vertical universal state provision is that equity is not programmes. Oxfam's own research in guaranteed. Studies in the UK show that Ethiopia reveals that current HIV/AIDS although the introduction of universal free programmes could divert around half of health care in the late 1940s led to dramatic existing health personnel away from their reductions in maternal mortality, there was current activities (Fraser 2004). little impact on inequality between income The capacity of states in the developing groups (Watt 2000). There is little current world to provide such services is weak, and work focused on how to ensure gender- has been weakened further by Structural equitable state health provision, although a Adjustment Policies. Many governments key component of this is known to be the reduced health expenditure in real terms in quality of care, with studies showing that the the 1980s and 1990s: Zambia's per capita interpersonal skills and attitude of staff are spend on health fell by 50 per cent each as important an influence on women's decade, for example (Public World 2004). It decisions to seek care as are their technical is estimated that Africa will require lm skills (Buttiens et al. 2004). In Yemen, female additional health workers to ensure the patients identified the lack of a female staffing required to deliver basic health medical practitioner as an important reason interventions (High-Level Forum on the for not using state health-care services Health MDGs 2004). Health care is now (Public World 2004). provided by a plethora of actors - not just the private sector, but NGOs and faith-based organisations as well as traditional healers. Engaging with rights-based However, for Oxfam, investing in state approaches to reducing provision is vital, as the state is theoretically maternal mortality the only provider with the means to ensure As a rights-based organisation engaged in nationwide, equitable, and sustainable monitoring the MDGs, Oxfam has a keen coverage. As Oxfam set out in 2000, leaving interest in forging links with the such social provision to the market leads to constituency of analysis and practice that inequity in access and reinforces income emerged from the Cairo process and the inequality, with the poorest people having to Beijing conference in the 1990s. What the put aside a greater proportion of their International Conference on Population and incomes to pay for services, which in the Development in Cairo in 1994 did was to link health sector are often highly unpredictable sexual and reproductive health to rights for and large (Watt 2000). Introducing market the first time, emphasising women's mechanisms into state structures has a empowerment and the provision of similar effect: in Yemen the introduction of universal, high-quality reproductive health user fees meant that one person in two could services (Standing 2004). These commit- not afford basic health treatment, thus either ments to gender equality and reproductive forgoing the treatment or accumulating health were reinforced at the Fourth World debts to pay for it (Public World 2004). Conference on Women, or the Beijing Particularly pertinent for reducing maternal Platform for Action (ibid.). Elements of the mortality rates is the fact that decisions about constituencies that fought so hard to achieve Approaches to reducing maternal mortality 41 this in the 1990s are critical of the MDG Bahrain and Kuwait have reduced levels of process, on the following basis: it represents maternal mortality, despite women's low no more than a 'Most Distracting Gimmick', status (McCarthy and Maine 1992). which diverts attention from international Second, attention to a human rights agreements made prior to the MDGs - framework draws attention to the fact that agreements that have greater potential to sexual and reproductive rights, agreed upon advance women's equity and empowerment at the International Conference on (Antrobus 2004); and the absence of a rights- Population and Development in Cairo in based framework means that the MDG 1994, were deliberately written out of the indicators are devoid of important notions of MDGs by a US-led conservative alliance. This agency and empowerment and pay has ramifications for donor and government insufficient attention to vulnerable groups policies relating to women's reproductive (Robinson 2004) as well as the power choices, with a knock-on effect on maternal relations that affect women, which sanction mortality. The most striking example of this among other things violence both in the is US policy on abortion. The Bush family and the community (Abeyesekera administration in 2001 restored the 'Mexico 2004). City Policy', which prohibits funding for Engagement with this powerful critique groups that provide or promote abortion. is vital for all working on the MDGs, but in With 18 per cent of all maternal deaths particular for those concerned with maternal attributed to unsafe abortion, it is of grave mortality. Indeed, authors such as Hilary concern that the largest bilateral funder of Standing partly attribute the slow progress health programmes in the world is not on improving reproductive health services tackling this issue - and despite the evidence to insufficient dialogue between the that abortion continues even when better protagonists of reproductive health family planning is available (Pearson and (associated with Cairo) and health-sector Sweetman 1994). The rule has also meant cuts reform (increasingly associated with the to health programmes around the world, MDGs). Yet, first, attention to a human rights with funding to the United Nations Fund for framework leads us to understand that Population Activities (UNFPA), the largest although the emergence of a 'technical multilateral source of assistance for consensus' is a major breakthrough, there is reproductive health and population pro- no technical quick-fix. For the supply of grammes, stopped for three years in a row, modern health care to be effective, there also while Population Action International has has to be demand. Among poorer women, charted the closure of clinics in Bangladesh, although the need for care will be greater, the Ghana, and Kenya and cuts to reproductive ability to access care may be limited by their health services in Tanzania and Ethiopia as a status, as women are not economically or result {Observer 2004). socially able to take their own decisions A rights-based perspective also reveals about seeking health treatment. In parts of the underlying socio-economic and cultural Afghanistan, for instance, women are not causes of women's poor health. Socio- permitted to leave home unless accom- economic and cultural factors indirectly panied by a male family member (Oxfam GB increase the risks of maternal death. Women 2004). Uneducated women are less likely to with less education are likely to have more recognise complications when they occur, pregnancies earlier and are more susceptible although there is no established relationship to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted between education and using health-care diseases. Cultural pressures may mean that facilities. In addition, the relationship is women bear children at a younger age, with often context-specific, and countries such as pregnancy the leading cause of death among 42

women aged 15-19 years worldwide. review of the Beijing conference will occur in Violence against women compounds health the same year as the five-year review of the problems during pregnancy: a study in MDGs, to exploit the synergies between the Bangladesh confirmed that 14 per cent of two. maternal deaths were due to violence (UNICEF 2003). However, the links between This article is adapted by Arabella Fraser from these underlying causes and actual death The Cost of Childbirth, written by Arabella rates are difficult to prove precisely, and it is Fraser, Dr Mohga Kamal-Smith, and Kevin now clear that action on these causes by itself Watkins (Oxfam GB 2004). Arabella Fraser is a will not reduce maternal mortality ratios. researcher at Oxfam GB on MDGs and Tackling them is, however, not only international finance, and the author o/Paying important in its own right, but certainly the Price, Oxfam International's latest report on affects maternal health more broadly - and financing for the MDGs (Oxfam International the stated aim of Goal 5. And both reducing 2005). maternal mortality and improving maternal health are affected by the political and legal Note status of women, which governs effective supply of relevant health care and 1 Maternal mortality ratios, used as the indicator circumscribes the legal rights of women, for the MDG, measure the number of maternal with particular reference to laws relating to deaths per 100,000 live births. This is different the legal age for marriage, and laws relating from maternal mortality rates, which reflect the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 women to rape and female genital mutilation. aged 15-49 and capture not only the risk of death but also the number of pregnancies per Conclusion year. The planned events of 2005 are a huge References opportunity to push governments to deliver on their commitments to the MDGs. Success Abeyesekera, S. (2004) 'Development and women's would mean the release of vital resources to human rights', in C. Barton and L. Prendergast rebuild health systems to provide universal, (eds.) Seeking Accountability on Women's Human equitable, and high-quality coverage in Rights: Women Debate the MDGs, New York: countries with high maternal mortality rates. Women's International Coalition for Economic In addition to this, welcome practical Justice suggestions are emerging to stimulate Antrobus, P. (2004) 'MDGs - the Most Distracting Gimmick', in C. Barton and L. Prendergast (eds.) debate on how to bring the Cairo and Beijing Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Rights: frameworks to bear upon the MDGs - Women Debate the MDGs, New York: Women's ensuring that due attention is paid to sexual International Coalition for Economic Justice and reproductive rights and women's Buttiens, H., B. Marchal, and V. De Brouwere (2004) empowerment. This involves influencing 'Skilled attendance at childbirth: let us go national planning around the MDGs. It beyond the rhetoric', Journal of Tropical Medicine means looking to the Millennium and International Health 9(6): 653 Declaration, not just the narrow indicators of Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (2001) the MDGs, which includes commitments to Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for 'combat all forms of violence against women Economic Development, Geneva: WHO. and to implement the Convention on the DAC (2004) Development Cooperation 2003 Report, Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Paris: OECD De Brouwere, V., R. Tonglet, and W. Van Lerberghe Against Women (CEDAW)'. And it means (1998) 'Strategies for reducing maternal taking advantage of the fact that the ten-year mortality in developing countries: what can we Approaches to reducing maternal mortality 43

learn from the history of the industrialised Pogge, T. (2003) 'The First UN Millennium West?', Journal of Tropical Medicine and Development Goal', paper presented at the International Health 3: 771-82 University of Oslo, 11 September 2003 DFID (2004) 'Reducing Maternal Deaths: Evidence Public World (2004) 'Delivering Good Quality and Action', London: DFID Public Services: Health and Education', Oxford: Fraser, A. (2004) 'Financing the MDGs in Ethiopia', Oxfam GB (unpublished) Oxford: Oxfam GB (unpublished) Robinson, M. (2004) 'Mobilising people to claim Freedman, L. (2003) 'Strategic advocacy and rights', in C. Barton and L. Prendergast (eds.) maternal mortality: moving targets and the Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Rights: millennium development goals', Gender and Women Debate the MDGs, New York: Women's Development 11(1): 97-108 International Coalition for Economic Justice Freedman, L., M. Wirth, R. Waldman, Standing, H. (2004) 'Towards reproductive health M. Chowdhury, and A. Rosenfield (2004) for all?', in R. Black and H. White (eds.) Targeting 'Millennium Project Task Force 4: Child Health Development: Critical Perspectives on the and Maternal Health', Millennium Development Goals, New York: www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/tf4i Routledge nterim.pdf (last checked by author December UNFPA (2003) Achieving the MDGs: Population and 2004) Reproductive Health as Critical Determinants, New Goodburn, E. and O. Campbell (2001) 'Reducing York: UNFPA maternal mortality in the developing World', UNICEF (2003) 'A Human Rights-Based Approach British Medical Journal 322: 917-20 to Programmes for Maternal Mortality High-Level Forum on the Health MDGs (2004) Reduction in a South Asian Context', 'Addressing Africa's Health Workforce Crisis: Kathmandu: UNICEF An Avenue for Action', Wagstaff, A. and M. Claeson (2004) The Millennium www.hlfhealthmdgs.org/ Development Goals for Health: Rising to the Documents / AfricasWorkforce-Final.pdf (last Challenges, Washington DC: World Bank checked by author December 2004) Watt, P. (2000) Social Investment and Economic Kabeer, N. (1994) 'Implementing the right to Growth: A Strategy to Eradicate Poverty, Oxford: choose', in N. Kabeer Reversed Realities: Gender Oxfam GB Hierarchies in Development Thought, London: Weil, O. and H. Fernandez (1999) 'Is safe Verso motherhood an orphan initiative?', The Lancet McCarthy, J. and D. Maine (1992) 'A framework for 354: 940-3 analyzing the determinants of maternal WHO (2004) 'Fourth International Meeting on mortality', Studies in Family Planning 23(1): 23-33 Women and Health', www.who.or.jp/ Observer (2004) 'Dying to have a baby', 11 October women / publications / 0310_p.pdf 2004 (www.mariestopes.org.uk/ WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA (2003) 'Maternal pdf/dying-to-have-a-baby.pdf) Mortality in 2000', Oxfam GB (2004) The Cost of Childbirth: How Women http: / / millenniumindicators.un.org / unsd / mi / Are Paying the Price for Broken Promises on Aid, mi_source_xrxx.asp?source_code=51 (last Oxford: Oxfam GB checked by author December 2004) Oxfam International (2005") Paying the Price: Why World Bank and IMF (2004) 'Global Monitoring Rich Countries Must Invest Now in a War on Report 2004 - Policies Poverty, Oxford: Oxfam International and Actions for Achieving the MDGs and Painter, G. (2004) 'Gender, the Millennium Related Outcomes', Development Goals and Human Rights in the http://siteresources.worldbank.org/GLOBALM Context of the 2005 Review Processes', Gender ONITORINGEXT / Resources / DC2004-0006- and Development Network (draft) Addl(E)-GMR.pdf Panos Institute (2002) Birth Rights: New Approaches to Safe Motherhood, London: Panos Institute Pearson, R. and C. Sweetman (1994) 'Abortion, reproductive rights and maternal mortality', Focus on Gender 2(2): 45-50 44

The education MDGs: achieving gender equality through curriculum and pedagogy change Sheila Aikman, Elaine Unterhalter, and Chloe Challender

This article argues that there is a need for gender-sensitive curricula and pedagogies in schools in order to achieve good-quality outcomes for girls' education. It examines different dimensions of gender equality and draws on issues raised and discussed at two international seminars which challenged narrow views of curriculum and pedagogy. The article considers these issues in the context of a case study of the abuse of school girls in Mozambique, and NGO and community strategies to combat such abuse. It presents important actions that need to be taken by governments, teacher-training organisations, and NGOs to ensure that change occurs.

oday, millions of girls who attend (Millennium Project 2004). Recent e- school are the first in their families discussions have broadened the focus from ever to do so. Yet for many of them, gender parity to gender equity and quality of T 1 gender inequality is not only a feature of the education. These include the uneven political, economic, and social conditions in quality of education provided, the high which they live, but often pervades their levels of dropout, and the difficulties that educational experience. many girls (the majority, in some societies) At the Millennium Summit of the UN, have in progressing beyond a few years of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3 formal schooling. In other words, those was broadly framed to 'promote gender working to achieve Education For All need equality and empower women'. Within the to look beyond access to schooling and Goal, the target relating to education was set examine what happens within the school. in terms of eliminating gender disparity in Moreover, unless urgent attention is paid to primary and secondary education prefer- addressing inequalities of gender (and race ably by 2005 and in all levels by 2015 and ethnicity) that shape girls' experience of (www.un.org / millenniumgoals). education in classrooms around the world, Eliminating gender disparity is generally the narrower project for increasing access to taken to mean overcoming barriers to equal education may also be undermined. access to, and sometimes achievement in, The 'Beyond Access: Gender, Education schooling for girls and boys. Gender parity and Development' Project, launched in April can be measured simply in terms of whether 2003, aims to disseminate knowledge and or not there are equal numbers of girls and support policy and practice changes that will boys in a population enrolled in school or achieve gender-equitable education and completing school (UNESCO 2003). meet the 2005 MDG 3 on eliminating gender The disjuncture between the wide disparity in primary and secondary framing of the Goal and the narrow focus of education.2 It has engaged policy makers, the target on education has prompted researchers, and practitioners through considerable discussion and debate seminars and discussions to identify The education MDGs 45 strategies for achieving gender equality in outcomes they have reason to value. The formal education. This article draws on the existence of gender equality in the classroom papers and discussion from two international is therefore important in connecting seminars: 'Curriculum for Gender Equality schooling with citizenship, based on a vision and Quality Basic Education', September of equal rights. An education system should 2003, in London, and 'Pedagogical Strategies develop the full capabilities of children, for Gender Equality', February 2004, Nairobi through offering an education that is (see www.ungei.org and Aikman and personally and socially worthwhile. Children Unterhalter 2004). These seminars examined need the freedom to enter school, to learn and the impediments to achieving a gender- participate there in safety and security, to sensitive, quality education that will provide develop identities that tolerate others, to benefits for learners. This article focuses on promote health, and to enjoy economic, schooling and examines practices of political, and cultural opportunities. curriculum and pedagogy which promote a quality education for girls and boys. Through Gender issues and the curriculum a case study from northern Mozambique, the The curriculum is a key piece of national article considers one community's attempts legislation. There are important questions to to ensure gender justice for girls and changes be asked regarding what girls are being in the practice of education in school. The taught about themselves in formal article ends by suggesting important actions schooling, whether education institutions that need to be taken by governments, allow girls effective participation, and teachers training institutions, NGOs, whether the existing situations of girls and teachers, and communities to ensure that women are enhanced or diminished by the these changes occur. schooling they receive. The kind of education that girls and women want is shaped by their experience and expectations Curriculum and pedagogy of what they can do with education in the for gender equality future. The expectations of girls and their parents regarding the curriculum that they In this section, the article examines two study may be formed through social, important issues beyond access: the need to economic, or political constraints in the ensure curricula that promote gender immediate environment or deduced from equality and gender-equitable pedagogical development rhetoric about the benefits practices. By emphasising pedagogy as 'the schooling brings for individuals and society. teacher-learner relationships involved in While a range of declarations and child-rearing as well as in schooling' (Weiner conventions provide written support for ideas 2000), we recognise that definitions of about gender equality and human rights, the pedagogies are contested and that there are ways in which these values can form a part of different approaches to what is good the process of putting a curriculum into pedagogy and what promotes learning. practice have been hardly considered. This is Gender equality should be integral to an important area for governments, NGOs, ideas of educational quality, since gender and community-based organisations to equality entails the removal of deep-seated consider. There is not a single model barriers to equality of opportunity and demonstrating how this might be done, but outcome, such as discriminatory laws, Box 1 outlines some recommendations. customs, practices, and institutional The who and the what of curriculum are processes. It also entails concern with the not confined to the content, but also to the development of the freedoms of all processes of curriculum development and individuals, irrespective of gender, to choose the forms of consultation and debate that 46

Box 1: Rights, gender equality, and questions about curriculum

Rights and participation: Who (which groups) are defining what is to be taught and how it is to be delivered? (To what extent are women a part of this?) Rights and conceptions of the person: What are girls being taught about who they are in their education? Rights and institutions: Do the processes in which education is institutionalised and delivered allow girls' effective participation? Are girls'/women's existing situations enhanced or diminished through the education they receive? Yates (2004)

underpin the choice of ideas, documents, Pedagogies and materials that comprise a curriculum Teachers are central to the delivery of the and its process of review. Given extensive curriculum. How do teachers, who possess gender inequality worldwide, but also different social identities and are themselves widespread commitment to challenge and located within gendered social relations, overcome it, improving decision making translate curriculum documents into about curriculum policy and gender equality classroom practices and learning outcomes? is an important challenge. And how do these practices influence further Women and girls possess other identities curriculum development, particularly with that create differences between them. Hence, regard to gender equality? care needs to be taken that a broad range of Decisions about what teaching method- views of women and girls from different ologies, learning materials, teacher training, social groups are included in curriculum and resources to use are dependent not only development and review processes. The on what is available but also on what is presence of women in decision-making considered appropriate by those who make bodies at national and local government decisions about developing and defining levels, for example in South Africa (see pedagogical approaches. Different peda- Chisholm 2004), has had an extremely gogies imply different social dynamics of a beneficial effect on shaping a curriculum classroom, including not only relations that is responsive to diverse needs. between teacher and learner but relations Sometimes girls' and women's between different groups of learners and expectations of what schooling should offer dynamics between teachers and officials and them are hampered by their limited others such as parents and the local knowledge of social policies. When involv- community. These relations are often ing women and girls in decision making, it is marked by social divisions - of race, class, necessary to provide insights that go beyond ethnicity, and gender. Boys and girls need to the immediate and familiar context so that participate in learning as equals. Pedagogies decision making is well informed. Formal that fail to achieve this render the goal of schooling must not be at the expense of the equal access meaningless. knowledge and the experience that girls and But side by side with these relations of women have of their local context, but being difference are pedagogies that express responsive to these particularities needs to aspirations for relations of equality. go together with an education which helps Teachers and learners construct approaches girls to realise their freedoms and selfhoods to gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality and participate fully in forms of society that in different ways at different times. This they value. means that social relations and ideas about The education MDGs 47 gender and other social divisions are open to • changes to the curriculum and to change. Maintaining gender inequalities in a classroom organisation that allow for classroom, for example, is not a 'natural' increased participation of girls and process: it entails deciding not to change. women (and other under-represented Problems with girls' learning are diverse: groups of students); for example, teachers commonly have low • encouragement of critical questions expectations of the intellectual abilities of about the curriculum and what counts as girls, and girls have correspondingly low school knowledge; expectations of themselves. These low expectations are reinforced by textbooks and • a breaking down of hierarchies and curriculum and examination materials. power-networks that exclude girls and Teachers often say that they enjoy teaching women, whether they are students or boys more than girls, especially if girls are teachers; seen as passive. They may also offer a lower • greater understanding of the conditions level of feedback to girls. There is a that lead to bullying, racism, sexism, and widespread lack of female teachers in high- homophobic behaviour, and more status subjects, and an overall lack of female successful forms of intervention; teachers. Finally, the use of physical space in school playing fields or classrooms can • greater valuing of students' experience marginalise girls (Arnot 2004). and knowledge, and closer involvement Across the world, schooling has not of students in planning and evaluating always fulfilled its potential as a change agent their educational work (Weiner 2004). capable of challenging existing gender This pedagogy might be expected to result in inequalities. Assumptions about what is an increased consciousness among students appropriate for boys and girls to learn often of misconceptions, prejudices, and undermine aspirations for equality in stereotypes, and the ability to criticise and pedagogy. For example, in many societies, it is challenge these. It would also result in a assumed that girls cannot learn mathematics, stronger sense of agency in all involved in and that boys cannot learn about the care of learning, which would enable them to young children. As discussed in the section on visualise wider and more varied options in curricula, historical and geographical life (ibid.). contexts play a crucial role in shaping these Appropriate pedagogy involves living as assumptions, and creating the conditions in well as teaching gender equality. There is which an agenda for gender equality does or considerable evidence from many different does not develop. Curriculum divisions and settings across continents of classroom the pedagogies that accompany them may practice that is far from acceptable, and entrench gender inequalities. For example, if widespread instances of sexual harassment only boys practise public speaking or play the and violence at school. The majority of sports that are linked with national prestige accounts point to teachers and male pupils as (football or cricket for example) and girls are being involved in sexual harassment of excluded from these activities but encouraged female teachers and primarily girl pupils. to concentrate on learning domestic skills, The issues touch on how teachers not only inequalities regarding how young people teach gender equality, but how they live this express citizenship are entrenched. in areas of their life that are considered At a general level (clearly it will differ private. Studies in seven African countries according to contextual factors) we might show how the relationship between male expect to see a pedagogy that promotes teachers and girl students is often gender equality to include the following: constructed as sexualised (see Chege 2004). 48

Thus pedagogy for gender equality is not absence of formal procedures by the only a matter of professional orientation, but Ministry of Education, the District Education also of changing personal behaviour among Department was slow to respond, did teachers and other education officials, and nothing, and later suggested a transfer of this challenging some of the deeply held teacher to another school. So AMME took the assumptions that perpetuate inequalities. case to the Provincial Department of Education, which eventually acted: the teacher was suspended and subsequently Case study: addressing dismissed. As a result of lobbying by AMME sexual abuse of girl pupils and other organisations, a new Ministerial in northern Mozambique Decree was passed, which now provides clear steps for District and Provincial This section draws on an example from Ministries to take in cases of abuse in school. northern Mozambique to show the actions AMME's work has brought this new that can be taken by an NGO and community legislation to the attention of teachers, who to begin to overcome sexual abuse of girls in now realise that they cannot act with school, which is one of the worst impunity. AMME reports that, because of manifestations of gender inequality. this awareness, sexual abuse of students by Oxfam GB has been working in the teachers appears to be declining; however, it province of Zambezia on a programme aimed is still prevalent in the wider society, at capacity building for basic education, with particularly by traders. a strong focus on gender equality, since 2000.3 It work with the Mozambican Association for After the abusive teacher had been held Gender and Education (AMME), providing to account, other girls in Lioma began to capacity building and supporting AMME to come forward to report incidences of abuse. develop its ways of working at the Concern in the community was so strong community level. Together with Oxfam, that it created a Committee Against the AMME has lobbied the Ministry of Education Abuse of Girls. Fortified by the capacity for legislation concerning abuse of girls in building and support that the School school. In 2003, they achieved a landmark Council has received from AMME and ruling by the Ministry of Education against a Oxfam, the new Committee set up a teacher in Zambezia province. This work was Counselling Centre in the village to help carried out by AMME and the Committee victims of abuse in schools and in the Against the Abuse of Girls in the community community. With some training from of Lioma, Gurue District.4 AMME has been AMME and a little money to repair an old supporting women teachers and gender house, the Centre is now open on two training for community members, School evenings a week for anyone to drop in. Councils, and teachers in Zambezia province. Between January and June 2004,18 cases of In addition, it has been encouraging abuse of girls and young women were community-based organisations to tackle reported to the Committee, including abuse gender inequalities and abuse in their by teachers and fellow students. These cases communities and schools. are being taken to the local Tribunal. The In 2003, in the village of Lioma, sexual Committee now has plans to expand its abuse of a school girl came to light when the awareness-raising about the problem of girl herself came forward and denounced a abuse to localities nearby. teacher who had made her pregnant. It was Capacity building and support for new subsequently found that he had abused forms of community organisation, such as several girls. AMME supported the villagers School Councils and the Counselling Centre, to take the case to the local Tribunal. In the are enabling community members to play an The education MDGs 49 active part in promoting gender equality and become clear that teachers themselves have gender justice in their own schools and to learn how to guide their students' villages. Women and girls are becoming sexuality and provide living examples of members of both the Council and the low-risk behaviour. Committee, though they are still in a It is essential to support and train teachers minority. But they have broken their to promote gender equality. Even in contexts silences, and their voices are beginning to be in which there are extensive gender being heard in the school and the wider inequalities outside school, teachers can community in Lioma. The Lioma case is not make a difference inside school. They can unique - both in terms of the abuses and work with a diversity of girls' and boys' inequalities faced by girls and women, and learning styles so that all children's styles can in the initiatives taken to turn the tide. be accommodated in the class. When teachers, teacher educators, and school managers work together to develop Teachers and training for classroom strategies incorporating a gender-sensitive curricula diversity of styles, then all students can excel. and pedagogy Attempts to make schools more 'girl- friendly' involve challenging the ethos of The Mozambique case study provides an authority, hierarchy, and social control that example of the widespread harassment of pervades the majority of schools, and girls by male teachers - ranging from verbal developing ways of engaging with rights, and physical abuse to sexual abuse - that is empowerment, agency, and the voice of a major influence on girls' decisions to drop the learner. Where school management out of school. Girls and female teachers are is gender-responsive, gender-equality strat- often assigned chores such as fetching egies are developed not only for water, cleaning classrooms, and cooking for administrative issues, but also for manage- the (male) head teacher. Teachers may use ment of the curriculum, the personal and these tasks as a pretext for luring girls into social development of students, and the their houses, where they are sexually participation of students in decision-making abused (Muito 2004). The HIV/AIDS (see Box 2). Through School Management epidemic gives an added urgency to the Committees and School Councils, the need to deal with this unacceptable possibility now exists in many countries for dimension of school life. In challenging greater decision-making and influence by inequalities or abusive relationships, learners and community members in particularly in the era of HIV/AIDS, it has schools, on issues that include gender.

Box 2; Tuseme clubs

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) took teachers at a small number of schools in Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania through a tuseme ('speak out') programme, with good results for girls and boys. In tuseme clubs girls learned how to analyse their educational problems and find ways of solving them. Teachers and school managers also attended tuseme workshops, as well as having training in guidance and counselling. This encouraged them to work with the students to create stimulating and gender-sensitive learning environments that were not restricted to the academic aspect of their work but encompassed the social ethos of the school. Mlama (2004) 50

Teachers and school management need Teachers face multiple problems and to be aware of how their pedagogies and the challenges in their personal and professional curriculum can sustain gender inequalities lives, including low pay and poor and have severe consequences for girls' and conditions, which contribute to low morale boys' learning. 'Gender sensitisation' is not and low status. To return to the Mozambique enough to empower teachers to develop example, AMME has been carrying out a gender-responsive teaching methodologies range of initiatives since 2000, which aim to and pedagogies that go beyond recognising build the cultural, social, and economic gender stereotypes and questioning knowledge of women teachers. It has also stereotypical expectations of boys and girls. attempted to address some of the problems Gender differences pervade the choice of faced by primary-school teachers. These learning style, assessment, students' ability include very low standards of living for all to express their voice and use space, as well teachers. Female teachers' status and as how reforms geared to developing opportunities boomed briefly during the 'independent learners' are expressed and socialist regime in Mozambique in the 1980s, implemented. but the ensuing civil war undermined Very little work has been done in teacher- previous gains, and female teachers today training courses to develop teachers' are struggling for equal access to benefits, understanding of gender inequalities and resources, and opportunities for promotion. how to overcome them in the classroom. To The situation is slowly changing as women address the issues of both teachers' teachers begin to demand greater professional and personal orientation, participation in decision-making within opportunities are needed for student schools and within the education system. There are now examples of women school teachers and teachers in-service - who may 5 have had only very limited pre-service directors and school cluster directors, training, or none at all - to understand their although they are still a small minority. own gender socialisation and identities, and Other changes taking place that can reinforce to understand how gender discrimination the principle of equal rights and takes place in schools, as well as their role in opportunities for women in the teaching addressing it (Chege 2004). Because the profession include the establishment of issues are complex, a single training session, Gender Units in District Departments of either at the pre-service stage or through in- Education, although these suffer from a service, is generally not sufficient to change chronic shortage of funding and resources. teaching practice and behaviour. And any Women teachers and directors are training that does not extend to supporting providing positive examples of what women teachers to develop practicable solutions and can achieve, in the rural areas of Zambezia. is not accompanied by monitoring and AMME, Oxfam, and the District Department follow-up support will have limited impact. of Education are working together with a Where training is co-ordinated and effective, multi-faceted approach to improving access, it is not well documented, with the result retention, and quality outcomes for girls in that knowledge of strategies and learning is primary schooling. This has included building not captured and utilised. So, strategies need houses for female teachers, supporting the to be explored for storing the knowledge District Gender Unit to develop its terms of about gender-equitable pedagogies that is reference and planning, offering bursaries to developed at schools and training centres, in girls from some of the most economically order that teachers and teacher trainers can disadvantaged households, and investing in benefit from lessons already learned and girls' hostels so that they can easily access experience already gained. upper primary school. The education MDGs 51

As AMME testifies for the rural In the second scenario - realising the Mozambique context, female teachers often Dakar Framework - we will have achieved struggle against abuse from male colleagues Education for All, as laid out in the Dakar and students, while at the same time being Programme for Action, and all children will expected to be active transformers of the be in school. But the ways in which improved system, to assess textbooks, audit the education quality and enhanced pedagogies curriculum, develop the local curriculum, link with gender equality will have been only and develop new classroom practice. partially fulfilled, because of a focus on the Expectations of teachers to become effective formal education system to the exclusion of change agents for gender equality - inside wider societal considerations. The Lioma reformers - will not be met unless teachers school will nevertheless be supported by are supported and empowered to do this good implementation of the current through the co-ordinated efforts of pre- curriculum reform in Mozambique, by service training institutions, and providers of improved school/community relations in-service and ongoing professional through the School Council, and by enhanced development. Local contexts are very training for teachers in gender equality and important in defining the nature of support increased numbers of female teachers. needed and the nature of gender inequalities, In the third scenario - gender-equal such as unequal power relations, gender- pedagogies for enhancement and confidence, based violence and HIV/AIDS, poverty, and inclusion and participation (Arnot 2004) - the employment (Chege 2004). full vision for gender equality as laid out in the Beijing Platform for Action, the resolutions taken at other key international What can be done, and to forums such as Cairo in 1994 (International what do we aspire? Conference on Population and Develop- There are three broad scenarios for the ment), and the World Summit on Social coming ten years with regard to our Development in 1995 will have been realised. aspirations for the MDGs and therefore with This means that gender-equitable pedagogies regard to what is achieved. In the first will be based in broader societal change for scenario - a 'business as usual' approach - gender equality, with implications for the we continue with the current patchy sustainability of practice. In Lioma, girls will implementation of policies and programmes no longer be preyed upon by traders and for gender equality, concentrating primarily others in the community, because they will be on improving access and leaving the empowered to demand that their rights are responsibility for pedagogies to small units respected and their positions in society are within education ministries, a handful of strengthened. They will benefit from an NGOs, and certain concerned teachers and education which provides them with the education officials. Larger numbers of capabilities to achieve the freedoms they children will come into school, but only want and the kind of lives they value. Table 1 some will learn in ways that help them to illustrates the potential of each scenario. thrive. A considerable number will be The opportunities provided by the global subject to threat and violence in school. push for the MDGs will have been lost if in 15 Strategies to combat sexual abuse of girls in years' time we have only achieved Scenario school, such as in Lioma, will continue; but 1. To move towards Scenarios 2 and 3, this funding and support may remain unreliable article has highlighted a range of strategies and short term, provided through NGOs which, as part of a coherent and integrated and community-based organisations with approach, will help to achieve gender little institutional support or follow-up. equality in education. These are drawn 52

Table 1: Scenarios for pedagogy and gender equality

Aspects of the school Scenario 1: Scenario 2: Scenario 3: experience and Business as usual Realising the Dakar Pedagogies for environment Framework enhancement, inclusion, and participation

Entering school Partially achieved Achieved for all Achieved for all

Retention in school Only some stay in school Achieved for all Achieved for all

Learning successfully Only some learn Some do not learn Achieved for all

Developing tolerant Receives little attention Only some develop Achieved for all identities in school tolerant identities

Experiencing safety Safety and security is Only some experience Achieved for all and security very fragile safety and security in school

Promoting health Very little promotion and Some do not experience Achieved for all experience of health this

Facilitating economic, Achieved for some children Increasing numbers Achieved for all political, and cultural achieve this opportunities and outcomes

together below in terms of the types of action School heads and teachers that need to be taken by different actors. Policies need to be translated into practical curricular and pedagogical responses which Policy makers and government officials challenge gender inequalities and pay It is crucial that policy makers and particular attention to eradicating abusive or government officials promote institutions violent relations. Head teachers need to that are fair to women and men and promote provide good leadership with support from gender equity as a fundamental value. Such local education authorities and communities institutions will provide an environment for so that the ethos of the classroom and school furthering dialogue between policy makers is 'girl-friendly' and the female teachers feel and practitioners where both are alert to the supported and safe. Within classrooms, insights of the other with regard to gender- teachers can involve pupils by asking them equality strategies. This will help to ensure how they learn best and by attending to the that there is a questioning of the current voices of all, particularly those who are least gendered ways in which decisions about often heard. Here, teachers' skills in curriculum content and curriculum participatory methodologies and respond- development are taken, and that measures ing to different learning styles are important. are instigated to ensure that they do not They can involve students in developing reinforce inequalities. The policy- strategies for gender equality through a development process needs to involve not process of change regarding pedagogies and only government officials and donor experts the curriculum. Teachers can work with but teachers, teacher trainers, students, students, developing what they already parents, and the wider community. know, and can directly challenge both their Listening to girls and parents about their own and students' use of offensive expectations is vital for the design of realistic stereotypes by making explicit rules about and good policies. gender equality with regard to class The education MDGs 53 participation, rather than relying on sons on completion of at least a basic informal understandings. education also need to be illustrated to stimulate aspirations, as do role models. This The teacher trainers article has provided one example of how Governments have a major responsibility for community leaders and elders have been helping to develop gender equality in part of a process of awareness-building pedagogy through the courses that they around gender equity and schooling, which provide for teachers. Many NGOs and has met with considerable success. government-supported institutions also provide teacher-training courses. Training is Sufficient resources needed that helps to develop teachers' Resources are vital for the above initiatives understandings of gender-equality issues and strategies to be implemented. Time is an and how to overcome them in the classroom. important resource, which is key to the This will involve training of the trainers too. development of a coherent and integrated There is a need for teacher-training modules approach. But training and capacity-building that concentrate on gender equality and are also essential, as well as the funding to provide packages of practical materials for allow these other resources to be realised. teachers to use in classrooms. Training packages need to be suited to local contexts, Good documentation and but materials already exist that can be communication sensitively adapted.6 For teachers to be able An integrated and coherent approach to change pedagogies and overcome the depends on access to good information and taken-for-granted gender inequalities that documentation about what has worked and are part of the societies in which they live, what has not worked in different contexts they need on-going support. One way of and conditions. It is also dependent on creating this support may be through building new networks of communication, building networks of teachers to work and the exchange of learning and experience together on new pedagogies through school for on-going policy development and clusters and teachers' centres. Sustaining improved practice. These networks need to training and learning for teachers and make new links between entrenched education officials will be enhanced by channels of communications, such as within building networks and through sustained ministry hierarchies or NGO-partner support to implement ideas about gender relationships, to allow for new and equality and pedagogy. Action research challenging forms of engagement and networks focusing on gender equality are a interaction between groups. useful way forward, as are networks that link girls together. Conclusion Schools and teachers working with This article has shown that gender equity for communities and parents girls in education is much more than a Teachers, NGOs, and community-based matter of equal access. It has considered organisations need to work closely with practices which militate against girls' parents and communities to develop ways to retention and achievement in school - support girls' and boys' learning so that they sexual abuse, in the Mozambican case - and can all participate in the life of their illustrated how factors and influences both communities. Parents' anxieties or inside and outside the school contribute to misgivings about schooling for their persistence of extreme gender injustice. daughters need to be taken seriously, but the Improving the quality of girls' and boys' opportunities for educated daughters and education means investing more resources, 54

commitment, and sustained support for Notes teacher education and curriculum change. 1 For example, the right2education e-discussion Achieving gender equality in education for for civil society feedback on the Millennium the enhancement, inclusion, and partic- Project Task Force's interim report on achieving ipation of all girls means that educational the MDG on gender equality, co-ordinated by quality must be accompanied by broader ActionAid, the Commonwealth Education Fund, and the Global Campaign for Education, June changes in society. For the girls of Lioma, 2004 the MDGs must deliver change to allow (www.unmillenniumproject.org / html / tf3docs.s them to achieve the freedoms to which they htm). have a right, and the kind of life that they 2 The project is co-ordinated by Dr Elaine value. Unterhalter and Dr Sheila Aikman with Chloe Challender and Rajee Rajagopalan. A joint project between the Institute of Education, Sheila Aikman is the Global Education Policy University of London, and Oxfam GB, it is Adviser with Oxfam GB and co-ordinator of the located at the Institute of Education. DFID-funded 'Beyond Access: Gender, Education 3 Thanks are due for the information in this case and Development' Project. She has worked and study to colleagues in the Oxfam GB Zambezia published on intercultural education, indigenous programme, Ruth Bechtel and Olga Muthambe. The case study is also available in the May 2005 education, and gender, with a special focus on issue of Links on the MDGs, which is available Latin America. Email: [email protected] online at www.oxfam.org.uk/ what_we_do / issues / gender / links / index.htm. Chloe Challender writes and edits materials for 4 Thanks to Maria Isabel Ligonha and Fatima the 'Gender, Education and Development: Luciano Muha from AMME for information for Beyond Access' project. She facilitates the flow of this case study, gathered through a semi- structured interview on 24 September 2004. information concerning the project to a wide 5 An example from Mozambique is Naipa School audience around the world, organising in Gile District, Zambezia province, where the conferences, seminars, and events linked to the female school head is also the director of the project. Email: [email protected] local cluster of schools. The impact of providing housing and support for a female head teacher Elaine Unterhalter is Senior Lecturer in in this remote school has been a 200 per cent increase in girls' attendance (Oxfam GB project Education and International Development at the note, 7 July 2004). Institute of Education, University of London. She 6 The Beyond Access website contains information co-ordinates the 'Gender, Development and about easily available resources: Education: Beyond Access' project. Email: www.girlseducation.org. [email protected] References The following references are to papers prepared for Seminars 1 and 2 of the Beyond Access Project. The materials cited can be found on the Beyond Access website: www.ungei.org or http: / / ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk / ioe / cms. Aikman, S. and E. Unterhalter (2004) 'Curriculum and Pedagogy for Gender Equality and Quality Basic Education in Schools', paper based on the Beyond Access Project Seminars 1 and 2 and presented at the World Congress of The education MDGs 55

Comparative Education Societies Congress, Weiner, G. (2004) 'Learning from Feminism: Havana, November 2004 Education, Pedagogy and Practice' (University Amot, M. (2004) 'Gender Equality and of Umea, Sweden) Opportunities in the Classroom: Thinking about Yates, L. (2004) 'Does Curriculum Matter?' Citizenship, Pedagogy and the Rights of (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia) Children' (University of Cambridge, UK) Chege, F. (2004) 'Teachers' Gendered Lives, Other references HIV/AIDS and Pedagogy' (Kenyatta University, Millennium Project (2004) 'Achieving Universal Kenya) Primary Education by Chisholm, L. (2004) 'The Politics of Implementing 2015', Background Paper of the Policy Gender Equality: Evaluating Gender Task Force on Education, Equality and Curriculum - The Politics of www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/ Curriculum 2005 in South Africa' tf3docs.shtm Mlama, P. (2004) 'FAWE's Experience in Africa in UNESCO (2003) Gender and Education for All: The Changing Teaching for Gender Equity' Leap to Equality, Paris: UNESCO (Executive Director, FAWE, Kenya) Weiner, G. (2000) Book review in British Educational Muito, M. (2004) 'Gender Equality in the Research Journal 28(6): 904-7 Classroom: Reflections on Practice' (Organising Secretary, FAWE Kenya Executive Committee) 56 Not a sufficient condition: the limited relevance of the gender MDG to women's progress Robert Johnson

Despite recent awareness of the need to 'mainstream' gender perspectives into public policy, and in responses to economic inequity and growing poverty, practice often seems to continue to place gender equity as a secondary goal. Are the Millennium Development Goals any different? This article argues that - taking Belize as a case in point - the absence of gender disparities in schooling (the core of the single gender-based Millennium Development Target) has led to neither improved gender equity in the workforce, nor improved gender shares of national income. Even if the gender-relevant Target and associated Indicators are met, the accompanying Goal to 'promote gender equality and empower women' may therefore fall far short of achieving any real progress. Gender equality in education may be a necessary condition for improving gender equity in political and economic relations, but it is not a sufficient condition for doing so.

The new century opened with an be in the hope of 'ridding' the world of unprecedented declaration of solidarity and poverty by 2015? The HDR simply observes determination to rid the world of poverty. that 'the 1990s saw unprecedented stagnation (UNDP 2003,1) and deterioration' in this regard (ibid. 40); and So begins the UNDP Human Development this for the decade that promised the world's Report (HDR) for 2003, subtitled Millennium poor the benefits of the 'peace dividend' following the end of the cold war. Development Goals: a compact among nations to end human poverty. It is not clear what is In his analysis of the feasibility of the 'unprecedented' about such a declaration, in poverty reduction objectives of the MDGs, the wake of failed commitments to 0.7 per Gaiha concludes that they are overly cent GDP official development assistance by optimistic, if not misleading. However, he developed states, the poverty-reduction argues, they 'are nevertheless useful in undertakings of the 1995 World Summit on drawing attention to pervasive deprivation Social Development, the actual effects on in the developing world, and to the need for poor people of structural adjustment a determined and co-ordinated effort on the programmes, the International Monetary part of the development community to Fund's (IMF's) Poverty Reduction and reduce [poverty] substantially in the near Growth Facility, the World Bank's Poverty future' (2003, 76). Is that the best that can be Reduction Strategy Plan, and other global expected from the MDGs? Who needs such a declarations and initiatives concerning reminder to try harder? Poor people don't. poverty. Perhaps it is that this concerns the The developing countries - with increasing eradication rather than merely the reduction ofexternal interventions allegedly in their own poverty, which seems a cruel hoax on the interests - don't. And those multilateral world's poor people in the wake of such agencies that pull the levers that have multilateral failures. If it hasn't been possible imposed poverty-exacerbating state econo- to reduce poverty under earlier mic policy are unlikely to change their commitments, what confidence should there behaviour due to the MDGs (and neither are Not a sufficient condition 57 they required to do so by the associated world order in a way that mere poverty performance indicators). statistics, accompanied by benevolent policy declarations, do not ... [B]y prioritising Poverty and inequality, poverty over inequality, relations of power, and the responsibilities these entail, are eliminated gender and power from the picture. Within the dominant framework of poverty (Nederveen Pieterse 2002,1027) reduction and economic growth, lessons Of course, at a national level, inequality - have been learned slowly and with insofar as it concerns a gender dimension - difficulty. Neo-liberal policy prescriptions can become politically sensitive precisely for have served to weaken developing-country that reason: it challenges dominant power economies, increase the numbers in poverty, relations. It is useful here to draw a distinction and diminish the interventionist capacity of between 'condition' and 'position', the former their governments (in the interests of free referring to a person's material state (such as markets). Dagdeviren et al. conclude that levels of wealth/poverty, education, 'growth alone is a rather blunt instrument employment / unemployment, vulnerability for poverty reduction, since the consensus to violence/abuse), the latter referring to a of empirical work suggests that typically it person's social, political, or economic place in is distribution neutral' (2002, 405). Their society (Economic Commission for Latin analysis demonstrates the primary role of redistributive measures - even to the America and the Caribbean 1997,3). Much of exclusion of a growth scenario - in tackling the attention to the situation of women has poverty. been addressed to their poorer condition: inequitable access to resources and greater But the interventions of the IMF and need for certain services. This rarely threatens World Bank have explicitly served to power relations. It is when measures are weaken the capacity of states to perform advocated to address the inferior position of such roles. Their imposed neo-liberal women, especially with respect to their equal prescriptions have been additionally rights to economic and political power, that counter-productive because they 'widen the systemic resistance is encountered. global inequality that poverty reduction Consequently, it has been possible - even strategies seek to mitigate' (Nederveen normal - to improve the condition of women Pieterse 2002, 1042). Those developing countries that survived the economic without hurting the condition of men or downturn of the past decade 'were those challenging the position of men. However, which refused to listen to the IMF' (Monbiot resistance occurs when there is action to 2003,148). achieve greater equity in the position of women, because it is more likely to mean There have been two concurrent trends in changes in the position of men. Arguably, recent decades: the parallel increases in this has been a central theme of the 'gender global inequality and in global economic and development' agenda. The 'feminisation integration, and the parallel increases in of poverty' at a national level has been extreme poverty and wealth. While at a understood as an issue of inequality that national level inequality is not as politically extends to the very basis of women's sensitive a theme as is poverty, at a global level it is the other way around, because position: in economic relations, in access to poverty can be posited as a fact of life - while power and decision-making, and in the inequality concerns power relations: domestic sphere. It is emphatically not addressed in a sustainable manner solely by In that global inequality maps relative measures to improve the material conditions deprivation, it challenges the legitimacy ofof women. 58

The inclusion in HDRs of gender north and Guatemala to its west and south. indicators has helped to focus the treatment In ethnic terms it is a highly diverse society. of gender within the human development With a population approaching 300,000, it is framework. This necessarily involves a the least populous Central American consideration of issues of power within country. As a former British colony with a states, if not between them or beyond them. sizable Creole population, it is culturally and A gender perspective has thus been a historically part of the English-speaking productive - and essential - means by which Caribbean, among which it is above the the direct relationship between poverty and median in country size. Belize's HDI is 0.737, inequality may be better understood at the a fall on preceding years due to a long- national and sub-national levels. For the overdue replacement in the HDR of a HDR gender indicators - the Gender-related measure of adult literacy of 93 per cent, Development Index (GDI) and the Gender despite all national assessments of adult Empowerment Measure (GEM) - the focus is literacy placing it in the low 70s or lower. The both on gender disparities in the components rate included in the 2004 HDR is 77 per cent.1 of the Human Development Index (HDI) (life As is well known, such national indices expectancy, education participation, literacy, usually conceal intra-state disparities, not and income) and on gender shares of the least on the basis of gender. In fact, the economic and political power (parliamentary UNDP (1996, 33-4) has drawn several seats, positions as legislators, senior officials conclusions from its production of the GDI and managers, positions held as professional and GEM: and technical workers, and access to national earned income). • No society treats its women as well as it treats its men (no country's GDI matches In this context, a crucial indicator - possibly its HDI).2 the most crucial indicator - of a reduction in poverty and in gender inequality is that of • Removing gender inequalities is not gender shares of national earned income dependent upon having a high income. (which may reflect access to better-paid and • Gender inequality is not necessarily perhaps more strategic decision-making associated with high economic growth. positions without being sidetracked by tokenism in the small number of women • Gender development occurs regardless offered access to such arenas). For the MDGs, of socio-economic characteristics. the assumption is that gender equality in This means that considerable progress in access to education is a primary means of gender equality may be made without such redressing gender inequity in the economic 'preconditions' as high national income, spheres, including in employment. In fact, high economic growth, a particular political according to the UNDP, 'gender equality in ideology or cultural context. Countries with education helps women secure employment 'low' human development may nevertheless outside the home and acquire political power, achieve such progress. (Of course, this also contributing to their agency in the public denies the 'need' for neo-liberalist sphere' (2003,86). This article challenges such a prescriptions as a prerequisite for gendered perspective on the basis of experience in Belize. human development.) Improved gender equality is one of the MDG gender indicators for principal MDGs, of which there are eight, Belize accompanied by 18 'targets' and 48 'indicators' in order to measure progress Belize is located on the Caribbean coast of towards the achievement of each of those northern Central America, with Mexico to its Goals. Goal 3 is to 'promote gender equality Not a sufficient condition 59 and empower women'. It is accompanied by Indicator 9 does not reflect the actual one target (Target 4) to 'eliminate gender proportions of boys and girls in the disparity in primary and secondary education system, just the number of girls education, preferably by 2005, and in all relative to the number of boys, and the HDR levels of education no later than 2015'. There combined gross enrolment ratios suggest a are four indicators by which the achieve- rate for Indicator 9 of 1.01. The withdrawal of ment of Goal 3 is to be measured for each boys from the education system, especially country: at secondary level, serves to elevate the apparent level of female participation • Indicator 9: the ratio of girls to boys in suggested by this indicator. Nevertheless, primary, secondary, and tertiary the point remains that females have a higher education; rate of education outcome than do males in • Indicator 10: the ratio of literate women Belize.4 to men, aged 15-24 years; Indicator 10: literacy • Indicator 11: the share of women in wage For literacy, all available national indicators employment in the non-agricultural conclude that there is little or no gender sector; disparity. The HDR puts the rate for those • Indicator 12: the proportion of seats held aged 15 years and above as 77.1 per cent for by women in national parliaments.3 females and 76.7 per cent for males, suggesting that Indicator 10 for Belize is 1.01 Indicator 9: education participation (aged 15 years and over). The United Education participation rates highlight some Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) puts the of the hidden problems in properly rate for 15-24 year olds in Belize at a understanding the MDG indicators. consistent 1.01 over the past decade at least. According to the HDR, Belize's combined That is, available data suggest a small primary, secondary, and tertiary gross 'disparity' in favour of females. enrolment ratios (2001/2 data) are 72 per cent for females and 71 per cent for males, Indicator 11: non-agricultural wage and its net enrolment ratios (2000/1 data) of employment females to males are 1.00 (primary) and 1.07 The MDG gender measure of wage (secondary). According to the Government employment concerns the non-agricultural of Belize's Education Statistical Digest, the sector. The Central Statistical Office (CSO) net enrolment ratios of girls to boys in 2001 conducts an annual Labour Force Survey were 0.99 (primary) and 1.06 (secondary). (LFS). For the 2002 Survey (the latest for However, this does not reflect gender which data were available at the time of disparities against girls (primary) or in writing), the ratio of persons aged 14 years favour of girls (secondary) as some may and over in non-agricultural occupations is assume (see, for example, UNSD 2004b). The 62.3 per cent (males) and 31.2 per cent slightly lower ratio of girls in primary (females). However, the figure for females is schooling is a reflection of the higher overstated with respect to actual wage- repetition rate for boys; the higher female earning because, while only 0.3 per cent of ratio in secondary schooling is a reflection of employed women are in agricultural that primary-school characteristic, as well as occupations, 4.3 per cent of employed boys' higher drop-out rate at secondary women are described as being in 'unpaid level. These data produced by the Belize family' employment, which suggests that Government accord with UNICEF gross around 4 per cent of women in non- enrolment ratios of girls to boys in 2000: 0.97 agricultural 'wage' employment are and 1.08 respectively (2003,118). Of course, unwaged. It therefore seems that, at best, 60

Indicator 11 is in the order of 0.44. This means signifies the necessary advances in approximates UNSD data, which give a ratio tackling issues of poverty and wealth of 0.41 for each of 2000 and 2001. The second distribution that are central to shifting half of this article gives closer scrutiny to the gender relations in power-sharing and gender dimensions of the Belize labour economic equity. market on the basis of trends in successive LFSs, given that this is argued as being an important aspect of gender equity. Belize's labour market: early gender characteristics Indicator 12: parliamentary seats The 1991 national census reported an In a small country like Belize, the number of unemployment rate in Belize of 3.8 per cent: women parliamentarians fluctuates as a 4.2 per cent for men and 2.1 per cent for percentage but remains a minority. The issue women. This may have seemed good news, of the extent to which this indicator is a more but to anyone with any knowledge of Belize, informative measure of gender power- it was clearly a gross understatement. sharing than the GEM or an important indicator in 'ridding' Belize of poverty is not In the absence of alternative sources of debated here. However, it seems reasonable data at that time, the Chief Statistician to suggest that visible achievements in the computed new estimates of unemployment, entry of women into, for example, political based on an assumption that Belize's labour- representation or corporate management force participation rate equated with the average for the English-speaking have been more likely to mask continued 5 resistance to gender equity than to signify Caribbean. This yielded an unemployment real reform. Cosmetic or temporary rate of 19.6 per cent: much higher than that of 'advances' have often been mistaken for - or the census. More importantly, it highlighted overtly promoted as - systemic progress in the limitations of the census in providing gender equity. They have not necessarily satisfactory measures of the labour market been accompanied by a sustained improve- and strengthened the focus on the need for a ment in the position of women. Such more methodical collection of such data. illusions have been characteristic of In 1993, the CSO conducted an LFS in economies, labour markets, and social each of April and October, supported by the institutions in both developed and Organization of American States and the developing countries, and reflect the limita- International Labour Organization (ILO). tions of the 'gender infrastructure' approach This was the first in-depth study of the Belize (Rao and Kelleher 2003). The 2004 figure for labour force in ten years. The Survey Belize for Indicator 12 is 9.3 per cent, and the followed standard international concepts UNSD rate over the period 1999-2002 is 7 per and definitions set down in UN Statistical cent. Office and ILO guidelines. In summary, the emphasis of the single For statistical utility, it was necessary to MDG concerning gender is on gender survey 8 per cent of households country- equality in education participation, and is wide, selected according to sampling by the specific focus of the associated target. For districts according to size, based on the 1991 Belize, there is a small tendency in favour of census. This resulted in more than 3,400 females in both education participation and households being interviewed in each of literacy. However, Indicator 11 - concerning April and October. The response rate for the wage employment - suggests that education Survey was 86 per cent (88 per cent in April equality is not translating into vocational and 83 per cent in October); the 1983 rate had and income equity. Arguably, the been 83 per cent. Subsequent surveys have achievement of this particular MDG by no been conducted on a similar basis, but Not a sufficient condition 61 confined to April only in each year, due to number of people in the Belize labour force, resource constraints. There was no survey the female share of the labour force fell conducted in 2000 due to the competing marginally to 31.8 per cent. While women's demands of conducting the national census. share of employment rose marginally to 30.1 (As a consequence, all data in this article are per cent, women primarily responded to the for April in each year, with no data for 2000.) behaviour of the labour market by reducing LFS data are periodically published by their labour-force participation rate (a fall of the CSO, and are available for researchers 5.3 percentage points to 35.0 per cent, and policy analysts.6 Of course, this has been compared with a 2.2 percentage point fall for no guarantee that such data are used for such men to 79.4 per cent) and retreated into purposes, but the foundations exist for doing unpaid domestic labour in even larger so. (In addition to decadal national censuses, numbers. the CSO regularly conducts and publishes a On the basis of the 1983 and 1993 range of other surveys, more notably Surveys, the 1994 examination noted the household surveys and 'family health' following points: surveys - each with full attention to sex- • The female labour force was more highly based and gender-based dimensions - which educated but less well paid, less likely to extend the quantitative framework for be employed, and more likely to planning in that country.) experience long-term unemployment It is normally the case in any country that than the male labour force. politicians and the media give most attention to three labour-force statistics: the rise or fall • Men gained fully two-thirds (66.9 per in jobs, the rate of unemployment, and the cent) of the jobs added to the Belize labour rise or fall in the number of people who are market in that decade, thus exacerbating unemployed. In all three cases, the 1993 an already inequitable situation. Survey, on the surface, presented welcome • Women responded to being denied news: between 1983 and 1993, the labour equitable access to the labour market by force in Belize grew by 47.6 per cent, the rate withdrawing in large numbers: the net of unemployment fell by 4.2 percentage addition over that decade of women of points (to 9.8 per cent), and the number of working age was concentrated in the people unemployed fell by 2.8 per cent.7 growing numbers engaged in 'home However, in all three cases, those data duties'. concealed serious problems in terms of gender patterns. A 1994 examination of the • The fall in male unemployment was 1983 and 1993 Surveys made a number of primarily a result of them benefiting observations about the gendered behaviour most from the decade's jobs growth, of the Belize labour market (Johnson 1994). while the fall in female unemployment While the censuses had yielded female essentially reflected them giving up on unemployment rates of a half of that for men, the labour market (often referred to as the 1993 LFS showed that the rate for women 'hidden unemployment'). was at least double that for men, as well as revealing an unemployment rate treble that Belize's labour market over of the 1991 census. In terms of sheer volume, the two largest the past decade changes between 1983 and 1993 were in the Between 1993 and 2002, the employed Belize numbers of women not in the labour force labour force grew by 37.7 per cent. Over that and the numbers of men in employment. period, there appears to have been no Despite a 40.7 per cent increase in the improved gender equity in the labour 62

market, which suggests that the deterioration numbers of men than women who declare in the situation for women (especially their themselves to be in retirement (reflecting withdrawal from the labour force over the their historically higher shares of previous decade, particularly into home employment) and the growth over the duties) has become a structural change. decade in the number of women who declare Women are still unemployed at a rate that they do not 'want' to work. Over the that is more than double that of men (for past decade, this latter group rose from 1.2 2002, 16.3 per cent and 7.8 per cent per cent (1993) to 4.9 per cent (2002) of respectively), despite still having a labour- women not in the labour force. Given that force participation rate less than half that of women persist in their efforts to secure men (37.5 per cent compared with 78.8 per employment (as noted earlier), this trend - as cent). ('Despite', because it is often normal with the growth over the previous decade in for the labour-force participation rate to women withdrawing from the labour force change to achieve some sort of equilibrium: a into home duties - suggests another refuge population denied job opportunities would for the 'hidden unemployed': another group be more inclined to withdraw from the of what is termed 'discouraged job seekers'. labour market.) High unemployment and A consideration of the data for young low labour-force participation indicate a people (14-25 year olds) does not give much greater tenacity by many women in their reason for optimism in the foreseeable attempts to secure paid employment. future. Between 1993 and 2001 (2002 data for Women are at a multiple disadvantage young people appear to suffer errors), the here: if they don't give up and withdraw from unemployment rate for young females the labour force, then they are more likely to ranged between 1.5 and 2.3 times the young suffer unemployment; if they find male rate, standing at 32.6 per cent and 15.1 employment, it is more likely to be less well per cent respectively in 2001.8 The labour- paid - especially given their higher education force participation rate seems to have risen levels - than that for men. Men continue to for young females, from around 50 per cent hold almost 70 per cent of available jobs to about 60 per cent of the male rate. As with (women's share in 2002 was 31.0 per cent). the total adult workforce, young women Women also continue to bear the greater continue to receive around 31 per cent of burden of long-term unemployment (at least 'youth jobs', which suggests no 12 months' duration): although those rates improvement as young educated females fluctuate annually, the rate for women over the enter the workforce. decade was a fairly constant average of at least In fact, there also appears to be a marked 50 per cent higher than the male rate: another increase in the proportion of females in post- indicator of their tenacity in seeking work. secondary education over the past decade. Women also continue to comprise While any increase for young males is approximately three-quarters of all persons unclear from the LFS data, that for young not in the labour force (that is, persons who females may indicate deferred labour-force have left formal full-time education but do not entry due to lack of job opportunities. In 1993, consider themselves to be in the labour force, 4.0 per cent of young males and 4.6 per cent of whether employed or unemployed). young females were in post-secondary Approximately 67 per cent of such women education, and the corresponding rates in continue to be in 'home/family duties', 2001 were 4.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent. If compared with a fairly static 3 per cent of men. post-secondary education participation is to Apart from the much higher 'home be encouraged, intervention is essential to duties' rate for females, other gender ensure no labour-market resistance to young disparities for this group are the higher graduates. Not a sufficient condition 63

The labour force continues to exhibit tackling serious gender inequity in wealth gender disparities with respect to education distribution and economic power, but it is levels. Males in the labour force who had at clearly not a sufficient basis for doing so. least a secondary education ranged around Education equality appears to leave the the 19-23 per cent rate (22.6 per cent in 2001). inequitable position of women unchanged in The female equivalent was in the range of the absence of other measures that are not 36-43 per cent (36.4 per cent in 2001). Of the reflected in the MDGs. unemployed in 2001,24.0 per cent of females The resistance of the Belize labour market had at least a secondary education, to greater gender equality occurs despite the compared with 16.0 per cent of men. fact that Belizean women are, compared If the education levels of females have with Belizean men, better educated. evidently not assisted their achievement of Nevertheless, Belizean women continue to equity in the labour market, they have suffer twice the unemployment rate, and similarly not assisted their parallel access to access fewer than one-third of the available income equity. This is most apparent from jobs, compared with their male counterparts. reference to HDR GEM data, which include And there does not appear to be a basis for gender shares of earned income. The HDR optimism when considering such data for presents such data for 153 countries. Belize's younger Belizean males and females over at ratio of estimated female to male earned least the past decade. income is 0.24, exceeded in disparity by only Successive annual labour-market data two other countries— Oman (0.22) and suggest that apparent gender discrimination Saudi Arabia (0.21). Of course, care needs to in the Belize labour market led to a marked be taken in interstate comparisons: the withdrawal of women from the labour force estimated earned income levels of women in into unpaid domestic labour in the decade to Oman and Saudi Arabia are 71 per cent and 1993. Those data further suggest that such 61 per cent higher respectively than that of withdrawal has become a structural feature women in Belize.9 In summary, the Belize over the past decade, which saw no male share of earned income is 4.1 times that improvement in women's rate of access to for women, which is at the most inequitable paid employment, despite their higher end of the global spectrum: women in states education levels, and labour-force with higher distributional inequality receive participation rates continuing to be a half of substantially higher incomes than their the male rate. Belizean counterparts. This is not to say that the government of Belize has taken no corrective measures: on the contrary. Government policy reforms in Concluding comments this regard in recent years have been The trickle of benefits from economic growth primarily of a redistributive nature, to those living in poverty has enabled the reinforced by changes to various laws systemic barriers to sustainable poverty (Johnson 2002). This seems to be the very least reduction to be largely left intact. For that needs to be done (Dagdeviren et al. 2002), women, this is doubly disastrous, given the given that Belizean males receive 80 per cent domestic and social spheres where power of national earned income. It is, however, to relations operate to their disadvantage: challenge the adequacy - even relevance - of condition may improve, but position is largely the single MDG concerning gender in left unchanged. measuring real national advances in poverty Like economic growth and poverty, the reduction and economic empowerment.10 achievement of gender equality in education In this context, the MDGs - as a in Belize may be a necessary basis for framework 'adopted by a consensus of 64

experts from the United Nations Secretariat of girls and women. In this regard at least, and IMF, OECD and the World Bank' the MDGs appear to be in danger of (UNSD 2004a) - avoid any systemic changes becoming yet another lost opportunity in in global or national economic and political global development effort. power relationships necessary to enabling real advances in gender equity. Accordingly, Robert Johnson is a development consultant it is most unlikely that the achievement of currently engaged as a UN adviser on human- the MDGs (even if that were to occur, in rights treaty reporting to the Government of contrast to other global compacts) will result Timor-Leste. He was social policy adviser to the in any sustainable improvements in the Government of Belize 1993-5, and a human- equitable treatment of women, and therefore development consultant in Belize 2001-3. it can - at best - be expected to make little Contact: rj_bz@y ahoo.com. real impact in 'ridding' the world of poverty. Of course, the education of girls, with particular emphasis on poor families and communities, is absolutely essential: essential in guaranteeing rights to all, essential in overcoming gender inequalities, essential in combating poverty, essential in optimising human development and well- being.11 But it must be accompanied by deep systemic changes: Eliminating gender inequality in education will only work if it is part of a much broader nationwide mobilization that has ambitious goals to ensure that women fully and equally participate in all aspects of economic, social and political development. (Oxfam UK 2003, 29) To return to an earlier theme: while the education of girls and women is necessary in improving the condition of women, it is not enough on its own to redress the inequitable position of women. The failure of the MDGs may not only lie in the fact that (according to early reports) donor states have failed, yet again, to meet their resource commitments to developing states (most notably, in such areas as meeting the education targets). It may also emanate from a failure, yet again, to explicitly address the systemic barriers to gender equity, even for those states that are able to meet MDG targets. As such, the MDGs may enable many desirable goals to be attained (including necessary improvements in gender equity in schooling), but they are unlikely to be a sufficient condition to advance the position Not a sufficient condition 65

Notes 'develop a global partnership for development'. 1 Unless otherwise apparent, all references in 9 Refer to UNDP (2004), GEM Table 25, pages this article to HDR data are to UNDP (2004). 221-4. Data need to be treated with caution on 2 According to UNDP (2003), Germany was a account of their rather vague derivation. The single exception, with GDI>HDI; for the 2004 ratio of estimated female to male earned HDR, two countries (Sweden and Latvia) income is derived from the data for estimated achieved GDI=HDI. earned income in Table 24 (GDI) which 'are 3 The primary reference for MDG information, crudely estimated on the basis of [various data] and especially for technical data on indicators for the most recent year available during and available country-based data, is UNSD 1991-2000' (Note c to Table 24; Note c to Table (2004a): for country data, follow the link for the 25 says '1991-2001'). relevant indicator. For Goal 3, reference should 10 The need for the MDGs to take due account of also be made to UNSD (2004b). References in gender dimensions of economic equity and this section to UNSD data for MSG Indicators poverty appears to be acknowledged by the for Belize are to UNSD (2004a). UN, with some apparent belated realisation of 4 Watkins produces an Education Performance the effort required. In a section dealing with Index for 104 developing countries: a improving the quality of MDG data concerning composite of net enrolment rate, completion 'poverty and income distribution', an rate, and female:male enrolment ratio. Belize is Economic and Social Council paper notes that ranked 49th (in descending order of '[t]he need for gender analysis of income and performance), due to a poor completion rate consumption and of intra-household (=74th) and despite a high net enrolment rate distribution is also well established but (=15th). Only 11 countries out-perform its evidently requires a major long-term effort' female:male ratio (viz. for those countries with (UN Statistical Commission 2004,17). at least 96 per cent female enrolment and a 11 It is also essential in preventing the deaths of male-female ratio no greater than 1 per cent) children. Watkins argues the presence of (Watkins 2000, 348-50). 'gender apartheid' in education, with young 5 While Belize is geographically located within girls bearing the brunt of the widespread Central America, its British colonial heritage denial of access to schooling and of high child and ethnic composition have more closely tied mortality rates; he identifies overcoming the it to English-speaking Caribbean states. This former as one prerequisite for tackling the statistical assumption was made on that basis, latter (Watkins 2000, 2-3). although the entry of many Central Americans into Belize in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to civil conflicts in the region rapidly changed References Belize's ethnic and cultural profile. Even so, the subsequent LFS series supports the Chief Dagdeviren, H., R. van der Hoeven, and J. Weeks Statistician's initial assumption. (2002) 'Poverty reduction with growth and redistribution', Development and Change 33(3): 6 The co-operation of the CSO and, in particular, 383-413 its Deputy Chief Statistician, Elizabeth Arnold, Economic Commission for Latin America and the in providing annual LFS data to the author is Caribbean (1997) Caribbean Social Structures and gratefully acknowledged. Any errors in the Changing World of Men, with the Caribbean interpretation of those data are entirely the Development and Cooperation Committee responsibility of the author. Gaiha, R. (2003) 'Are Millennium goals of poverty 7 References are to the average of the data for reduction useful?', Oxford Development Studies each of the April and October Surveys in 1993, 31(1): 59-84 as a better point of comparison with the 1983 Johnson, R. (1994) 'Is there Resistance to Gender data. Equity in the Labour Market? Indicators from 8 Indicator 45 of the MDGs is the only other the National Labour Force Survey', paper indicator to provide for sex-disaggregated presented to the Annual Conference on Belizean data: for the unemployment rate of 15—24 year Studies, Society for the Promotion of Education olds. For some reason, this concerns Goal 8: and Research, Belize City, Belize, 1994 66

Johnson, R. (2002) 'Women's economic UNICEF (2003) The State of the World's Children 2004, development: Belize's progress towards an New York: UNICEF elusive goal', IDEAS 7(3): 6-8, Society for the UNSD (2004a) 'Millennium Indicators Database', Promotion of Education and Research, Belize http: / / millenniumindicators.un.org / City, Belize unsd/mi/mi_goals.asp (last checked by the Monbiot, G. (2003) The Age of Consent: A Manifesto author November 2004) for a New World Order, London: Flamingo UNSD (2004b) 'Progress towards the MDGs, Nederveen Pieterse, J. (2002) 'Global inequality: 1990-2003: Summary', bringing politics back in', Third World Quarterly http: / / millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd / mi / 23(6): 1023-46 mi_coverfinal.htm (last checked by the author Oxfam UK (2003) 'A Fair Chance: Attaining Gender November 2004) Equality in Basic Education by UN Statistical Commission (2004) 'Indicators for 2005',http:/ / oxfam.org.uk/ Monitoring the Implementation of the what_we_do / issues / education / Millennium Development Goals', UN Economic downloads/gce_afairchance.pdf (last checked and Social Council E/CN.3/2004/23, by the author November 2004) http: / / unstats.un.org / unsd / statcom / doc04 / 20 Rao, A. and D. Kelleher (2003) 'Institutions, 04-23e.pdf (last checked by the author March organisations and gender equality in an era of 2005) globalisation', Gender and Development 11(1): Watkins, K. (2000) 'The Oxfam Education Report', 142-8 www.oxfam.org.uk / UNDP (1996) Human Development Report, New what_you_can_do / campaign / mdg / York: Oxford University Press downloads / edreport / edreport.htm (last UNDP (2003) Human Development Report, New checked by the author November 2004) York: Oxford University Press UNDP (2004) Human Development Report, New York: Oxford University Press 67

Out of the margins: the MDGS through a CEDAW lens Ceri Hayes

This article examines the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from a women's human rights perspective. It outlines some of the practical ways in which human rights principles, and the provisions set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in particular, can be used to ensure that the MDGs are met in a way that respects and promotes gender equality and women's human rights}

he inclusion of the goal to 'promote reporting mechanism and the Committee's gender equality and empower General Recommendations, which elaborate Twomen' (Goal 3) in the MDGs the Committee's view of the obligations demonstrates the impact of many years of assumed under the Convention, can be used lobbying by the women's movement to to enhance and strengthen efforts to meet the promote gender equality and women's MDGs by addressing gender inequality as human rights in development. Nevertheless, one of the underlying causes of poverty. many gender activists have expressed CEDAW is one of a number of legal concern that the MDGs fail to represent the instruments that have, over the years, vision and commitment to gender equality elaborated upon the nature and scope of and women's empowerment that are set out women's human rights. It is the only in key human rights instruments, such as international human rights treaty to CEDAW, and outcome documents of comprehensively address the issue of intergovernment conferences of the 1990s. women's human rights. CEDAW needs to be The most notable of these outcome considered in the context of other global documents is the Beijing Declaration and human rights instruments, including the Platform for Action (1995). Beijing Platform for Action and the Given that the MDGs now play a central International Covenant on Economic, Social role in shaping development policy and and Cultural Rights (1966). In this context, practice nationally and internationally, the provisions of CEDAW on women's women's human rights organisations, such human rights look considerably stronger as WOMANKIND Worldwide, have had to than they do alone. ask themselves how they might use the The article begins with a brief Goals to further the agenda of the inter- consideration of the challenges, oppor- national women's movement. tunities, and paradoxes presented by the This article examines how CEDAW, and MDGs, from a women's human rights some of the other tools available to the perspective. It then examines how the MDGs CEDAW Committee, such as the CEDAW sit within the broader human rights agenda. 68

The final section focuses on CEDAW and the implementation of the Goals, but there are practical ways in which the Convention can some examples of good practice. inform and guide strategies for the One example is that the UNDP has been implementation of the Goals to ensure that at the forefront of MDG 'scorekeeping' at the women and men benefit equally from country level and has worked with development gains. governments and civil society to ensure that gender issues are built into the national Millennium Development Goal Reports The MDGs: challenges, (MDGRs). For instance, in Albania, a opportunities, and thematic Working Group on Gender was paradoxes formed to establish a baseline against which to measure progress towards meeting the Adopted by the Heads of State and Goals. The process involved consultation Government in September 2000, the with more than 650 stakeholders from all Millennium Declaration (UN 2000) shares over Albania and has greatly enhanced CEDAW's vision of a world where women national ownership of the process. It has also and men are equal. It identifies gender allowed the Goals to be translated into equality as an essential ingredient for targets and indicators that are most achieving all the MDGs and affirms the need appropriate for women at the sub-national to combat violence against women and to level (UNDP Albania 2004). implement CEDAW. Yet, this vision is not embraced by the Also at the national level, some countries, MDGs themselves, or by the limited and (for such as Viet Nam, have used their National the most part) gender-blind selection of Plan of Action for the Advancement of targets and indicators chosen to monitor Women as the basis for identifying targets progress towards their fulfilment. Even Goal and indicators towards meeting Goal 3 (UN 3 has been interpreted in the narrowest in Viet Nam 2002), but this seems to be the sense, with a focus on the target of exception rather than the norm. Given how educational access to the exclusion of other far the MDGR process has advanced, barriers to gender equality, such as the national-level reporting does represent the devastating impact that gender-based best opportunity to build national violence has on women's lives. It also fails to commitment to women's rights and gender take into account the fact that in some equality; but these processes must, of course, countries, particularly in Latin America, be accompanied by sufficient political will gender parity in education has already been and resources. The MDGs do have broad attained and yet gender inequality is still a support among governments and can offer feature of these societies. gender activists the potential of a new It is, of course, impossible to expect a set impetus for old agendas, but existing of universal goals to take account of the approaches to implementation must be many differences between countries. In revised if the MDGs are not to reinforce practice, efforts have been made to establish traditional top-down approaches to complementary goals and targets and to development and add another layer of 'localise' the MDGs (that is, to interpret them 'invisibilisation' for women. in a way that reflects national and local Another example is at the international development priorities and agendas). There level. The UN Millennium Project's Task is still a long way to go until the attainment Force on Education and Gender Equality has of gender inequality and (in particular) the produced a series of recommendations to realisation of women's human rights are strengthen the implementation of Goal 3, seen as cross-cutting issues in the including a set of six strategic priorities, such Out of the margins 69 as the guarantee of sexual and reproductive as it does on outcome. For instance, the health rights for girls and women, and an human rights principles of participation and end to violence against women (Birdsall et al. empowerment demand the meaningful 2004). involvement of poor people in all stages of the MDG process, while the principle of accountability underlines the rights of The MDGs and human populations to monitor the progress of rights governments towards meeting the Goals, While the Millennium Declaration reaffirms and to hold them to account where they fail. states' commitment to promote human Given that poor women tend to be excluded rights, the MDGs make no specific reference twice over - on the grounds of poverty and to human rights. Nevertheless, they do gender - their involvement in these reflect a human rights agenda. Goal 1, for processes is crucial if all the Goals are to be example, sets out time-bound targets for achieved. Thus, a human rights approach reducing poverty, one of the greatest denials positions poor women as key actors in the of human rights. Also, Goals 4 (to reduce development process, rather than as passive child mortality), 5 (to improve maternal recipients of aid. Yet the involvement of poor health), and 6 (to combat HIV/AIDS, women - and the involvement of civil malaria, and other diseases) can be society more generally - in the MDG process compared to the human right to health, set has been largely peripheral to date. At the out in the core human rights treaties. national level, the MDGs remain the However, it is dangerous to assume that principal tool for participating in the MDG the MDGs will automatically contribute to the process and for holding governments to promotion of respect for human rights simply account. It is therefore essential that they are by addressing thematic human rights made accessible to everyone, including the concerns (Committee on Economic, Social and poorest and most marginalised people, and Cultural Rights 1990). The case of China, that these people are empowered to which has seen impressive economic growth participate meaningfully in the reporting in recent years yet has an estimated 30m and monitoring process. women 'missing' as a result of sex-selective More and better access to information abortions and infanticide (Seager 2003), and data concerning the Goals would, of highlights how a country can make progress course, not, by itself, achieve women's towards the poverty-reduction goal while empowerment. The Goals must also seek to violations of women's human rights continue. address the nature of gender relations and International human rights rest on a the environment in which women exercise series of core principles, including equality, their agency. This means tackling the non-discrimination, and the fact that human inequality and the denial of rights at all rights are interdependent, i.e. equal levels, including the macro-economic attention must be given to the realisation of structures, the political institutions, and the all rights. Thus, a human rights approach cultural practices and attitudes that sustain would forbid trade-offs being made by forms of discrimination. decision makers between economic growth Of course, just as we cannot assume that and gender equality. It reminds us that the attainment of the MDGs would progress in development can be measured inevitably contribute to the promotion of only by improvements in the lives of all human rights, neither can we suppose that a individuals. commitment by governments to apply A human rights approach would place as human rights principles to policy making much emphasis on the importance of process would necessarily contribute to the 70

realisation of the MDGs. The ratification of gender equality and women's rights will international human rights treaties has not both raise the costs and decrease the generally resulted in dramatic improve- likelihood of achieving the Goals (Carlsson ments in the quality of the lives of citizens. and Valdivieso 2003). The gap between the rhetoric of human Looking at the MDGs through a CEDAW rights and the reality of failure to uphold lens adds another dimension to these them is particularly marked in the case of arguments. The Convention rests on the women's rights. For human rights principles to be truly effective, action is required on a conviction that all women have human number of different levels. In the context of rights, not just needs. Seen in this light, the the struggle for gender equality, it means ideals of equality and non-discrimination incorporating international human rights are, in fact, important ends in themselves, norms, set out in instruments such as not simply means of delivering the MDGs in CEDAW, into national constitutions and a cost-effective way. CEDAW also identifies laws. It also means investing in national the factors that give rise to inequality, thus equality commissions and human rights preventing the realisation of the MDGs, and bodies, education and outreach programmes highlights some of the solutions required to for both women and men, and developing address them. and providing access to fair arbitration systems at the local level. This costs money, The Convention covers a range of areas and, in the context of the MDGs, there needs relevant to the MDGs, such as education, to be far greater emphasis on financing these employment, and maternal mortality, but systems of implementation, to render the there are also gaps. The General Goals effective. There also needs to be a Recommendations and Concluding broader discussion about the meaning and Comments of the CEDAW Committee help practical implications of a rights-based to close some of these gaps, providing as approach to the MDG process among they do more detailed guidance for tackling governments, civil society, the private barriers to gender equality and women's sector, and international financial empowerment. In addition, both the official institutions. reporting process and the shadow reporting process that monitor states' compliance with The MDGs through a the Convention offer opportunities for CEDAW lens dialogue between states, the CEDAW Committee, and NGOs, which can be used to This section focuses on how the standards explore and strengthen the links between and principles set out in CEDAW can be women's human rights and specific Goals. used to strengthen existing approaches to Since the scope of this article precludes the MDGs and reinforce the processes for an analysis of all of the MDGs through a achieving the Goals. CEDAW lens, the next section examines just A number of arguments have already two of the MDGs: Goal 1 and Goal 3. They been made which support the rationale for are closely interrelated, and the pathways adopting a more gender-sensitive approach to the MDGs, but these primarily advance an for achieving them intersect and 'instrumentalist' logic that seeks to convince complement each other. The analysis aims to the economists of the effectiveness of highlight some of the specific interventions mainstreaming gender. That is, they are and policy choices that would be required based on the rationale that attempting to for a CEDAW-compliant approach to these achieve the MDGs without promoting particular Goals. Out of the margins 71

Meeting Goal 1 of rights underlines the importance of holistic, multi-dimensional approaches to The targets for Goal 1 include halving the tackling the goal of poverty reduction, since proportion of people whose income is less women without adequate economic than US$1 a day, and halving the proportion resources are unlikely to be able to enjoy of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. their other rights, such as control over Yet low income and hunger are just two resources such as housing and food. manifestations of this complex phenom- enon, which includes lack of clothing and Equally, women without freedom of lack of access to education, health care, and expression are unlikely to be able to fight for social services. Goal 1 also fails to take into their most basic needs. By positioning account the gender dimensions of poverty women as people with their own rights, and the different ways in which economic rather than as dependants of male relatives, poverty affects women's and men's lives. CEDAW demands that attention should be The consequences of this approach can be paid to the processes that allow women to seen in a sample of MDG Reports that were claim their rights. Thus, women should have analysed for the UNDP. Just two out of 13 the right to participate in the design of national reports (those of Mozambique and strategies to eradicate poverty on equal Viet Nam) include gender analyses of the terms with men. causes and impact of women's poverty, and The two layers of discrimination against only one report (Bolivia) makes a connection women - discrimination contained in laws between the concerns of reducing poverty, and discrimination stemming from increasing opportunities for women, and procedures, policies, or practice - that the ensuring their human rights (Menon-Sen Convention identifies are also helpful, in that 2003,8). they illustrate the different types of strategy required to reach Goal 1. For instance, What CEDAW says inheritance rights that provide only for sons While there is no provision in the are an example of de jure discrimination that Convention that addresses poverty can plunge women even further into poverty, specifically, CEDAW identifies gender- unless suitable legal reforms are carried out. specific obstacles to the equal enjoyment of The unequal workload and responsibilities of rights and freedoms, all of which are many rural women are examples of de facto relevant, in one way or another, to discrimination, which need to be addressed eliminating women's poverty; for example, by awareness-raising and a change of discriminatory cultural patterns and attitudes. customary practices (Article 5), women's exclusion from political decision-making A more detailed analysis of the provisions (Articles 7 and 8), and discrimination in the set out in CEDAW and the CEDAW fields of education (Article 10), health Committee's various instruments highlights (Article 12), property ownership (Article 15), a number of ways in which the and in marriage and family matters (Article implementation of the MDGs can be 16). The language of Article 14, which strengthened. These translate into three addresses the problems faced by rural strategic action points, and a series of women, is particularly sensitive to women's practical steps. The latter can act as a checklist vulnerability to poverty. for national-level activities to ensure that The CEDAW preamble highlights measures undertaken to meet Goal 1 of the women's particular vulnerability to violat- MDGs advance gender equality and women's ions of their human rights in situations of human rights. The strategic action points are poverty. Its reaffirmation of the indivisibility addressed in the three sections that follow. 72

Table 1: Relevant CED AW provisions

Article 5 Modification of social and cultural patterns that promote stereotypes

Article 10c Elimination of stereotyped concepts at all levels of education, including textbooks, teaching methods

Article 11:1e Right to social security

Article 11:2c Provision of social services

Article 13a Right to family benefits

Article 14:2c Right of rural women to benefit from social security programmes

Article 14:2h Right to enjoy adequate living conditions

General Recommendation 16 Unpaid women workers in rural and urban family enterprises

General Recommendation 23, Discriminatory laws and customs that prevent women from having equal paragraphs 12 and 17 access to resources; that accord husband the status of head of household and primary decision maker

1 To ensure that national development expansion of so-called 'women's jobs' has strategies strengthen the substantive rights disproportionately sidelined women in of poor women and do not discriminate temporary work with few workers' rights. In against them some situations, women are reported to have CEDAW cautions against the kind of been subjected to sexual harassment, coerced stereotyping that depicts women as mothers into working overtime, and punished when and wives only, and results in analysis in they work slowly (Global Alliance for which they appear only in relation to issues Workers and Communities 2001) such as children and health. It calls for their Projects such as UNIFEM's DESafios in full and equal participation in public life. Latin America, which takes a rights-based Therefore, any strategy to achieve Goal 1 approach to women's economic and social must take into consideration the views and rights, offer a practical illustration of how priorities of women and should militate women's role in development can be against restricting interventions to the areas strengthened by building their capacity to of education and health, to the exclusion of monitor the allocation of resources for the other areas such as employment, social fulfilment of government commitments, positioning, and violence against women. promoting their political participation in Moreover, it is no defence to say that the economic decisions and supporting prevailing culture of a country portrays women's organisations and trade unions women as the dependants of men, since (UNIFEM2003,28). CEDAW calls on all states to modify social and cultural patterns that promote MDG strategies should therefore: stereotypes. • ensure that national-level targets and The CEDAW approach also rules out strategies are set/revised in consultation pursuing strategies for reducing income- with women living in poverty and /or poverty if these violate women's human with the NGOs that represent them; rights. For instance, while the growth of textile and garment factories in countries • ensure that strategies to meet all the such as Indonesia has allowed some women MDGs measure the impact and to gain an advantage in terms of income, this improvements for poor women and Out of the margins 73

devise sub-targets that take into economic resources. For instance, on the consideration the most marginalised question of women's land rights, CEDAW groups of poor women, such as widows, draws attention to the legal process through and rural and disabled women; which land reform is secured and the need to remove barriers that restrict women's legal • describe the types of policy formulation capacity in any way (CEDAW 1979, Article in which women have participated and 15). Strategies to meet Goal 1 must therefore the level and extent of their participation; incorporate measures to strengthen • provide for education and training to women's legal aid and to reform the justice ensure that women are fully informed of system, if women are to claim their equal the MDG process. property rights. An initiative between civil society 2 To reform laws and policies to secure organisations and regional government women's equal access to economic resources officials in the Western Cape region of South One of the biggest constraints preventing Africa used CEDAW as a baseline for women from accessing employment and measuring the extent of the exclusion of income is their unequal access to capital, rural women farm workers from economic resources - particularly land and credit - and opportunities. This enabled participants to labour markets. This has a direct impact on identify the gender issues that compounded their ability to provide security against women's experience of poverty. This work hunger and poverty. Women's equality in contributed to the development of gender- accessing employment and income is sensitive indicators for monitoring the directly linked to their empowerment and progress of rural women in other regions their ability to participate fully in the (International Center for Research on economic and social lives of their country. Women 2002). This illustrates clearly how progress towards Goal 1 is dependent on progress MDG strategies should: towards Goal 3, and vice versa. • improve legal aid and education for CEDAW emphasises the legal steps women seeking redress on poverty required to secure women's equal access to issues;

Table 2: Relevant CEDAW provisions

Article 2c Establish legal protection of rights of women on equal basis with men

Article 11:1b Same employment opportunities as men

Article 11:1d Equal pay for equal work

Article 13b Right to bank loans, mortgages, and other forms of financial credit

Article 14:2g Access to agricultural credit and loans Article 15:2 Equal rights to conclude contracts and administer property

Article 16:1 h Equal rights to ownership of property

General Recommendation 13 Equal remuneration for work of equal value

General Recommendation 17 Measurement and quantification of unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the GNP

General Recommendation 21 Equality in marriage and family relations 74

• include steps to reform the justice system Access to data and other information is and make it more accessible to women; critical if women are to be given the opportunity to make informed choices about • measure compliance with CEDAW on their lives, to challenge the status quo, and to women's access to economic assets; hold governments and individuals • measure reductions in gender disparities accountable. However, apart from some in access to, and control over, economic notable exceptions,2 there is currently a huge resources, including the right to gap in the quality and quantity of data inheritance and land ownership; available for monitoring the extent of women's poverty. The lack of information • ensure that women have access to available to poor women about poverty- financial services, improve availability of reduction strategies, and their rights more credit, and support innovative lending generally, also constitutes a form of practices; discrimination. This must be addressed • support self-help initiatives of poor urgently if Goal 1 is to be met. women, such as co-operatives, that seek MDG strategies should: to develop work opportunities in their • conduct assessments of their impact, communities. disaggregated by sex, with a view to 3 To improve measurement and monitoring eliminating discriminatory practices that of women's poverty and their access to affect women's economic and other information interests; General Recommendation 9 of the CEDAW • improve the availability and quality of Committee points to the need for reliable data sex-disaggregated poverty data on, for disaggregated by sex in order to understand instance, minimum wage levels and 'the real situation for women' (Committee on equal pay for equal work requirements, the Elimination of Discrimination Against in order to stabilise women's income Women 1990). In a number of its Concluding levels above the poverty line; Comments (the remarks and recommend- ations made by the Committee at the end of • ensure that strategies to achieve Goal 1 the reporting process), it has also urged states include various awareness-raising to assess the gender impact of anti-poverty initiatives, such as skills-training measures (Committee on the Elimination of workshops and media information Discrimination Against Women 2003, campaigns. paragraph 34).

Table 3: Relevant CEDAW provisions

Article 10h Access to educational information to ensure health and well-being of families

Article 14:2b Access to adequate health-care facilities, including information

General Recommendation 9 Statistical data concerning the situation of women

General Recommendation 17 Measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the GNP

General Recommendation 24, States must report on their legislation, plans, and policies for women with reliable paragraph 9 data disaggregated by sex Out of the margins 75

Meeting Goal 3 Gender equality in the labour market: what CEDAW says If Goal 3 is examined from the point of view One of the indicators for achieving Goal 3 is of women's human rights as enshrined in women's share of wage employment in the CEDAW, it is clear (as pointed out in detail in non-agricultural sector. This can be used to other articles in this collection) that the target measure progress in women's economic of eliminating gender disparity in access to opportunity, but it has its drawbacks. For education is far from adequate to address the instance, it may fail to distinguish between scope of inequality women face. The different types of work or to indicate how Convention recommends a holistic women's increased share of wage approach to tackling discrimination, includ- ing the need to ensure equal opportunities employment adds to their total workload for women and men. It places equal (Grown et al. 2003). emphasis on the importance of targeting CEDAW encourages an emphasis not culture and tradition and sexual harassment only on women's right to work, but on the and stereotyping, underlining the fact that quality of their working conditions. women's empowerment and the achieve- Examples are their right to maternity leave, ment of gender equality are not just goals but to the protection of their health and safety at processes. work, and to the same pay and benefits of The next section examines and provides work as men. National indicators for Goal 3 recommendations for two areas that have could therefore be strengthened by received little attention to date in the including qualitative measures that are MDGRs - gender equality in the labour linked to concrete steps to improve the market and violence against women - but quality of women's working conditions. This which are, according to CEDAW, equally might require putting temporary special critical to the achievement of gender equality measures in place, until more long-term and women's empowerment. measures can be taken.

Table 4: Relevant CEDAW provisions

Article 11 Take measures to eliminate discrimination in employment, including equal pay for work of equal value, right to social security, maternity leave

Article 13 Eliminate discrimination in areas of economic and social life

Article 14:2e Right of rural women to organise to obtain equal access to economic opportunities through employment or self-employment

Article 16:1g Same rights as husband to choose a profession and occupation

General Recommendation 5 Temporary special measures to advance women's integration into education, the economy, politics, and employment

General Recommendation 13 Equal remuneration for work of equal value

General Recommendation 16 Unpaid women workers in rural and urban family enterprises General Recommendation 17 Measurement and quantification of unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the GNP

General Recommendation 19, Sexual harassment in the workplace constitutes a health and safety issue paragraphs 18 and 24j General Recommendation 21, Equal rights of husband and wife to choose employment and need to modify paragraphs 24, 41, and 42 stereotypes that prevent women from choosing their profession 76

The CEDAW Committee has drawn • consider temporary special measures, particular attention to the situation of such as positive action, to address particular groups of women, such as migrant women's under-representation in certain workers, who are often forced into unsafe areas of work and to safeguard their working environments if they lack proper health and safety. legal status. A UNIFEM project that teaches migrant workers about their rights and Violence against women: what CEDAW advises government agencies on how to says handle migrant labour demonstrates how a Although CEDAW does not make specific rights-based approach can empower women reference to violence against women, to improve their legal, social, and economic General Recommendation 19 of the CEDAW situation and can strengthen the Committee states that the definition of accountability mechanisms that support discrimination includes violence against them (UNIFEM 2003). women. Violence acts as a barrier to women's Since CEDAW prohibits stereotyping, any empowerment and negatively affects their strategy to tackle the MDGs ought to include health, education, and employment. This has steps to sensitise and educate women and obvious implications for the MDGs. Violence men and counter stereotypes that prevent against women threatens to undermine women from choosing their profession, thus fulfilment of all the Goals. For example, promoting the presence of women in many women's lack of ability to negotiate the different types of careers and providing for conditions in which sex takes place, free from equal labour division in the household. the fear of violence, increases their MDG strategies should: vulnerability to HIV infection (relevant to Goals 3, 5, and 6). HIV infection, in turn, can • ensure that strategies to implement Goal 3 include measures of gender equality in compound women's poverty, as they may the labour market that reflect women's lose their jobs through illness or have to pay economic realities, both in the public and medical expenses (relevant to Goal 1). private sectors; The CEDAW Committee has underlined, in its Concluding Comments to various • develop sensitisation programmes for countries, the importance of assessing the women and men to counter negative extent and prevalence of all forms of stereotypes and ensure equal violence against women and of introducing opportunities in the labour market and measures to combat the problem. equal division of labour in the household; Specifically, it has recommended legislation, • devise sub-targets that take into plus comprehensive gender awareness- consideration marginalised groups of raising and education. It recommends the women; latter not only for the public in general, but

Table 5: Relevant CEDAW provisions

Article 6 Suppress all forms of trafficking and exploitation of prostitution of women

Article 11 Eliminate discrimination in employment: General Recommendation 19 recognises sexual harassment as a threat to health and safety in the workplace

Declaration on the Elimination Violence against women of All Forms of Violence Against Women

General Recommendation 19 Violence against women Out of the margins 77 for law-enforcement agencies (such as Conclusion: action to judges, lawyers, and police officers) in pursue in 2005 particular. It also recommends the provision of shelters for women who are fleeing The MDGs are here to stay. It is crucial for violence. WOMANKIND Worldwide's women's rights activists to use all the Nkyinkyim programme in Ghana has available tools and opportunities. Hence, we adopted this kind of holistic approach to need to promote better integration of a tackling the problem of domestic violence, gender equality and women's human rights and this has proved very effective.3 perspective in the MDG processes. The CEDAW Committee also holds states An important step in this process is to liable for the rights violations committed by articulate, build, and strengthen both the private individuals. However, since CEDAW conceptual and practical linkages between does not always have the same binding force the implementation of the Beijing Platform for as domestic law, it is important that national Action and the Millennium Declaration and accountability mechanisms and community MDGs, and to ensure that this knowledge is interventions are reinforced. For example, in used to inform the 2005 review processes. In India, the National Commission on Women practical terms, this involves articulating and has used CEDAW to draw up guidelines and measuring the gender dimensions of each of norms regarding sexual harassment that the Goals, and ensuring, as a minimum have been widely circulated to government requirement, that targets and indicators are departments and is undertaking an ongoing compliant with CEDAW and other assessment of their implementation instruments, such as the Beijing Platform for (International Center for Research on Action, both at the international level and, Women 2002). more importantly, at the national level, using Strategies to meet Goal 3 can be national MDGRs. It also involves integrating strengthened at the national level by the CEDAW reports, National Plans of Action for inclusion of an indicator to monitor the women, MDG country reports, and other prevalence of violence against women - Viet existing development plans, as well as raising Nam has already done this - but they could awareness and supporting the efforts of also include targets for improving national activists seeking to build bridges between and /or local mechanisms to tackle the these different areas. problem. This article has highlighted just a few of MDG strategies should: the practical ways in which human rights principles, and CEDAW in particular, can • adopt specific indicators to measure the guide national-level monitoring and the quantity and quality of programmes processes required to meet the MDGs in a aimed at addressing violence against way that tackles the root causes of inequality women and changing social norms that and discrimination against women. This is tolerate violence against women; something that existing approaches are • support the reform and full failing to do. CEDAW does not have all the implementation of laws against family answers, but implementing these basic violence and abuse, rape, and sexual provisions would go a long way towards assault; ensuring that the MDGs are also met. • harmonise strategies to eradicate poverty Ceri Hayes is Policy Manager at WOMANKIND with strategies to tackle violence; Worldwide. WOMANKIND Worldwide is a UK- • promote national-level media campaigns based international women's human rights and to promote respect for women. development organisation, established in 1989, 78

which works with partner organisations around the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination world to achieve lasting improvement in women's Against Women (2003) Concluding Comments on economic, social, and political position. Contact: Canada's 5th Periodic Report, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/2003/l/CRP.3/Add.5/Rev.l(31 [email protected]; WOMANKIND January 2003) Worldwide, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Global Alliance for Workers and Communities Street, London, EC2A 4JX, UK. (2001) 'Workers Survey, Indonesia, Nike', www.theglobalalliance.org/workerssurveys.ht Notes m (last checked by the author January 2005) Grown, C, G. Rao Gupta, and Z. Khan (2003) 1 This article is a synthesis of a longer paper Promises to Keep: Achieving Gender Equality and the originally written in September 2003. It has Empowerment of Women, Background Paper of subsequently been printed by WOMANKIND the Task Force on Education and Gender Worldwide and is available from Equality, UNDP [email protected]. With thanks to International Center for Research on Women (2002) Professor Diane Elson for the helpful discussions 'CEDAW: An Essential Tool for Overcoming and guidance in researching the original paper. Poverty and Ensuring the Dignity and Rights of 2 For example, the UN Economic Commission for Women', statement to the Committee on Foreign Latin America and the Caribbean has developed Relations of the US Senate, a set of gender-sensitive indicators that have www.womenstreaty.org / ICRWstatement.pdf been used to measure the extent of women's (last checked by the author January 2005) poverty for the whole region. International Covenant on Economic, Social and 3 See www.womankind.org.uk/ Cultural Rights (1966) four%201iteracies/bodylit/ wafrica.html for www.unhchr.ch / html / menu3 / b / a_cescr.htm further information about WOMANKIND (last checked by the author January 2005) Worldwide's Nkyinkyim programme. Menon-Sen, K. (2003) 'Millennium Development Goal. National Reports: A Quick Look Through References A Gender Lens', UNDP, 1 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA www.undp.org/ Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Fourth gender/docs/mdgs-genderlens.pdf World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, UN Seager, J. (2003) The Atlas of Women: An Economic, Department of Publication Information, 1995 Social and Political Survey, The Women's Press Birdsall, N., A. Ibrahim, and G. Rao Gupta (2004) UN (2000) 'United Nations Millennium From Promises to Action: Recommendations for Declaration', Ref: A/55/L.2, Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, www.un.org/millennium / declaration / ares552e. Millennium Project Task Force 3 Interim Report htm (last checked by the author January 2005) on Gender Equality, UNDP UNDP Albania (2004) Albania National Report on Carlsson, H. and C. Valdivieso (2003) 'Gender Progress Toward Achieving the Millennium Equality and the Millennium Development Development Goals Goals', Gender and Development Group, World UNIFEM (2003) 'Annual Report 2002/2003', Bank www.unifem.org/index.php?f_page_pid+180 CEDAW (1979) UN Convention on the Elimination of (last checked by the author January 2005) All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, UN UN in Viet Nam, (2002) 'Millennium Development Doc. A/34/36 Goals: Bringing the MDGs Closer to the People', Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights www.undp.org/ (1990) General Comment 2, International Technical mdg/ country _regionalreports.html#Viet%20Na Assistance Measures, UN Doc. HRI/GEN1/REV 1 m (last checked by the author January 2005) at 45 (Fourth Session) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1990) General Recommendation 9, Statistical Data Concerning the Situation of Women, UN Doc. A/44/38 79 Linking women's human rights and the MDGs: an agenda for 2005 from the UK Gender and Development Network1 Genevieve Renard Painter

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a potentially powerful tool for progress on development and human rights. Women's human rights activists should recognise and build on the political will mobilised around the MDGs. However, the MDGs reflect problems in the dominant development approach. They seek to use women in their existing social roles to 'deliver' other aims, and do not address the need to eradicate gender inequality, resulting in lack of commitment to address key issues for women, including gender-based violence. There are further problems with the MDGs' indicators, analytical approach, and accountability mechanisms. The MDGs should be reframed as human rights obligations. To this end, links should be fostered between the 2005 reviews of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and progress on the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs.

he year 2005 is a key moment for Convention on the Elimination of All Forms women's human rights advocacy, of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW Tbecause the Beijing Platform for (UN 1979) and the International Covenant on Action (BPFA), the Millennium Declaration, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the MDGs will be reviewed. (ICESCR) (UN 1966a). Of the 191 UN To prepare for the 2005 reviews, the UK's Member States, 179 have ratified CEDAW Gender and Development Network (GADN) and 150 have ratified the ICESCR. The commissioned research on the conceptual existence of these treaties means that most and practical links between the review states have existing, immediate, and binding processes.2 The GADN believes that the 2005 duties regarding the MDGs. Human rights reviews are an arena for emphasising the instruments and mechanisms can potentially centrality of a women's human rights be used to mitigate problems caused by the approach to development. They are an deficiencies of the MDG framework. In turn, opportunity to reclaim gender main- the MDGs can potentially mitigate the streaming as a strategy to achieving weaknesses of human rights instruments women's human rights, grounded in treaty stemming from lack of political will and obligations, not a technical process for vagueness regarding achievable targets. The efficient progress towards development MDGs need to be achieved if human rights goals. Linking the Millennium Review and are to be realised. the Beijing+10 Review processes presents an The GADN believes that understanding opportunity to reframe the MDGs as and working on the MDGs within a human international human rights obligations. rights framework can provide activists with The MDGs largely correspond with tools to challenge inequality and injustice states' obligations under international caused by features of the prevailing neo- human rights law; specifically the liberal model of development.3 This 80

synthesis article, which is an excerpt from a progress on women's human rights and full report (Painter 2004), presents the holding governments to account. It creates an GADN's perspective on the reviews of the international space for women to participate BPFA (UN 1995), the Millennium in policy debate, to meet each other, to put Declaration (UN GA 2000a), and the MDGs, issues on the agenda, and to lobby their which will take place in 2005. governments. But this opportunity is difficult Governments have agreed that there to realise for many women and women's should be a formal link between the review of organisations from the South, because the the BPFA and the review of the Millennium CSW is held in New York, and costs and visa Declaration and the MDGs (UN CSW 2004). restrictions make attendance difficult, if not The 2005 session of the Commission on the impossible, for many. Status of Women (CSW) will be a high-level The Beijing+10 Review will be conducted plenary meeting open to UN Member States by looking at national action plans designed and Observers, including civil society to implement the BPFA, state reports to the organisations. They will discuss states' committee monitoring CEDAW, inform- implementation of the BPFA and Beijing+5. ation generated through annual CSW The Chairperson of the CSW will then sessions, and analysis of questionnaires transmit the outcome from this discussion, submitted by states to the UN Division for via the Economic and Social Council of the the Advancement of Women on implemen- General Assembly (ECOSOC), to the high- tation of the BPFA. Official statistics, Poverty level General Assembly (GA) meeting, which Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), MDG will review the Millennium Declaration in Reports, and other sources of information September 2005. This departs from the usual will also be used. Alongside information procedure for CSW, in which the annual about the progress that states have made in Agreed Conclusions are considered only by implementing the BPFA, reports from ECOSOC and effectively have no further Beijing+10 regional preparatory meetings impact. will feed into a final global report. The research for this article, which was However, these preparatory meetings conducted from June to August 2004 and have been marked by anti-abortion lobbying therefore does not draw on the documents and calls to dilute the force of the BPFA text. produced by the Millennium Project in Some governments have attempted to limit January 2005, included desk research and civil society participation in these processes interviews with members of the GADN, staff in order to insulate themselves from civil in the UK Department for International society pressure (Articulaci6n de Mujeres Development (DFID), and staff in the Brasileras et al. 2004; APWW 2004). There is a European Commission. risk that these trends at the preparatory meetings risk will persist and prevail at the The 2005 reviews Beijing+10 meeting itself. The Millennium Review Beijing+10 The Millennium Review will be held at a At the 49th session of the CSW, in March high-level plenary meeting of the UN GA, at 2005, a review and appraisal will take place of the beginning of its 60th session, in New the implementation of the Beijing York in September 2005 (UN GA 2004a). The Declaration, the BPFA, and the outcome of Secretary-General will submit a compre- the 23rd special session of the GA in 2000, at hensive report on the Millennium which states conducted the first five-year Declaration (UN GA 2004b, paragraph 5). As review of the BPFA (UN GA 2000b). the product of the largest-ever gathering of Beijing+10 offers opportunities for analysing world leaders, the Millennium Declaration Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 81 sets out a vision for the 21st century. With the experiences from the grassroots to be heard, exception of a few leakages from other with particular barriers for women, older sections, the MDGs come out of the people, indigenous people, and poor people. Development and Poverty Eradication Women's human rights activists are worried section of the Declaration. Thus the that the Millennium Review will overshadow Millennium Declaration is broader than the Beijing+10, and there are concerns that MDGs. The Millennium Review will be women's rights advocates will be running to informed by the work of the Millennium stand still in the face of better resourced, more Project regarding strategies for achieving the organised lobbyists with fundamentalist MDGs (Sachs and the UN Millennium agendas. Not only are women's human rights Project 2005).4 The 59th GA, currently in under attack: they are also being hijacked, as session, will be making a final decision on concepts of gender, equality, and the format and structure of the Millennium mainstreaming have been turned into Review. symbolic and technical tools to achieve The Millennium Review offers a chance to objectives that threaten or ignore women's reaffirm global commitment to achievement human rights concerns. It is feared that, as a of the MDGs. It creates space to stress the result of these difficulties, the Millennium importance of a human rights approach to Review may not address concerns from development and to highlight the broader activists including the women's movement. non-discrimination and inclusion agenda that has been overlooked by the MDGs. It is a venue to hold governments to account for Linking the 2005 reviews their commitments and an opportunity to Within the GADN, there is a range of views strengthen advocacy by working in more about how feminist activists should engage, effective alliances. Given that the 2005 target and prioritise, the two reviews of 2005. on girls' education will be missed, the Many organisations, from both the North Review could focus attention on the and South, cannot or will not participate in consequences to women, development, and all the global political events and processes human rights of inadequate concern for around them that are happening in 2005. gender equality issues. Some feminist organisations have discussed Despite these hopes, observers are whether to refuse to engage with the MDG anxious about the global political context, as processes (Macdonald 2004). These the rise of fundamentalisms, extremisms, and sentiments flow from a feminist critique of militarisations has polarised the international the MDGs and the processes surrounding community (Barton and Prendergast 2004). them, which has exposed the weak Direct civil society participation in the integration of gender equality and women's Millennium Review summit in September human rights issues. One common critique is 2005 itself will not be possible, because of the that the MDGs are silent on violence against security concerns and space limitations in the women, and another is that they do not UN building associated with a high-level frame reproductive and sexual health as a plenary meeting of the GA (UN GA 2004b, human rights issue. paragraph 21). The Secretary-General has The MDGs do not provide a feminist suggested to the Assembly that it organise framework for development and human hearings with civil society organisations prior rights. According to the MDGs, the key to the meeting (ibid.). States have already barriers to women's advancement are high begun their preparations for the Millennium maternal mortality and lack of access for Review. In these national and international girls to education; but according to the processes, there are few opportunities for BPFA, there are other barriers in addition to 82

maternal health and girls' education (UN essential to engage with the MDG process. 1995). Women at the Beijing+10 regional The GADN has decided that the opportunity preparatory meetings held in 2004 identified to link the Millennium Review and the a very different set of challenges to gender Beijing+10 Review needs to be taken up. We equality and women's empowerment. These need to emphasise the importance of gender are a weakened women's movement, equality and gender mainstreaming if the economic barriers to the empowerment of MDGs are to be achieved. The Millennium women, social and cultural attitudes that Review offers us a chance to put issues of hinder women's empowerment, problems in importance to women on the MDG agenda. 'mainstreaming' (integrating) gender issues In addition, engagement with the MDG into governance and development, and an process presents us with an opportunity to adverse international economic environ- challenge the development model that is ment. Only one Beijing+10 report cited high being promoted to achieve the MDGs, and to maternal mortality and lack of girls' access to stress that global economic justice, peaceful education as top priority (UN Economic resolution of international disputes, and Commission for Africa 2004). Obviously, sustainability are essential for achievement this does not mean that maternal mortality of the MDGs (Barton 2004). and girls' education are irrelevant for women's human rights. Rather, it shows that using the BPFA as a framework reveals Linkages in policy-making different priorities from those identified in The MDGs originated in the Millennium the MDGs - priorities that go to the core of Declaration, which, in turn, has its roots in the fundamental and structural roots of the Platforms for Action agreed at the series women's human rights violations. of global conferences held in the 1990s. These There are further concerns among were founded on international human rights feminist activists that the MDG framework is treaties, including the International distracting governments from their Covenant on Civil and Political Rights obligations under international human (ICCPR), the ICESCR, and CEDAW. rights treaties, and the Millennium Review Yet despite their origins in human rights, process is overshadowing other monitoring the MDGs are being used in support of a neo- and accountability mechanisms (Obando liberal model of development, which we 2003). These concerns are discussed in more believe threatens the realisation of human detail in the section that follows. Some rights and gender equality. Many inter- advocates fear that linking the reviews will national agencies and donors have result in the marginalisation of the BPFA. committed themselves to the MDGs. But One major effect of this would be that these commitments are not worth much if women's human rights in developed they do not address the incoherence that countries would receive no attention, results from pursuing the MDGs while because the Millennium Review and the continuing to follow a development model MDGs are understood as relevant only for that equates economic growth with human developing countries, while the inter- development. For example, women's national human rights obligations under empowerment is pursued in the MDGs CEDAW and commitments under Beijing because it has high 'payoffs' for economic apply in all countries. growth and poverty reduction: studies have Women's human rights advocates shown that a failure to meet the goal of should consider these issues in shaping their gender equality in education will lead to strategies for engagement. Yet, despite these economic growth losses (Abu-Ghaida and concerns, many feminist activists see it as Klasen2003). Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 83

In fact, attaining the MDGs means ICESCR by defining and protecting the shaking the pillars of the growth-driven human rights of women specifically. States model of development. The MDGs require that are party to CEDAW must prohibit investments in health, education, and discrimination against women in their laws, infrastructure (Vandemoortele 2004), while as well as in the practice of public authorities the neo-liberal model emphasises a and institutions, and they must pursue a reduction in state expenditure for purposes national policy to eliminate such of financial stability (Dollar and Kraay 2002). discrimination (Article 2). Under CEDAW, A major reason for failure to meet the MDGs states must take all appropriate measures to thus far is that governments and donors are ensure the full development and failing to invest in services, failing to take advancement of women (Article 3), and to advantage of cross-sectoral synergies, and address the structural, social, and cultural failing to foster an enabling international patterns that underpin discrimination environment (Vandemoortele 2003). against women (Article 5). Under CEDAW, Advocates can use the human rights states have an immediate obligation to obligations of states to challenge policy pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination decisions taken by governments in the name (Article 2). Yet the majority of the provisions of reaching the MDGs, if these violate human in CEDAW are phrased as obligations to take rights. International human rights treaties, all appropriate measures, because these such as the ICESCR, the ICCPR, and CEDAW, rights must be progressively realised over create a minimum standard for national time. Thus, the obligation to make policies legislation and policy making. They define that will help get the result is immediate, what governments agreed they must achieve. while the obligation to actually attain the The ICESCR and the ICCPR establish that result is gradual. states must not discriminate (Article 2 of The ICESCR deals with this difference each), and must guarantee the equal rights of between obligations of conduct and women and men to the enjoyment of rights obligations of result with the concept of (Article 3 of each). Under the ICESCR, states progressive realisation. To ensure that have obligations to take progressive steps progressive realisation is not used to argue towards achieving the full realisation of that states can meet their obligations just by economic, social, and cultural rights, using enacting policies, the concept of minimum all appropriate means including the adoption core obligations has been developed to define of legislative measures (Article 2). The a limited sphere of obligations of result concept of progressive realisation captures (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural the idea that achievement of these rights will Rights 1990). These define the rock-bottom not happen overnight, but instead requires responsibilities of states in terms of economic, gradual progress over time. Signatories to the social, and cultural rights. A state is presumed ICESCR are obliged to take immediate, to have failed in its ICESCR obligations if deliberate, concrete, and targeted steps significant numbers of its population are towards the full realisation of the rights set deprived of the right to food, the right to out in the ICESCR, within a reasonably short essential primary health care, the right to time of ratification. No matter how a state is basic shelter and housing, or the right to the doing on progressively realising the rights to most basic forms of education (ibid.). The health, or education, or work, it has an Committee monitoring the ICESCR has immediate obligation to do so in a non- further defined and articulated these core discriminatory way (Aurora et al. 2002). obligations in a number of General CEDAW strengthens the non- Comments on housing (Committee on discrimination provisions in the ICCPR and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1991), 84

food (Committee on Economic, Social and • Non-discrimination: All steps taken Cultural Rights 1999c), education towards achievement of the MDGs (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural should benefit people equally and in a Rights 1999a, 1999b), health (Committee on non-discriminatory way. An obligation Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 2000), to mainstream or integrate gender and water (Committee on Economic, Social inequality in the MDGs can be grounded and Cultural Rights 2002). in the immediate obligation of state States are obliged to take steps towards signatories to CEDAW to pursue a policy the realisation of these rights as far as their of eliminating discrimination against resources allow them to. Resources are women (Article 2). CEDAW (Article 2) defined as coming from within the state, and obligates states to mainstream or also as a result of international co-operation. integrate a commitment to gender For that reason, they say nothing regarding equality within each Goal (Waldorf the roles of the public and private sectors in 2004). Activists can use the BPFA to provision (Hunt 2004). advocate that the international The MDGs have been described as community has reached a common 'minimum development goals'. This mirrors understanding of the definition of gender the human rights concept of core obligations. mainstreaming and its requirements.5 States' core obligations roughly correspond • Non-infringement: In order to attain the to the MDGs. The MDGs and human rights MDGs, states may not infringe people's are interconnected and indivisible. Table 1 enjoyment and exercise of their rights. shows only the most obvious links and intersections. • Non-retrogression: In order to attain the Using human rights instruments helps to MDGs, states need to ensure that rights expose the fact that states are already under that have previously been realised are the following obligations: not curtailed. States may not reverse

Table 1: Interconnections between the MDGs and human rights

Goals and targets from the Millennium Declaration Core obligations under the ICESCR

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Basic housing Adequate food

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Basic education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Basic education Primary health care

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Adequate food Primary health care Water

Goal 5: Improve maternal health Adequate food Primary health care Water

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Primary health care Water

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Basic housing Water Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 85

legislation that has already resulted in those relating to health and education. rights being realised (for example by Although these documents give greater criminalising abortion where it has been clarity, their existence demonstrates that the legalised, or by introducing user fees for ICESCR lacks specific goals and targets for primary education). effective monitoring of government progress. The BPFA also suffers from a lack • Progressive realisation: States have a legal of clear indicators to assess governments' obligation to work progressively towards performance against their commitments achievement of the MDGs, because (Timothy and Freeman 2000). realisation of human rights requires The GADN believes that using human achievement of the Goals. rights instruments can improve monitoring • Realisation of core obligations: The fact that of the MDGs, in terms of what is being states are under the core obligations measured and how the information is being mentioned earlier of basic housing, analysed. A human rights approach adequate food, basic education, primary encourages disaggregation of data, a health care (including maternal health), broader definition of poverty, and analysis and water can be used in MDG processes of causes and consequences. to argue for the prioritisation of The MDG targets and indicators are government actions to meet core widely acclaimed as representing an obligations over other potential actions international consensus on global (for example research into new weapons). development goals. With their measurable targets and indicators, the MDGs should be Using these principles, the ICESCR, CEDAW, less vague than human rights instruments and the BPFA can be used as advocacy tools to about the nature of progress to be realised. lend authority to specific policy They could potentially help states to recommendations for the realisation of human measure their progress in attaining human rights, thus helping to challenge inequality- rights. However, this would be possible only enhancing, growth-driven development by addressing questions about what is interventions. measured in the MDGs and how progress is Building the links among the ICESCR, monitored. These problems make the MDGs CEDAW, the BPFA, and the MDGs in this and their indicators unreliable yardsticks of way shows that the MDGs are not lofty progress (Vandemoortele 2004). global commitments being pursued out of global charity. They are actually concrete The indicators used to measure human rights obligations, which must be achievement of the MDGs risk generating prioritised and achieved in a non- problems. If the narrow aims of achieving discriminatory way. Reframing the MDGs as numerical goals drive policy-making human rights obligations changes the debate decisions, the policies would only be as good from the language of will and commitment as the goals and indicators being measured. to the language of duty and obligation. For example, the use of World Bank indexes to measure poverty under Goal 1 of the MDGs Analysis and monitoring results in an underestimation of poverty, due However, a shortcoming of these human in part to reliance on national household rights instruments is that they fail to define surveys which mask inequality among how rights should be realised, and what different individuals and categories of people states are obligated to do. In its General within households, and fail to disaggregate Comments, the Committee monitoring the between data from rural and urban areas ICESCR has sought to define the nature of (ibid.). Reliance on this kind of averaged and states' obligations to ensure rights, including aggregated data means that it would be possible, in statistical terms, to achieve the Advocates can use states' obligations MDGs globally by ensuring progress on under human rights treaties to challenge the indicators in the most populous countries and problems surrounding what is measured ignoring sparsely populated countries, and how progress is monitored to achieve regions within countries, groups within the MDGs. The principle of equality and societies, or individuals within households in non-discrimination (found in the UN which poverty would remain unaddressed. Charter (Articles 1, 2 and 7), the ICCPR There are crucial flaws in the method for (Article 26), the ICESCR (Articles 2 and 3), monitoring progress on the MDGs. the Convention on the Elimination of All Mechanisms for monitoring progress on the Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD; UN MDGs currently include annual UN global 1969), and CEDAW) puts signatory states reports, five-year comprehensive reviews, under an immediate obligation of non- and country-level MDG Reports. A UNDP discrimination. These obligations mean that evaluation revealed serious problems with states should not claim achievement of a the MDG Reports. These problems Goal if, in the process, inequality has been concerned the need for sex-disaggregated perpetuated or exacerbated. A commitment data, national participation and ownership, to non-discrimination and equality requires synergies with other reporting processes, specific attention to groups that experience and capacity (UNDP 2003). There is discrimination or disadvantage. This insufficient scope in the MDG Reports for requires states to look for evidence about the analysis of why progress has or has not been impact of policies on different social groups. achieved, and no mechanism to explore the Thus, advocates can argue that measuring impact of factors that fall beyond the scope of progress on achievement of the MDGs using the MDGs (like peace and security). only averages and aggregates violates that Furthermore, a recent gender evaluation of obligation of non-discrimination. the MDG Reports showed dismal A human rights approach regards performance in integrating gender analysis development and poverty alleviation as into the issues, or attention to women's processes towards the realisation of human empowerment (Menon-Sen 2003). Women rights. Further, a feminist human rights are seen as vulnerable victims and mothers, approach to development requires more than rather than as agents of development. just identifying that women are an adversely These problems notwithstanding, there affected group, but analysing why (Dairiam is some evidence at a country level of 2002). The MDGs describe symptoms of progress being made in more effective and poverty, rather than analysing causes. gender-sensitive monitoring. In Viet Nam The understanding of poverty in the and Cambodia, the indicators and targets MDGs demonstrates this problem. The have been made more context-specific, to MDGs, in particular Goal 1, understand recognise that the global targets may be poverty narrowly in terms of economic inadequate (for example because they are want, and fail to take account of social and unattainable or have already been reached). political marginalisation, which is both an The Cambodian Country Report had strong outcome and a primary cause of poverty. emphasis on ensuring that the statistics used The definition of poverty does not consider for the indicators are disaggregated by sex why and how women's experience of (Hyun n.d.). The Albanian government has poverty differs from that of men. An holistic brought the MDGs down to a sub-national definition of poverty would address the level by developing regional MDG Reports, need to attain the goals of human security and it has identified gender mainstreaming (encompassing security from gender-based as one of its approaches to the MDGs. violence, to security from armed conflict), Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 87 reproductive and sexual rights, and can be used to analyse discrimination sustainable development. These social and against women to determine its causes and political dimensions of poverty are currently consequences. addressed under other MDGs, or not addressed at all, yet they are intrinsically Accountability linked to what is defined and isolated in Linking the MDGs to international human Goal 1 as 'poverty'. Without considering the rights in feminist advocacy work brings social and political dimensions of poverty, human rights accountability mechanisms the analysis that shapes anti-poverty policies into the MDG process. In addition to aimed at reaching Goal 1 misses the nature of changing the terms of accountability from the problems facing women. commitment to obligation, this brings the Activists can use the human rights benefits of an institutionalised process and framework to strengthen arguments for an established role for civil society. more holistic definitions of poverty. The idea Weak accountability mechanisms that human rights are indivisible leads to the accompany the MDGs, because the Millenn- conclusion that tackling poverty requires ium Declaration is a non-binding political understanding and addressing the statement, and the MDGs are goals, not interlocking and interdependent causes of obligations. The MDG Reports are not linked poverty, rather than focusing narrowly on up to states' existing reporting obligations one aspect of poverty, such as economic under human rights treaties. There is no want. CEDAW can help activists to ask and established procedure for civil society to answer questions about who is affected by participate in the MDG reporting process or poverty, and why. Its definition of to submit alternative reports. The most discrimination (Article 1) covers any obvious vacuum in accountability distinction, exclusion, or restriction that has surrounds Goal 8 on aid. In contrast to the the purpose or effect of being discriminatory seven other MDGs, there are no time-frames, against women, thus including both de jure quantifiable benchmarks, or instruments to and de facto equality (Byrnes 2002). Using monitor rich countries, financial institutions, CEDAW's definition of discrimination and corporations. A few countries are directs attention towards the root causes of voluntarily producing their own reports on discrimination against women, not just progress towards Goal 8. But the lack of factual descriptions of gender inequality. global monitoring of Goal 8 shows that developing countries are being held to CEDAW offers additional arguments for account for their successes and failures in the activist's toolbox overcoming huge development challenges, CEDAW bridges the traditional division whereas rich countries have no reporting between civil and political rights, and obligations (Birdsall and Clemens 2003). economic, social, and cultural rights and Human rights machineries, such as those reaffirms the indivisibility of human rights available through CEDAW, the ICESCR, and (Dairiam 2002). CEDAW affirms not only the BPFA, could be used to challenge these women's equal rights to participate in public weaknesses in accountability by arguing political decision-making, but also their that not only are states politically committed equal rights within the family (Article 16), in to the MDGs, they are also legally obligated a shift from other human rights instruments as parties to human rights treaties (Center that designate the family as a unit to be for Human Rights and Global Justice 2003). protected from state interference (Byrnes This would create scope for linking the 2002). General Recommendations of the MDGs to reporting processes under human CEDAW Committee, General Comments rights treaties, and provide more space for from the ICESCR Committee, and the BPFA NGOs to engage in the process. Parties to CEDAW submit regular Participation reports to the Committee on the Elimination The MDGs emerged in the context of a of Discrimination Against Women on the development approach that emphasises the measures they have taken to give effect to the importance of participation, grassroots provisions of the treaty. Civil society engagement, and empowerment. But many organisations may submit alternative civil society organisations from the North Shadow Reports on progress in their and South feel they were not involved in the country. The Committee reviews these establishment of the MDGs; thus, ownership reports and offers suggestions and of the process is weak (Bissio 2003). The recommendations. A similar process exists recent establishment of the Millennium under the ICESCR. Campaign aimed at harnessing civil society There are weaknesses in the reporting support signals an acknowledgement by the processes: the Committees have backlogs of international community of this problem. states' reports, and some countries do not Urban, middle-class, advocacy-oriented submit reports (Flinterman 2004). In contrast organisations tend to be over-represented in to CEDAW, there is no state-by-state review international human rights activism, while of progress in implementing the BPFA. small, grassroots organisations face major There are global-level review processes, but barriers to effective participation in these they produce conclusions that do not processes. The GADN and others must work translate easily into practical recom- to overcome these inequalities by promoting mendations at a national level. Furthermore, participation and partnership at grassroots some states use these global-level reviews as and international levels (Hayes 2004). an opportunity to seek to renegotiate the text Weak civil society participation in the of the BPFA. MDG process, both at national and Despite their problems, CEDAW, the international levels, is not only a threat to the ICESCR, and the BPFA offer a framework for achievement of the MDGs. It is also contrary to holding governments to account for their the right to take part in the conduct of public obligations on human rights. CEDAW and affairs, which is protected under the ICCPR the ICESCR offer the advantage of specific (Article 25), and the right under CEDAW to state-by-state reports, while the BPFA brings participate in the formulation of government a global process that is more likely to generate policy (Article 7). Activists can use the ICCPR global political interest. CEDAW, the and CEDAW to argue that they have rights to ICESCR, and the BPFA offer established participate in the MDG process. This means processes for civil society organisations to being part of the policy-making process, participate and hold their governments to nationally and internationally, as well as the account. The BPFA helps to guide advocacy national and global reviews. work, because the Critical Areas of Concern In addition to grounding the claim for direct attention to areas where governments participation, human rights instruments also are failing to keep their promises. GADN ground the practical experience of members, like many other civil society participation, because human rights advo- organisations, have experience of using these cacy has been a key stronghold for civil human rights instruments to remind society. CEDAW has been invoked in support governments of their obligations. However, of efforts to enact or amend laws (McPhedran the issues around the lack of accountability 2000). The experience of being involved in regarding Goal 8 do not seem easily solved by advocacy around the UN World Conferences, reference to human rights instruments, such as the 1995 Beijing Conference, has because there is little consensus on the right to developed advocacy skills in women's development as an enforceable human right. NGOs, raised the profile of international Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 89 human rights instruments as tools for the and poor states (Piron 2002). The MDGs go promotion of gender equality, and helped to some way to address this problem. Goal 8, put women's organisations on the map as despite its weaknesses, provides a legitimate watchdogs of government action framework for calling for improved (Timothy and Freeman 2000). international aid and co-operation. This Using human rights instruments and approach could be stronger than the human processes can facilitate genuine partnerships rights route because the international between civil society in the North and South, community has agreed to this Global because all societies have yet to realise the Partnership for Development. promise of human rights. The BPFA and In order to bring these various strands CEDAW address gender inequality and together, I offer an example which shows, in women's human rights in all countries, practice, what can be achieved by linking the North and South, poor and rich, and MDGs and human rights.6 As part of the represent a shared agenda among women's CEDAW reporting process in Nepal, organisations working in different contexts. Women for Human Rights (WHR) and This can counter the concern that the MDGs Single Women's Group (SWG) submitted a focus on developing countries and ignore Shadow Report to the Committee on development challenges in rich countries. breaches of their government's treaty In these ways, the processes surrounding obligations in relation to widows. the ICESCR, CEDAW, and the BPFA can help Subsequently, the UNDP raised the issue of to fill the participation deficit in the MDGs. the situation of widows with the government, in the context of the MDGs. The Political will government has since asked WHR to The Millennium Declaration and the MDGs conduct a situational analysis of widows' have captured political attention, helped to lives in the context of human rights and the revitalise international aid flows, and MDGs. WHR and SWG are using the focused attention at an institutional level on CEDAW Committee's Concluding targets (Barton 2004). The MDGs receive Comments and their ongoing research to more attention than human rights, support their lobbying efforts. particularly as commitments to international human rights and humanitarian law treaties Through strategic advocacy work using are rescinded by some states. Lack of human rights instruments and processes, political will is the fatal flaw for the ICESCR, WHR and SWG have made the government the BPFA, CEDAW, and many international and donor community 'see' a social group human rights mechanisms. The BPFA is that had been marginalised. CEDAW's particularly vulnerable, because of its status definition of discrimination helped to expose as the outcome of a conference rather than a widows' particular experiences of treaty. There are few states that view the inequality, and the reporting process offered women's human rights agenda as a high the NGOs a chance to hold their government priority issue, and a handful openly obstruct to account. The UNDP became involved it. Building linkages between MDGs and through its commitment to meeting the human rights instruments can benefit MDGs. Thus, activists in Nepal have reaped women's human rights activism by the rewards of the MDGs and human rights harnessing global political will. processes: CEDAW offered a framework for The lack of consensus around the concept analysing discrimination, a formal account- of a 'right to development' means that ability process, and established routes for human rights instruments do not bring NGO participation; and the MDGs opened much to the creation of a concrete obligation up space for dialogue between governments of international co-operation between rich and donors and helped to generate political 90

will. The crucial spark was the CEDAW Notes Shadow Report, but nothing would have 1 The UK Gender and Development Network caught light without the work of strong and (GADN) is a diverse membership network of strategic women's human rights activists. 200 representatives of development Thus, the experience in Nepal exemplifies organisations and individuals, working to the synergies and rewards that can be found promote gender equality and gender in linking human rights to the MDGs. mainstreaming in development in the UK. This GADN project was made possible through the support of the Department for International Conclusion Development. Activists should recognise the Millennium 2 The GADN aims to strengthen members' work Review for the global political momentum by keeping them informed of gender and development issues through networking, that it is generating. The task is to help to information sharing, and the commissioning of ensure that this momentum is directed quality research. The GADN acts as an effective towards achievement of human rights. To advocacy tool for gender and development that end, the GADN aims to be one of the concerns by working closely with government organisations acting as a bridge between the and other decision-making bodies. While this Millennium Review and the Beijing+10 article stems from broad consultation with the Review, by focusing on both Reviews in its GADN membership, it does not necessarily advocacy activities. reflect the views of all its members. For more Activists should argue from the information standpoint that the MDGs correspond with about the Network, please contact states' core obligations under international [email protected]. 3 However, it acknowledges that other strategies human rights treaties. States that are parties linking the MDGs and human rights may be to the ICESCR and CEDAW have existing, more appropriate within other contexts. immediate, and binding obligations to work 4 The Millennium Project is an independent adviser progressively towards achievement of the to the UN Secretary-General and is composed of MDGs, in ways that neither intend, nor Task Forces related to the MDGs. The Task Forces result in, gender-based discrimination. are made up of independent scholars, staff from By building a complementary relation- the UN agencies, and other public, non- ship between the MDGs and human rights, government, and private-sector institutions. human rights can act as a check on neo- The work of the Task Forces has fed into the liberal strategies to achieve the MDGs. Millennium Project's Final Synthesis report (Sachs and UN Millennium Project 2005). Human rights treaties and processes bring 5 The BPFA states that 'Governments and other the force of obligation, and the MDGs bring actors should promote an active and visible the power of motivation, to ensure that states policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in move from commitments to action. all policies and programmes so that, before Together, they can help to realise the decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the promise of the Millennium Declaration and effects on women and men, respectively' the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (paragraph 202). The strategic objectives under this section include creating or strengthening Genevieve Renard Painter works on gender, national machineries (paragraph 203), integrating a gender perspective in legislation, development, and human rights issues and public policies, programmes, and projects is currently pursuing a law degree with a focus (paragraphs 204—5), and generating and on human rights. The author thanks Nicola disseminating gender-disaggregated data and Painter and those who gave their time for information for planning and evaluation extensive interviews. She can be reached at (paragraphs 206-9). genevievepain ter@yahoo. com. 6 This example draws on a presentation by Lily Linking women's human rights and the MDGs 91

Thapa (2004). For more information, contact Lily (1990) 'General Comment on the Nature of Thapa at WHR ([email protected]) or Margaret States Parties' Obligations (Art. 2, Para. 1)', Owen at Widows for Peace through Democracy report on the Fourth and Fifth Sessions, UN ([email protected]). ESCOR (Official Records of the Economic and Social Council), 1991, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. E/1991/23E/C.12/1990/8 References Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Abu-Ghaida, D. and S. Klasen (2003) 'The Costs of (1991) 'General Comment on the Right to Missing the Millennium Development Goal on Adequate Housing (Art. 11, Para. 1)', report on Gender Equity', Discussion Paper, University of the Sixth and Seventh Sessions, UN ESCOR Munich, Department of Economics, (Official Records of the Economic and Social papers.ssrn.com /sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5 Council), 1992, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc E/1992/23 15945 (checked February 2005) E/C.12/1991/4 APWW (2004) 'Statement of the Asia Pacific NGO Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Forum on Beijing +10', www.hrea.org/lists/hre- (1999a) 'General Comment on Plans of Action asiapacific/markup/msg00116.html (checked for Primary Education (Art. 14)', report on the February 2005) Twentieth and Twenty-first Sessions, UN Articulaci6n de Mujeres Brasileras et al. (2004) ESCOR (Official Records of the Economic and 'Novena Conferencia Regional sobre la Mujer de Social Council), 2000, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. America Latina y el Caribe: Declaraci6n de E/2000/22E/C.12/1999/11 Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil', Mexico Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights City: Comisi6n Econ6mica para America Latina (1999b) 'General Comment on the Right to y el Caribe Education (Art. 13)', report on the Twentieth and Aurora, S. et al. (2002) 'Montreal Principles on Twenty-first Sessions, UN ESCOR (Official Women's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights', Records of the Economic and Social Council), Project of Women's Working Group of the 2000, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. E/2000/22 International Network for Economic, Social and E/C.12/1999/11 Cultural Rights, www.escr-net.org/ Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights WorkingGroupDocs / MontrealPrinciples.doc (1999c) 'General Comment on the Right to (checked February 2005) Adequate Food (Art. 11)', report on the Barton, C. (2004) Presentation reported in M. Twentieth and Twenty-first Sessions, UN Macdonald (ed.) (2004) ESCOR (Official Records of the Economic and Barton, C. and L. Prendergast (eds.) (2004) 'Seeking Social Council), 2000, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. Accountability on Women's Human Rights: E/2000/22 E/C.12/1999/11 Women Debate the UN Millennium Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Development Goals', New York: Women's (2000) 'General Comment on the Right to the International Coalition for Economic Justice Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12)', Birdsall, N. and M. Clemens (2003) 'From Promise report on the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and to Performance: How Rich Countries Can Help Twenty-fourth Sessions, UN ESCOR (Official Poor Countries Help Themselves', Washington Records of the Economic and Social Council), DC: Center for Global Development Brief 2(1) 2001, Supp. No. 2, UN. Doc. E/2001/22 Bissio, R. (2003) 'Civil society and the MDGs', E/C.12/2000/21 Development Policy journal 3, April: 151-60 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Byrnes, A. (2002) 'The Convention on the (2002) 'General Comment on the Right to Water Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (Arts. 11 and 12)', report on the Twenty-eighth Against Women', in W. Benedek (ed.) The and Twenty-ninth Sessions, UN ESCOR (Official Human Rights of Women: International Instruments Records of the Economic and Social Council), and African Experiences, London: Zed Books 2003, Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. E/2003/22 Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (2003) E/C.12/2002/13 'Human Rights Perspectives on the Millennium Dairiam, S. (2002) 'The Areas of Common Grounds Development Goals: Conference Report', New Among Various UN Guiding Instruments - York: NYU School of Law CEDAW, Beijing Platform for Action, and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Outcomes Document', presented at the Expert 92

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Critiquing the MDGs from a Caribbean perspective1 Peggy Antrobus

This article explores ways in which the MDGs can be made to work to promote women's equality and empowerment. Drawn from the author's extensive experience of feminist activism in the Caribbean region, it discusses strategies to improve the MDGs.

verall, as a feminist I think of the empowerment. Third, I am a feminist MDGs as a Major Distraction activist who is involved in the global OGimmick - a distraction from the women's movement as part of the DAWN much more important Platforms for Action network. Finally, I did doctoral research on from the UN conferences of the 1990s, in Rio the links between global trends, develop- 1992 (Environment), Vienna 1993 (Human ment strategies (including the macro- Rights), Cairo 1994 (Population), Copenhagen economic policy framework of structural (Social Development) and Beijing 1995 adjustment), the impacts on poor women, (Women), Istanbul 1996 (Habitats), and Rome and possible interventions aimed at 1997 (Food), on which the MDGs are based. achieving the goal of women's equality and But despite believing this, I think it empowerment, and all that goes with that. worthwhile to join other activists within What can be said in favour of the MDGs? women's movements who are currently As the United Nations Development Fund developing strategies to try to ensure that the for Women (UNIFEM) and many others MDGs can be made to work to promote point out, when viewed within the context of women's equality and empowerment. the new aid agenda, the MDGs provide a This article is written in response to the common framework, agreed to by all need to do this. It draws on my experience of governments. They have measurable targets working in this field for more than 30 years, and indicators of progress, around which and makes particular reference to Caribbean governments, UN agencies, international women's realities. First, I worked within the financial institutions, and civil society alike bureaucracy as Director of the Jamaican can rally. They provide a 'strategic talking Women's Bureau. Second, I was head of point for assessing what the barriers to the what used to be the University of the West achievement of goals are, and provide a tool Indies' (UWI's) major outreach programme with which to hold both donor agencies and for women, the Women and Development governments accountable' (White 2001, Unit (WAND), where, in 1981, we tested a 2002, cited by Subrahmanian 2003,3). Goal 3, pilot project aimed at promoting women's on gender equality and the empowerment of Critiquing the MDGsfrom a Caribbean perspective 95 women, has been argued by some to be Women Living in Situations of Conflict and 'symbolic of the significant impact of Under Foreign Occupation; 6 Economic feminist advocacy over years in making the Structures and Policies; 7 Sharing of Power case for gender-aware development' and Decision-Making; 8 Mechanisms for the (Subrahmanian 2003,1), despite the fact that Advancement of Women; 9 Human Rights; we know the emptiness of rhetorical 10 Access to Communications Systems; 11 statements on gender. Management of Natural Resources; 12 Rights On the other hand, there is widespread of the Girl Child. awareness of the limitations of the MDGs as For women, the MDGs have inadequate an approach. First, to treat each Goal as targets and indicators. The indicators used separate ignores the ways in which they are are restricted to quantifiable indicators, interconnected. In relation to the when much of what is most important - such empowerment of women specifically, this as women's equality and empowerment - is limitation is particularly challenging because not easily quantifiable. In addition, they of the complex relationships between omit important goals and targets, such as the women's equality and empowerment - Goal elimination of violence against women and 3 - and all the other Goals. As the sexual and reproductive rights. International Center for Research on Women Report notes (ICRW 2003), none of the other MDGs can be achieved without the The political economy of achievement of women's equality and the MDGs empowerment. The other goals and targets - From the perspective of women, the political eradicating extreme poverty and hunger economy of the MDGs is one dominated by (Goal 1); achieving universal primary the twin demons of religious and economic education (Goal 2); reducing child mortality fundamentalism. (Goal 4); improving maternal health (Goal 5); I first heard of the MDGs through the combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other outraged response of the global feminist diseases (Goal 6); and ensuring environ- community when the goal of women's sexual mental sustainability (Goal 7, including and reproductive rights, hard-won at the UN Target 10, access to safe water) - are all International Conference on Population and related in some significant way to the Development (IPCD) in Cairo, 1994, was position of women and to the conditions excluded from the list. This omission is even under which they live in any society. more inexcusable given that the attainment of For women, the Beijing Platform for sexual and reproductive rights of women is Action remains the most important basic text. not only a goal in itself, but a crucial target Structured around 12 Priority Areas of and /or indicator of progress under at least Concern, its theoretical framework is four of the other MDGs: Goal 3 (women's consistent and much more comprehensive. It equality and empowerment), Goal 4 (child addresses gender issues from within a mortality), Goal 5 (maternal health), and Goal theoretical framework of social reprod- 6 (HTV / AIDS). The deliberate exclusion of this uction, which relates to the realities of fundamental indicator of women's human women's lives and the ways in which women rights and empowerment from the MDGs organise, and considers each of the Priority symbolises the new2 power of religious Areas in relation to women's equality and fundamentalists, the lack of sincerity on the empowerment. The Priority Areas are: 1 part of the majority of those who voted on Poverty; 2 Education and Training; 3 Access them, and the struggle that lies ahead for to Health Care and Related Services; 4 The anyone who seriously seeks equality, equity, Elimination of Violence Against Women; 5 and empowerment for women. 96

The exclusion of the goal of women's development' between governments and sexual and reproductive rights is an example commercial corporations. This is considered of a major problem of the MDGs; namely, highly problematic by many, who would their abstraction from the social, political, argue that this is informed by a neo-liberal and economic context in which they are to be vision of development, which, far from implemented. The MDGs must be being 'enabling', is profoundly understood in the context of the emergence 'disenabling', and jeopardises the achieve- of the forces of economic and religious ment of the other Goals. This conclusion is fundamentalisms that have followed the shared even by individuals who initially ending of the Cold War and the rise of gave support to the economic policies political and religious conservatism. The associated with the Washington Consensus,3 political economy of the MDGs reflects the and in particular the new trade agreements power of the forces of religious of the WTO. fundamentalism that emerged in the To the extent that all the MDGs relate to processes surrounding the 1994 Cairo the role of the state, one must ask how Conference. These forces have continued to feasible it is that states weakened by the gain strength in the context of the ongoing requirements of policy frameworks of neo- economic struggles of the global South liberalism, and whose revenues are reduced against the spread of neo-liberalism in the by privatisation and trade liberalism, can be late 1990s, and they have received a boost expected to achieve the goals and targets of through the right-wing control of the current the MDGs. The neo-liberal policy US Administration. framework, with its emphasis on the market- In addition to the political context of the friendly state (in contrast to the people- spread of religious fundamentalism and the friendly state), has been reinforced by trade male backlash against women's rights, there liberalisation and the new trade agreements is the spread of economic fundamentalism, in enforced by the WTO. In the Caribbean, a the form of the neo-liberal agenda through the consequence of trade liberalisation that has trade liberalisation enforced by the World immediate relevance for the implementation Trade Organisation (WTO). For me, the major of the MDGs in the region is the loss of limitation of the MDGs lies in the fact that, in government revenues resulting from the the official literature on these Goals, I can find reduction in tariffs and the sale of profitable almost no acknowledgement of the extent to government assets. In Grenada, it has been which the neo-liberal policy framework, calculated that more than 50 per cent of starting with the 1980s macro-economic government revenue is derived from import 4 policy framework of the Washington duties. How are governments to finance Consensus (including structural adjustment primary health care and basic education, policies), is serving to halt and reverse when they are under pressure to reduce a progress towards the achievement of the major source of public finance? Goals. In contrast, in the UN Development Both religious and economic funda- Decades of the 1960s and 1970s, and before mentalisms rely on the subordination and the election of conservative governments in exploitation of women's time, labour, and the USA and the UK, there was a widespread sexuality, for the benefit of patriarchal consensus around the aims enshrined today power on the one hand, and for the benefit of in the MDGs. capitalism on the other. Thus, I cannot A limitation of the MDG approach which imagine a less 'enabling environment' for the reflects economic fundamentalism is the promotion of policies and programmes for formulation of Goal 8, which aims for the the achievement of women's equality and development of 'a global partnership for empowerment. Critiquing the MDGs from a Caribbean perspective 97

Women and the MDGs While the indicators on education and literacy represent major achievements for Despite the limitations of the MDGs, women everywhere, the Caribbean however, women's advocates inside and experience shows how inadequate they are outside the bureaucracies of governments as indicators of empowerment. Here in the and donors ought to use the opportunities the Caribbean, the data show that girls MDGs provide for advancing our agenda. outnumber boys at every level of education Since all the MDGs (with the exception of in almost all the countries of the English- the last one) relate to biological and social speaking Caribbean (UNDP 2003). Yet this reproduction, women's equality and has not translated into higher access to empowerment are critical to their employment, incomes, decision-making achievement. This fact provides women with positions in the public domain, or political an important opportunity for engagement in office. Moreover, despite efforts to change the policy dialogue around goals that have this, there is still a great deal of sex-role come to occupy a privileged position in the stereotyping in the school curriculum that processes of socio-economic planning, and in limits the options of girls. the policy dialogue between governments and donors. The inclusion of goals and In the Caribbean, the worldwide targets of major interest to women in the backlash against advances in women's MDGs provides a chance to discuss and rights, and in particular the opposition to assess the barriers to the achievement of women's sexual and reproductive rights, has goals. To the extent that women's been paralleled and strengthened by the subordination and exploitation represent debates around the notion of 'male major barriers to the achievement of most of marginalisation'. As early as the 1980s, Errol the goals and targets, the MDGs represent a Miller, a Professor of Education at UWI, tool with which to hold both donor agencies drew attention to the overwhelming role of and governments accountable. women in the education of boys in Jamaica (both in female-headed households in the Goal 3, on gender equality and women's empowerment, is the goal to which women homes, and in the schools where female are expected to pay greatest attention. Space teachers predominated) (Miller 1987). This does not permit me to go into details about sparked a public debate about the 'crisis' of the problems associated with this goal. In Caribbean men and masculinity. Miller's second book, Men at Risk, reinforced this particular, for the Caribbean, there are 5 problems with its totally inadequate fourth impression. Currently, this debate is target to 'eliminate gender disparity in focusing on the perceived link between the primary and secondary education', using 'underachievement' of Caribbean males in indicators as follows: the education system and advances in the status of women as a major contributory • the ratio of girls to boys in primary, factor. All of this undermines and derails secondary, and tertiary education women's activism. (Indicator 9); Regarding the indicator on the number of • the ratio of literate women to men in the women in parliaments, I would say that 15-24 age group (Indicator 10); whether this is an indicator of women's empowerment depends on the circumstances • the share of women in wage employment under which women candidates take part in in the non-agricultural sector (Indicator parliamentary elections. In Caribbean 11); Community and Common Market • the proportion of seats held by women in (CARICOM) countries, with a few except- national parliaments (Indicator 12). ions,6 the small numbers of women who run 98

for and win seats owe their preferment to the and domestic violence; access to health male decision makers within the political services that respect women's sexual and parties. Women who challenge male privilege reproductive rights; access to and control of are not likely to be among these. More land; access to credit; and equality before the importantly, once in office, women (and men) law. tend to cede their own power to that of their government, and are unlikely to have the freedom to make decisions about their lives Other important goals for and act upon them: in short, to demonstrate CARICOM women empowerment and agency, especially in In my view, CARICOM women should pay relation to gender issues. as much attention to the gender dimensions The inadequacy of these indicators for of the other MDGs as they do to Goal 3. We advancing the rights of Caribbean women have much more to gain from this approach. can be judged from the fact that, apart from For the Caribbean region, Goals 1 the indicator on women in parliaments, (eradication of extreme poverty) and 6 women in CARICOM countries have (combating HIV /AIDS) should be already achieved the targets. We've 'been prioritised, within a framework in which there, and done that'. And yet, we can hardly gender is seen as a cross-cutting issue. To the speak of equality, equity, and empowerment extent that both areas represent priorities for in a situation where poverty persists, most CARICOM governments - in the way violence against women continues that gender equality and women's unabated,7 there is increasing hostility empowerment certainly do not - a focus on against women (possibly generated by the these Goals can be especially useful for very achievements in education and CARICOM women. employment mentioned earlier), the spread However, there are problems with the of HIV/AIDS is the second most rapid after formulation of the MDGs relating to poverty sub-Saharan Africa (and is spreading most 8 and HIV/AIDS; these need to be addressed quickly among women), and where only if the framework of the MDGs is to be useful two CARICOM countries (Barbados and to women. One obvious problem is that the Guyana) provide for abortion services that targets and indicators associated with these are accessible, safe, and affordable. Goals are not disaggregated by gender.9 In UNIFEM's publication, Progress of the Recognition of the disparity between men World's Women 2000, additional indicators ofand women in terms of poverty, or the women's economic equality were proposed. incidence of HIV/AIDS, is an important These included tracking women's partici- starting point for the design of effective pation in informal wage work; capturing policies, programmes, and strategies for women's work in its entirety; and measuring addressing these areas. the extent to which women are paid a living wage. In addition, UNIFEM has suggested Goal 1: poverty that a target should be created to end gender Along with violence against women (not disparity in wages. But while these measures included as a target or indicator in the MDGs), are useful, they are still not adequate for the poverty is one of the leading concerns Caribbean region, which has one of the identified by Caribbean women. The gender- highest levels of literacy, education, and blindness of the goal on income-poverty labour force participation in the world. The eradication is particularly problematic, indicators of women's equality and especially as poverty is widely recognised as a empowerment in the Caribbean would have 'highly gendered phenomenon, and in ways to include indicators on the incidence of rape that are not captured by income or headcount Critiquing the MDGsfrom a Caribbean perspective 99 measures' (Subrahmanian 2003, 10). For that when a man is present he receives the Caribbean women, it is important to major share of food in the household, and his recognise that 'outcomes of poverty are needs take priority over those of other embedded in processes and relations of household members. The assumption (often gender' (ibid.), and that poverty reduction accepted by women themselves) that men programmes must take these into account. are the 'heads of household' can work For example, poverty reduction programmes against the interests of women, who indeed must provide for a range of services, carry the main responsibility for the care and including low-income housing, access to maintenance of households. water and sanitation, health services that A point of interest in the Caribbean is that integrate primary health care, maternal and women with limited resources often fare child health, family planning, cancer better in female-headed households than in detection, services for the detection and one headed by a man. A study, by Lynn treatment of sexually transmitted diseases Bolles, of women in Jamaica during the and HIV/AIDS, free and compulsory economic crisis of the 1980s shows that when primary education, child-care provision, and the woman is the sole bread-winner, a male women's access to credit, land, and skills partner is less likely than a second woman in training. They must also ensure that the the household to provide the assistance with minimum wage legislation extends to domestic chores and child care that the domestic workers and other categories of working woman needs. If there is a second low-income work. woman present, she not only assists with Because of the primary responsibility household maintenance tasks, but engages that women have for the care of children, in her own income-generating activities, elderly, sick, and disabled people, their such as petty trading, crafts, or paid income-earning capacity is more limited domestic work, to augment household than that of men. It means that the incidence income (Bolles 1983). of poverty among women is greater than it is Finally, the link between gender equality, among men. This has particularly serious women's empowerment, and food security consequences in the Caribbean, where a high is critical in poor households: while proportion of families are heavily or entirely Caribbean men can (and do) walk away from dependent on the income of women, and household responsibilities when they are not there is a high incidence of female-headed in a position to offer financial support, households. In such a context, the earnings women stay and will do whatever it takes to of women affect the well-being of entire put food on the table. families, and especially that of children and Goal 6: HIV/AIDS elderly people. The lack of attention to gender issues in Goal While poverty is a major concern for 6 and its associated indicators on the spread women, advocates should be aware of the of HIV/AIDS is especially problematic. tendency of governments and donors alike HIV/AIDS, like poverty, is a highly to 'collapse gender concerns within the gendered phenomenon. Advocates ought to wider category of poverty, as it enables the draw attention to the fact that women's use of a fairly depoliticised and needs-based sexual and reproductive rights must be the discourse as requiring focus on women cornerstones to any effective programme for within poor households, rather than gender combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, even if disadvantage per se' (ibid. 11). This masks the this is presently excluded from the MDGs, uneven distribution of power and resources with their targets and indicators. Central to within households, especially when there the spread of HIV is the issue of sexuality are men present. Caribbean women know and women's sexual and reproductive 100

rights: no amount of education can protect a higher than that of men in the same age woman from exposure to the virus if she group. According to the UNAIDS Fact Sheet, cannot negotiate safe sex. in Trinidad and Tobago HIV rates are As Sheila Stuart points out, young women reported to be five times higher in girls than and girls are particularly vulnerable when in boys aged 15-18 years, and this is they engage in sex with older men, especially probably true of other countries in the those in positions of authority, like clergymen, region. Women's rights advocates should teachers, and employers (Stuart 2000). In the press for sex-disaggregated data in this area, Caribbean, there is also a high incidence of and for a particular focus on these indicators. incest, and the exposure of young girls to sexual assault by the male partners of their mothers is commonplace (ibid.). Finally, Other goals and targets of homophobia, especially in Jamaica {New York special concern to women Times 2004), is an important factor in the Other goals and targets of special concern to spread of the virus. These are matters that women in the Caribbean are the reduction of should be discussed as part of any programme the under-five mortality rate (Goal 4); for combating the spread of HIV / AIDS in this improved maternal health (Goal 5); access to region, and it is up to women to raise these safe drinking water (Goal 7, Target 10); and questions. Unfortunately, the hostility and improvements in the lives of slum dwellers resentment shown by men towards women (Goal 7, Target 11). Here, I confine myself to that underlies the 'male marginalisation' a few brief remarks regarding these goals in thesis in this region make open discussion of relation to the Caribbean. Overall, inform- these issues especially difficult. This is hardly ation, including statistics, is needed to conducive to the kind of mutual respect and indicate the extent, and reasons behind, the consideration necessary for the exercise of problems that these goals seek to address, as sexually responsible behaviour. they exist in the Caribbean. Two of the indicators of Goal 6 - the An example is the lack of information HIV/AIDS prevalence rates among regarding Goals 4 and 5. While there were pregnant women aged 15-24, and rates of substantial improvements in infant and condom use - are especially appropriate for maternal mortality rates in the Caribbean in this region. According to a Joint UN the 1960s and 1970s in the processes leading Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Fact up to and following independence, there Sheet of February 2001, in Trinidad and have been setbacks over the past two Tobago a large survey of men and women in decades. These setbacks are the result of the their teens and early twenties showed that onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, along fewer than 20 per cent of sexually active with the deterioration in public health respondents said they always used services. CARICOM governments had a condoms, and two-thirds did not use good record throughout the 1960s and 1970s condoms at all. Although the ratio of men to of making steady improvements in the women living with HIV is 2:1 in the region, provision of public health services. This has the rapid increase in HIV/AIDS among been placed in jeopardy with the pressures women can be gauged by the fact that this on states that came with the spread of neo- has increased from 5:1 in Barbados since the liberalism. It is important to assess the status beginning of the disease in this country, and of public health services in CARICOM is now reported to be 1:1 (UNAIDS 2001). countries at the present time, especially in The ratio of 2:1 also conceals the ratio by age the context of pressures to liberalise trade in group. There is evidence that the rate of services (through the proposed General increase among young women may be Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS). Critiquing the MDGs from a Caribbean perspective 101

There is a similar risk to public water and active women's movement to monitor supplies. It is difficult to reconcile the those officials who are mandated to monitor. pressures of powerful government on poor I am reminded of a project on gender- countries to privatise water and liberalise sensitive statistics undertaken by the trade in services with appearing to support Women's Desk of the CARICOM Secretariat the goals and targets of poverty reduction, some years ago. Despite the fact that the access to safe drinking water, and workshops were well attended by statistical improvements in the lives of slum dwellers.10 officers from across the region, it would be Regarding Goal 5, there are major hard to detect any marked improvement in problems with the indicators. To limit the the data available today. indicator for the target of reducing maternal There is really no serious commitment to mortality rates by three-quarters to the collecting gender-disaggregated data, 'proportion of births attended by skilled because there is little agreement on the health personnel' is to ignore the importance importance of this issue. So far as the of women's access to maternal and child bureaucracies of the region are concerned, it health services, including family planning seems to be sufficient for the governments to services. In the context of deteriorating sign commitments, pledges, and conventions; public health services and the hostility of the taking action is another matter entirely. Even current US Administration to the inclusion of when there is action, it is so ineffective as to abortion within family planning pro- give credence to those who dismiss the whole grammes and even to the use of condoms, issue of gender equality as a gimmick. I could this indicator is particularly inadequate. give an entire paper on this, starting with my experience working with a government 0amaica in the second half of the 1970s) that Strategies to improve the was at least semi-serious about women's 11 MDGs equality and participation. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that the women This section suggests some strategies to in the People's National Party (PNP) at that ensure that gender inequalities are identified time, under the leadership of the wife of the and addressed in the MDG monitoring Prime Minister and with the involvement of a process, and in national policy responses number of wives of other ministers and from governments. officials, committed to the pursuit of an agenda for the advancement of women. Holding governments to account through national and international monitoring of The UNIFEM report (Elson with Keklik 2002) also acknowledges that the progress on gender issues achievement of the MDGs will require wide- UNIFEM's special issue of Progress of the based social mobilisation, including civil World's Women 2002: Volume 2. Gender society, governments, and development Equality and the Millennium Development Goals agencies. It will also require women's (Elson with Keklik 2002) has a chapter on organisations to actively monitor 'Innovations in measuring and monitoring', international and national progress towards which focuses on improving national Goal 3, and progress on all other Goals, with statistics, creating alternative indicators and particular attention to gender issues. indices, and producing supporting studies. Each region must identify indicators and Linking Gender Budgets to the MDGs devise strategies that accord with the Another strategy worth examining is one resources and capabilities at its disposal. that would link work on MDGs to work on However, as valuable as all these would Gender Budgets. The most effective work on be, they are meaningless without a strong Gender Budgets takes place at the level of 102

civil society as well as within the links of these bureaux with key ministries - bureaucracy. This work is just beginning in health, education, labour, finance and the Caribbean and, judging from experience planning and foreign affairs - need to be in Latin America and elsewhere, there is strengthened. Political support is needed much to be done to work out a mechanism from feminists within the ministries and that would ensure ongoing support for this within the political parties, especially the within the bureaucracy. Here again, a link governing party. Finally, in order to be between those working on the inside and effective, they have to build strong those on the outside is essential. relationships with women's organisations, My own work in community especially those with an activist orientation. development in the 1960s and 1980s, and From my own experience in Jamaica, I currently with the Gender and Trade found that, working together, these three Network, suggests that economic literacy groups of feminists in different institutional programmes which enable women and men contexts were able to generate and initiate a at community level, and in NGOs, to fairly effective set of strategies that saw real understand how policy frameworks are advances in bureaucratic arrangements, influenced by global trends and agreements legislation, and programmes within a are an important base for the construction of relatively short period of time. In Jamaica, proposals for policy alternatives which the first step was the appointment of an would lead to the achievement of goals such Adviser to the government on Women's as poverty eradication, advances in Affairs early in 1974. Within one year, the education, improved health, and women within the PNP were able to arrange environmental protection - the MDGs. for this single post to be converted into a Women's Desk in the Ministry of Social A three-pronged approach to policy Welfare, and later into a Women's Bureau in implementation at the national level the Office of the Prime Minister. The discussion so far in this section reveals my view that since all the MDGs are political Linking the Beijing Platform for Action issues, and none more so than the goal of with the MDGs gender equality and women's empower- To benefit from the high-profile attention ment, they will never be achieved if we received by the MDGs as the new consensus continue to treat them as issues that can be framework for development discourse and addressed by purely technical means. No assistance, all those committed to the matter how good the indicators, no matter advancement of women's equality and how accurate the statistics, nothing can be empowerment need to develop strategies for achieved without political will. A women's monitoring and measuring progress movement with an analysis of power and a towards the achievement of the Beijing set of carefully thought-through strategies is Platform for Action, and building this into essential to the achievement of the MDGs. work on the MDGs. We must substitute the My experience in setting up the Jamaican Best Plan of Action (BPA) for the Most Women's Bureau in 1975 was that a three- Distracting Gimmick (MDG)! Certainly, in pronged approach was essential for effective the Caribbean our resources are far too action. First, a well-placed and well-staffed limited to have them spread over a number mechanism is needed within the of 'initiatives' that are essentially no bureaucracy, with access to all government different from each other. The BPA includes ministries. Bureaux of Gender Affairs or all the concerns of the MDGs, and already Women's Affairs have a crucial role to play has a constituency of support in an array of in the monitoring and measurement of the women's organisations, research and training implementation of the MDGs. Second, the centres, media and communications Critiquing the MDGsfrom a Caribbean perspective 103 programmes, and international campaigns, Notes not to mention mechanisms within bureau- 1 This paper is drawn from a presentation to the cracies at every level already working on the Working Group on the MDGs and Gender follow-up to the BPA. Equality, at the UNDP Caribbean Regional Work has to be done to make the links Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) between the MDGs and the BPA in terms of Conference, in Barbados, 7-9 July 2003. targets and indicators. New targets and 2 It is 'new' since the ascendancy of a US indicators - drawn from the BPA - such as Administration that is heavily influenced by the violence, gender equality in the labour force, religious right. In 1994, the US Administration time use, and so on may have to be added. stood squarely with the women's movement in Work is proceeding on the construction of advancing women's reproductive rights. new indices - in Africa, the United Nations 3 The Washington Consensus is a set of policies Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) adopted by indebted nations, intended to assist governments in paying off foreign debt. The is working on a Gender Status Index and an policies aim to cut government expenditures, African Women's Progress Scoreboard, promote the private sector, and boost exports. while in our own region, UNECLAC (the The package includes cuts in government United Nations Economic Commission for subsidies and social services, privatisation of Latin America and the Caribbean) is working assets and services, deregulation and on Indices of Fulfilled Commitments. liberalisation of the economy, and currency In sum, we need to develop an approach devaluation. to the MDGs that would allow us to use a 4 This statement was made by an official from redefined goal of women's equality and the Ministry of Trade at a regional meeting on empowerment as an entry point for trade held in Grenada in 1999. Actual data should be available from the Caribbean addressing all the other MDGs. In this way, Development Bank. women's equality and empowerment might 5 I am grateful to Tracy Robinson of the Faculty be seen for what it is: both an end and the of Law, Cave Hill Campus, UWI, for pointing means for making progress on all the MDGs. out to me that quite a bit of what we attribute Moreover, all of this must be done in the to Miller is either not included in those two awareness of the ways in which the spread of monographs, but in public conversations in the neo-liberalism, religious fundamentalism, press and speeches, or it represents what his and, in the Caribbean, male backlash places work has been taken to mean: 'there are at least all the MDGs in jeopardy. two kinds of feminist analyses of Miller's work: one critiquing Miller directly, and the other speaking more broadly about the impact of his Peggy Antrobus has worked with governments thesis' (personal communication). and NGOs in the field of development since Nevertheless, the combination of the graduating with a degree in economics in 1958. publications with their evocative/provocative She was a founding member of the network of titles has spawned a 'thesis' that has Third World women, DAWN - Development encouraged a critique of the supposed Alternatives with WomenforaNew Era, (1984-6) privileging of women in the region, which has and was its General Co-ordinator from 1991 -6. undermined advocacy for women's rights in Her book, The Global Women's Movement: the region (see Barriteau 2000, 2003a, 2003b). Origins, Strategies and Challenges, was 6 The exceptions are those women who are too recently published by Zed Books. Address: 4 powerful to be ignored - women like Eugenia Valley View, Frere Pilgrim, Christ Church, Charles in Dominica, Portia Simpson in Barbados. E-mail: [email protected]. Jamaica, and Billie Miller and Mia Mottley in Barbados. However, none of these identified themselves with the political agendas for women's equality. 104

7 It is notoriously difficult to get accurate data Bolles, L. (1983) 'Kitchens hit by priorities: on this. Roberta Clarke's (1998) report, Violence employed working-class Jamaican women Against Women in the Caribbean, prepared for confront the IMF', in J. Nash and M.P. UNIFEM and the Inter-American Commission Fernandez-Kelly (eds.) Women, Men, and the of Women, highlights the problem. International Division of Labor, New York: State 8 Within three years of the report of the first case University of New York Press of AIDS, female and paediatric cases Clarke, R. (1998) Violence Against Women in the represented 23 per cent of the total. There is Caribbean: State and Non-state Response, UNIFEM now parity between the number of men and and the Inter-American Commission of Women women with AIDS, and the spread of (CIM) HIV/AIDS among young women aged 15-24 Elson, D. with H. Keklik (2002) Progress of the is the highest for any age group (see Stuart World's Women 2002: Volume 2, Gender Equality 2000). and the Millennium Development Goals, New York: 9 Of course, disaggregation is not without its UNIFEM problems, as Diane Elson warns us: 'the basic Fraser, A. and I. Tinker (eds.) (2004) Developing Power: problem with disaggregation is that it focuses How Women Transformed International Development, on the separate characteristics of men or The Feminist Press women, rather than the social institutions of ICRW (2003) 'Promises to Keep', Task Force gender as a power relation' (Elson 1998,160). Background Paper on Gender Equality and 10 There is a Caribbean Gender and Trade Women's Empowerment, Network (CGTN), part of the International www.unmillenniumproject.org Gender and Trade Network, which monitors Miller, E. (1987) The Marginalisation of the Caribbean the trade negotiations and is an important Male: Insights from the Development of the Teaching source of information. The programme of the Profession CGTN also includes research and New York Times (2004)' "Hated to death" in economic/trade literacy (see www.igtn.org). Jamaica', editorial, 2 December 2004 These are resources available to women's Stuart, S. (2000) 'The reproductive health challenge: organisations in this region. women and AIDS in the Caribbean', in G. Howe 11 A full account of this experience is in my and A. Cobley (eds.) The Caribbean AIDS Lucille Mair Lecture, delivered at the Mona Epidemic, Kingston: UWI Press Campus, UWI, in 2000, which is the basis of Subrahmanian, R. (2003) 'Promoting gender my chapter in the book, Developing Power: How equality', in R. Black and H. White (eds.) Women Transformed International Development Targeting Development, London: Routledge (Fraser and Tinker 2004). UNAIDS (2001) HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet, February UNDP (2003) 'Caribbean Regional Report on the Implementation of the Millennium Development References Goals', unpublished paper prepared for the Barriteau, E. (2000) Examining the Issues of Men, Male UNDP Caribbean Office Marginalisation and Masculinity in the Caribbean: Policy Implications, Cave Hill Working Paper Series No. 4, Centre for Gender and Development Studies, UWI Barriteau, E. (2003a) 'Requiem for the male marginalization thesis in the Caribbean: death of a non-theory', in E. Barriteau (ed.) Confronting Power, Theorising Gender: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in the Caribbean, Kingston: UWI Press Barriteau, E. (2003b) 'Conclusion: beyond a blacklash: the frontal assault on containing Caribbean women in the decade of the 1990s', in G. Tang Nain and B. Bailey (eds.) Gender Equality in the Caribbean: Reality or Illusion, Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers 105

Compiled by Kanika Lang

equality against women's access to education, literacy, paid work, and political Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradicationrepresentation and concludes that these and the Millennium Development Goals: Aresources are important but not sufficient for Handbook for Policy-makers and Other women's empowerment. Stakeholders (2003), Naila Kabeer, Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough Progress of the World's Women 2002: Volume 2. House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, UK. Gender Equality and the Millennium h ttp: / / publications, thecommonwealth.org Development Goals (2002), Diane Elson with Also available online at: Hande Keklik, UNIFEM. Can be ordered www.thecommonwealth.org / shared_ from Women, Ink, 777 United Nations Plaza, asp_files / uploadedfiles / {EEE A4F53-90DF- New York, NY 10017, USA. 4498-9C58-73F273FlE5EE}_ [email protected] PovertyEradication.pdf Order online at: http://womenink.org/ or In this book, Kabeer provides evidence for from Kumarian Press at: www.kpbooks.com. the crucial importance of gender equality to Also available free online at: the attainment of all the MDGs. The book www.unifem.org/index.php?f_page_pid=10 highlights the importance of understanding the gendered dimensions of poverty and The report assesses the progress made by emphasises that two key factors in poverty countries of the world in achieving Millenn- reduction are increasing women's access to ium Development Goal 3, on gender equality resources and recognising the importance of and the empowerment of women, against women's economic contributions to the the four specific indicators of education survival of poor households around the (secondary-school enrolment), literacy, world. She also demonstrates the employment (non-agricultural wage interrelationship between gender equality, employment), and seats in parliament. It also economic growth, and the attainment of the discusses the importance of creating and human development indicators targeted in using innovative new sex-disaggregated the MDGs. Central to her discussion is the indicators that better capture dimensions of importance of cultural norms, kinship women's disadvantage. The report also patterns, and structures of patriarchy in the highlights the omission of women's regional manifestation of gender inclusion in Goal 8 (achieving a global inequalities and the impact of economic partnership for development) and argues growth on gender equality. Kabeer also the case for bottom-up partnerships that examines the specific MDG on gender hold governments and corporations 106

accountable rather than the current top-down Gender, the Millennium Development Goals, partnerships envisioned by the Goal. and Human Rights in the Context of the 2005 Review Processes (2004), Genevieve Renard Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Painter, Gender and Development Network Rights: Women Debate the Millennium (GADN), c/o WOMANKIND Worldwide, Development Goals (2004), Carol Barton and 2nd Floor, Development House, 56-64 Laurie Prendergast (eds.), Women's Leonard Street, London EC2A 4JX, UK. International Coalition for Economic Justice Available online at www.siyanda.org/ (WICEJ), 12 Dongan Place #206, New York, docs / painter_cedawmdgs.doc NY 10040, USA. This paper was written by Painter to inform www.wicej.org the Gender and Development Network's Hard copies are available from advocacy strategy for 2005. Painter [email protected] (please include your full highlights the opportunities for advocacy mailing address). presented by linking and participating in the Featuring 29 articles and short opinion pieces MDG Review process and the Beijing from women in diverse roles (from civil society, Platform for Action +10 Review process. She human rights organisations, and academia) argues that it is vital to conceptualise the and regions of the world (including Russia, MDGs from a human rights perspective and Tanzania, and Colombia), this book presents explores the links between CEDAW, the diverse viewpoints on women's engagement Beijing Platform for Action, and the MDGs. with the MDGs. It includes sections on the importance of a human rights perspective on 'Promoting gender equality' by Ramya the MDGs, understanding the MDGs within Subrahmanian, in Targeting Development: wider frameworks such as international law, Critical Perspectives on the Millennium strategies for engaging with the MDGs and Development Goals, Richard Black and transforming them as a tool for rights, equality, Howard White (eds.), Routledge, Taylor & sustainable development, and peace. The book Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, aims to serve as an accessible tool to enable Abingdon, Oxford, OX14 4RN, UK (2004). women's organisations to assess how, why, www.routledge.com and whether to engage with the MDGs. Subrahmanian critically examines MDG 3 on Pathway to Gender Equality: CEDAW, Beijinggender equality and empowerment, and and the MDGs (2004), Lee Waldorf, UNIFEM. argues that the targets and indicators of the Available online at: www.unifem.org/ Goal may specify outcomes/ends, but they index.php?f_page_pid=216 fail to make clear what routes / processes are This report looks at the linkages and necessary to achieve these outcomes. She crossovers among the MDGs, the Convention also makes the point that the notion of on the Elimination of All Forms of gender empowerment that the MDGs adopt Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) seems to be restricted only to health and and the Beijing Platform for Action; and education goals, and criticises the gender- argues that the MDGs should not be viewed as blindness of the poverty eradication goal as a a new agenda but as a new means of attaining major shortcoming. In order to achieve CEDAW and Beijing. Conversely, ensuring gender equality, Subrahmanian emphasises that the commitments made in CEDAW and that all the major actors in development Beijing are fulfilled would help in the must ensure transparency in all levels of attainment of the MDGs. The report provides their policy processes. practical guidelines on how to link the MDGs processes with CEDAW and Beijing. Resources 107

Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and This booklet demonstrates the links between Empowering Women (Final Report of the UN Goal 1 (poverty eradication), Goal 3 (gender Millennium Project Task Force on Education and equality and the empowerment of women), Gender Equality) (2005), Caren Grown, Geeta and Goal 7 (environmental sustainability) in Rao Gupta, and Aslihan Kes, Earthscan, 8-12 the context of increasing women's access to Camden High Street, London NW1 OJH, UK natural resources. Four key dimensions frame [email protected] the discussion, along with accompanying www.earthscan.co.uk case studies: water (Kenya), energy (Malawi), Available online at: land and food security (Tanzania and Nepal), http:// unmp.forumone.com/eng_task_ and biodiversity (Kenya and Laos). force / GenderEbook.pdf Recommended strategies, tools, and actions The Final Report by the Task Force on to ensure the links between gender and access Education and Gender Equality spells out the to natural resources are incorporated into the seven strategic priorities that are essential in MDG process at a national level include the order to achieve gender equality and use of sex-disaggregated data, gender women's empowerment by 2015. These are reviews of country reports, and gender strengthening opportunities for post-primary budget initiatives. education for girls, guaranteeing reproductive and sexual health and rights, 80 Million Lives: Meeting the Millennium investing in infrastructure to reduce women's Development Goals in Child and Maternal and girls' time-burden, guaranteeing Survival (2003), Suzanne Fustukian, Regina women's and girls' property and inheritance Keith, and Angela Penrose, Grow Up Free rights, eliminating gender inequality in from Poverty Coalition. employment by decreasing women's reliance Available free online at: on informal employment, increasing www.savethechildren.org.uk/ temp / scuk / women's share of seats in local and national cache / cmsattach / 1527_80millionlives.pdf government, and combating violence against or by writing to: Save the Children, 17 women and girls. The report stresses, Grove Lane, London, SE5 8RD, UK. however, that gender equality cannot and This report, by a UK-based coalition of will not be achieved without the leadership to NGOs, faith groups, young people's institute policies for social change and the organisations, and civil society organ- political will to allocate the necessary isations, focuses on Goal 4 (reducing child resources towards their fulfilment. mortality) and Goal 5 (improving maternal health), arguing that a 'social mode' of Common Ground: Women's Access to Naturalhealth-care provision is vital to the Resources and the United Nations Millenniumattainment of these Goals. The report is based Development Goals (2003), Rebecca Pearl, on a rights-based approach to health care. It Women's Environment and Development sets out the Coalition's recommendations on Organization (WEDO), 355 Lexington how to implement a 'health for all' system. Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10017- The title of the report derives from the fact 6003, USA. that achieving the MDGs by 2015 will help to [email protected] save 80m children and women from death. www.wedo.org The booklet can be ordered from WEDO 'Strategic advocacy and maternal mortality: using their online order form at: moving targets and the Millennium www.wedo.org / publicat / shop.htm Development Goals', Lynn Freedman, in and is also available free online at: Women Reinventing Globalisation, Caroline www. wedo.org/sus_dev/ commonl.htm Sweetman and Joanna Kerr (eds.), Oxfam 108

GB, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DZ, Gender, Education and Development: Beyond UK (2003). Access to Empowerment (1999), Christine Available online at: Heward and Sheila Bunwaree (eds.), Zed http: / / publications.oxfam.org.uk / oxfam / Books, 7 Cynthia Street, London Nl 9JF, UK default.asp www.zedbooks.co.uk Freedman stresses the importance of access This book draws on case studies from to Emergency Obstetric Care, in the event of Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, birth complications, as vital to the Tanzania, Pakistan, Nepal, Mauritius, Niger, achievement of the MDG on the reduction of Peru, and Papua New Guinea to argue that maternal mortality. She argues that this education does not automatically lead to the MDG provides an important avenue for empowerment of women. For example, the strategic advocacy to attain accountable case study from Sri Lanka demonstrates that health systems that can deliver the care equal educational attainment does not necessary to save women's lives and translate into equal rewards in the labour improve their health. market for women. Social, cultural, political, and economic factors all affect the impact of Gender and Education For All: The Leap to education on the lives of girls and women. The book also contains a strong critique of Equality. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4 the World Bank's education policy as (2003) UNESCO. simplistic and unresponsive to the realities Can be ordered online at: of the lives of poor and marginalised girls www.publishing.unesco.org and women the world over. or downloaded at: http: / / portal.unesco.org / education / en / Partnerships for Girls' Education (2005), Nitya ev.php-URL_ID=23023&URL_DO= Rao and Ines Smyth (eds.), Oxfam GB, 274 DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DZ, UK. The report assesses the progress made By documenting and analysing the towards the six Education For All goals, achievements and challenges of a multitude adopted at the World Education Forum in of partnerships for girls' education, this book Dakar, Senegal in 2000, two of which were aims to suggest strategies for progress later incorporated into the Millennium towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of education and gender Development Goals. An account of the equity. Stressing the importance of formation and development of the Global achieving gender equality in education from Campaign for Education is followed by a human rights perspective, the report detailed case studies from Bangladesh, makes a distinction between gender parity in Egypt, the Philippines, Peru, and sub- education (a numerical concept) and gender Saharan Africa, illustrating a wide range of equality (a more complex notion including partnerships and raising crucial questions equal learning achievements and the life about power and control, 'scaling up', and opportunities that follow). The report is sustainability. divided into seven chapters, which examine progress towards achieving the goals, the The Beijing Platform for Action and the barriers to the attainment of gender equality, Millennium Development Goals: How to Defend examples of good practice, and the national the Progress Made? How to Move Forward in and international strategies and Globalising Women's Rights: Confronting commitments that will be necessary in order Unequal Development Between the UN Rights to make gender equality in education a Framework and the WTO Trade Agreements reality. (2004) Women In Development Europe Resources 109

(WIDE) Annual Conference Report, pp 51-7. Education, London and Sheila Aikman of Can be ordered by sending an e-mail to Oxfam GB. The Project was launched in April Nerea Craviotto at [email protected] 2003 and will run until December 2005. It is This section of the WIDE Annual Conference linked to work in support of the Millennium Report contains presentations by Kalyani Development Goal for gender equity in Menon-Sen and Carol Barton. The education worldwide by 2005. The main aims presentations provide concise critiques of of the Project are to share new knowledge, the MDGs from the perspective of the critically examine practice, and undertake women's movement (for example the new strategies for learning between relegation of gender to only one Goal, and policy makers, NGOs, intergovernment the inadequate measures of the complex organisations, practitioners, academics, notion of 'empowerment') and explore the teachers, and the general public and build links between the MDGs and the Beijing awareness of debates and practical strategies Platform for Action. They also discuss some for the delivery of gender equitable education of the strategies being adopted by the through a series of seminars, a conference, women's movement for 2005. and a range of publications.

The Millennium Development Goals (UN Websites ; . ' \ r Millennium Project website) Gender Equality and the MDGs www.unmillenniumproject.org /html / dev_ This site is managed by the United Nations goalsl.shtm Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Information on the eight Goals and the Goal- and is a result of collaboration among the specific targets and indicators. UN's Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, the OECD/DAC Network Millennium Project on Gender Equality, and the Multilateral www.unmillenniumproject.org / html / about, Development Bank Working Group on shtm Gender. It aims to provide a pool of online The Millennium Project, launched by UN resources and tools that address gender Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UNDP equality in all of the eight Millennium Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, is a Development Goals. It features online books, three-year effort to identify strategies for papers, articles, and speeches as well as meeting the MDGS, including identifying downloadable leaflets and pamphlets for priorities, strategies, organisational means, advocacy and action, and links to other and financing structures. The purpose of the relevant organisations. Visitors to the site Project is to ensure that all developing may submit materials for inclusion by e- countries meet the MDGs. Ten Task mailing the content manager (contact details Forces, comprising representatives from and guidelines for submission are academia, public and private sectors, and provided). civil society organisations, have been organised to carry out analytical work on the Beyond Access Project, prepare reports on progress, and www.girlseducation.org (click on the provide recommendations on how to Beyond Access Project link) achieve the Goals. This is the website of the 'Gender, Development and Education: Beyond Access' Project, funded by the UK's Department for International Development, and co-ordinated by Elaine Unterhalter of the Institute of 110

Millennium Indicators database Women and the Millennium Development Goals http: / / millenniumindicators.un.org / unsd (2003), Ana Elena Obando, WHRnet / mi / mi_goals.asp (Women's Human Rights Net) An online database with country-specific www.whrnet.org / docs / issue-mdg.html information on progress towards the MDGs. This online paper reviews some of the main responses by the international women's Millennium Development Goals - Country movement to the MDGs. It highlights the Reports criticisms of the MDGs by the women's www.undp.org / mdg / countryreports.html movement (for example failure to include sexual and reproductive rights, failure to Reports from 62 countries including recognise neo-liberal context, and diminished Afghanistan, Honduras, Zambia, Vietnam, state control), the challenges posed to the and Slovenia on progress towards the MDGs. women's movement by the MDGs process (for example, ensuring that gender-sensitive Electronic resources indicators are adopted at a national level), and the opportunities that the MDGs present Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and the to the international women's movement Millennium Development Goals: Promoting (opportunities for the analysis of the barriers Women's Capabilities and Participation (2003), faced by women that would prevent the Naila Kabeer, Emerging Social Issues successful attainment of the Goals). Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission on Asia and the Pacific Gender and the MDGs (2004), Caren Grown, (UNESCAP) Asian Development Bank www.unescap.org / esid / GAD / Publication www.adb.org / Documents / Periodicals / AD / DiscussionPapers /13 / Paperl3.pdf B_Review / 2004 / vol36_l / gender_mdgs.asp In this paper, Kabeer emphasises that gender Grown, the Director of the Poverty inequality is a pervasive form of inequality Reduction and Economic Growth Team, that is firmly a part of the structural International Center for Research on Women inequalities that give rise to the problems the (ICRW), sets out four priorities necessary to MDGs are designed to address, and accelerate progress towards Goal 3: first, therefore addressing gender inequalities in achieving gender equality in education, all of the MDGs is crucial. She critiques the health, labour markets, political life, and omission of gender-specific aspects of the social opportunities; second, investing in the Goals, and in particular, Goal l's failure to education, health, safety, and economic make explicit mention of the gender well-being of adolescents, especially girls; dimensions of poverty. Kabeer then goes on third, reducing women's and girls' time to examine each of the indicators that have poverty through gender-sensitive infra- been set to measure progress towards Goal 3 structure investments and public policies (gender equality and the empowerment of that support women's care responsibilities; women) - education, employment, and and fourth, sex-disaggregated data to political participation - and, while acknow- monitor progress towards the MDGs. ledging the importance of these targets, stresses the influential role that culture can Promises to Keep: Achieving Gender Equality play in the attainment of these indicators for and the Empowerment of Women, Background women and girls around the world. She Paper of the Task Force on Education and concludes by stressing the importance of Gender Equality (2003), Caren Grown, Geeta women's collective action as a basis for Rao Gupta, and Zahia Khan, UN challenging existing structural inequalities. Millennium Project, UNDP Resources 111 www.unmillenniumproject.org / documents ductive rights and health, reducing women's / tfO3genaprl8.pdf and girls' time poverty, women's property This is the first Background Paper for the and inheritance and labour market rights, Task Force on Education and Gender women's political representation, and Equality, a part of the UN Millennium ending violence against women) that must Project. The paper reviews the progress that be addressed through international- and countries have made on Goal 3. It is divided national-level actions, and with two key sub- into six sections: Section 1 defines gender populations in particular - poor women and equality and empowerment (in terms of adolescents and youth - if progress is to be capability, opportunity, and agency); made on achieving gender equality and the Section 2 provides a history of the empowerment of women. development of Goal 3 and discusses its importance in relation to the other MDGs; The Economic and Human Development Costs of Section 3 critiques the targets and indicators Missing the Millennium Development Goals on selected for the Goal and suggests more Gender Equity (2004), Dina Abu-Ghaida and adequate ones; Section 4 analyses progress Stephan Klasen, Discussion Paper, made by countries to reach the Goal; and Department of Economics, University of Sections 5 and 6 identify strategic ways to Munich meet Goal 3 by suggesting policy and wwwl .worldbank.org/ education / pdf / programme interventions appropriate for MDG_Gender_Equity.pdf different countries, based on the dominant http://epub.ub.uni- form of discrimination experienced by muenchen.de / archive / 00000002 / 01 / 0301_ women. The report concludes by urging the klasen.pdf international community to ensure that four Drawing on current findings on the relation- key prerequisites to achieving Goal 3 are ship between gender equality (in terms of met: quality, sex disaggregated data, girls' education) and economic growth, the financial and technical resources, authors discuss the cost implications for international mechanisms and political will. countries that will miss the MDG on gender equality. They conclude that countries that Task Force 3 Interim Report on Gender Equality fail to achieve Goal 3 will suffer significant (2004), Nancy Birdsall, Amina J. Ibrahim, losses in terms of forgone economic growth and Geeta Rao Gupta, Millennium Project, and will make less progress in reducing levels UNDP of fertility, child mortality, and under- www.unmillenniumproject.org / documents nutrition. Girls' education, say the authors, is / tf3genderinterim.pdf therefore significant not only in order to close This Interim Report builds on the analysis of the gender gap within a country but also for the Task Force's Background Paper Promises the overall development of the country. to Keep (referenced above) on the progress towards Goal 3. This report presents a Millennium Development Goals. National definition of gender equality using three Reports: A Look Through a Gender Lens (2003), dimensions - capabilities, access to resources Kalyani Menon-Sen, UNDP, 1 United and opportunities, and security - and Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA reviews the progress made towards Goal 3 www.undp.org / gender / docs / mdgs- based on the adopted targets and indicators. genderlens.pdf Concluding that these targets and indicators This UNDP paper reviews the Millennium are inadequate, the report identifies six Development Goals Reports of 13 countries strategic priorities (opportunities for to assess the extent to which gender equality secondary education, sexual and repro- perspectives have been mainstreamed 112

within the Reports. It finds that gender has legal, political, economic, and social rights, not been sufficiently and effectively this paper by the Gender and Development incorporated within the analyses. Group of the World Bank examines the Suggestions for improvement include the gender equality Millennium Development inclusion of disaggregated data and Goal as well as the links between gender qualitative information on critical gender equality and the achievement of the poverty, issues across goals and targets. The countries education, health and nutrition, and covered are Albania, Armenia, Bolivia, environment Goals. While it does not Cameroon, Egypt, Lithuania, Mauritius, critically examine the World Bank's own Mozambique, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, policies, it does argue strongly for the need Tanzania, and Viet Nam. This paper to attain gender equality in order to achieve provides concrete evidence on how the other MDGs, and discusses Goal-specific countries are failing to take gender issues gender-sensitive approaches that would into account in their reporting on the MDGs. enable the implementation of the Goals.

Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Reproductive Health and Gender Equality: Paper Development Goals: Definitions, Rationale,for the Task Force on Education and Gender Concepts, and Sources (2003), United NationsEquality (2003), Carmen Barroso and Development Group Franchise Girard www.mdgender.net / upload / tools / Indicat www.mdgender.net / upload / monographs ors_for_Monitoring_the_MDGs.pdf /ReproductiveHealth_and_GenderEquality This handbook provides guidance on the _l.doc definitions, rationale, concepts, and sources The authors highlight the failure of Goal 3 on of data for each of the indicators that are gender equality to address women's right to used to monitor the MDG targets. For each reproductive health, arguing that repro- indicator used to measure progress towards ductive health and access to health care are the targets and goals, the handbook provides essential for gender equality. They urge the a simple operational definition, the goal and Millennium Project's Task Force on target that it addresses, the rationale for use of the indicator, the method of computation, Education and Gender Equality to include sources of data, references including targets and indicators on reproductive relevant websites, periodicity of measure- health as central to gender equality. ment, gender and disaggregation issues, limitations of the indicator, and national and The Cost of Childbirth: How Women are Paying international agencies involved in the the Price for Broken Promises on Aid, Oxfam collection, compilation or dissemination of Briefing Paper (2004), Oxfam GB, 274 the data. Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DZ, UK www.oxf am.org.uk/ what_we_do / issues / Gender Equality and the Millennium debt_aid / downloads /bp52_childbirth.pdf Development Goals (2003), Gender and This paper argues that, on current trends, the Development Group, World Bank, 1818 H Millennium Development Goal on reducing Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA maternal mortality by two-thirds by 2015 http: / / siteresources.worldbank.org / INTGE will be missed. This failing, say the authors, NDER / Publications / 20169280 / gendermdg. can be rectified if donors increase their aid pdf for financing of better health-care provisions Drawing on research that builds a global and governments ensure that health systems picture of the current status of women's are responsive to the needs of women. Resources 113

Engendering the Millennium Development information on progress towards gender Goals on Health (2003), Department of Gender equality in education is presented in papers and Women's Health, World Health from all around the world including Nigeria, Organization (WHO) Chile, Jamaica, France, the UK, Chad, Benin, www.mdgender.net / upload / monographs and India. / WHO_MDGs_on_Health.pdf This leaflet highlights gender-specific The Beyond Access Project Seminar Papers concerns related to the health MDGs (1,4, 5, www.girlseducation.org / PGE_Acti ve_Pag 6, and 7) and identifies factors that es / NetworkMembers / Bey ond Access / Acti programme planners and researchers ve_Pages / eventsandactivities.asp should bear in mind to ensure that the The website provides access to all the papers concerns are addressed. discussed at the Beyond Access Project seminars. Themes include developing Promoting the Millennium Development Goal gender equality in adult education, for Gender Equality in Education: Reflections resources for gender equality and quality from the Beyond Access Project (2004), Chloe basic education, and gender equality and Challender and Elaine Unterhalter, Institute basic education: ideas and actions. To read of Education, University of London the papers for each seminar, go to 'click here http: / / kl .ioe.ac.uk / schools / efps / GenderE for papers'. ducDev / Cuba%20paper.pdf This paper discusses the Beyond Access Equals: The Beyond Access Project Newsletter Project, set up in 2003 to facilitate dialogue www.girlseducation.org / PGE_Active_Pag and knowledge-sharing around the es / NetworkMembers / Beyond Access / Acti education MDG. It sets out the Project's ve_Pages / newsletter.asp 'scorecard methodology' to assess the Link to the bi-monthly newsletter produced progress made by countries towards the Goal, and the Project's aim of joining up top- by the Project in order to share information level (international and government) work and analysis and discuss latest developments and consensus on the Goal with the in international efforts towards attaining grassroots-level work. gender equality in education.

Gender and Education For All: The Leap to Learning to Survive: How Education For All Equality. Commissioned Papers (2003) Would Save Millions of Young People from http: / / portal.unesco.org / education / en / ev HJVI'AIDS (2004) Oxfam .php-URL_ID=25755&URL_DO=DO_ www.oxfam.org.uk/ what_we_do / issues / e TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201 .html ducation / downloads / gce_hivaids.pdf More than 70 Background Papers on gender An Oxfam report which stresses that and education informed the EFA Global education for all would prove to be a crucial Monitoring Report 2003/4 (see the 'vaccine' against HIV/AIDS. The report Publications section for further details). looks in particular at the benefits of Major barriers to education are analysed in education for young women in protecting papers on child labour, school fees, and them against the virus. Education, argues HIV /AIDS. Others shed light on the the report, provides young women with household perspective, teaching profession, access to knowledge, economic resources, disability, and the issue of gender violence in and decision-making power that deeply school. Some papers locate education within affects their ability to protect themselves the broader context of globalisation and against HIV/AIDS. political participation. Country-specific 114

A Fair Chance: Attaining Gender Equality in As many women's organisations argue, in Basic Education by 2005 (2003) Oxfam the light of the inadequacy of the MDGs www.oxfam.org.uk/ what_we_do / issues / from a women's human rights perspective, education / downloads / gce_afairchance_ the Convention on the Elimination of All full.pdf Forms of Discrimination Against Women This accessible report by Oxfam draws on represents vital legal protection of women's nine case studies to examine the current human rights. This speech, delivered by Dr gender gap in education and the barriers to Schoepp-Schilling at WIDE's 2004 Annual girls' education, including early marriage, Conference, explains what CEDAW is and user fees, son preference, heavy workloads provides examples of the kind of monitoring at home, lack of adequate government work that NGOs can undertake to ensure schools, and sexual abuse in schools. It then that CEDAW represents a strong instrument goes on to suggest strategies that would for the protection of women's rights. enable countries to close the gender gap, such as free basic education, subsidies for The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms girls' education for the poorest families, of Discrimination Against Women protection of the rights and dignity of girls www.un.org / womenwatch / daw / cedaw / c in school, and increased aid for education. edaw.htm The report argues for the urgent need to The UN website with the history and full text tackle gender-specific discrimination and a of the CEDAW. States that have ratified the country-level strategy for gender equality in Convention are legally bound to undertake a education. series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including Gender and Budgets: Cutting Edge Pack (2003incorporatin) g the principle of equality of BRIDGE men and women in their legal system; www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports_gend_CEP. abolishing all discriminatory laws and html# Budgets adopting appropriate ones prohibiting This pack provides information on how discrimination against women; establishing budgets can be used as a tool to further tribunals and other public institutions to gender equality. It includes an overview ensure the effective protection of women report on gender budget initiatives and the against discrimination; and ensuring processes involved, a collection of supporting elimination of all acts of discrimination resources that provide summaries of key against women by persons, organisations, or texts, case studies, tools, and organisations enterprises. and a bulletin that discusses how gender budget initiatives are a practical tool to advance towards gender equity.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Monitoring Mechanisms: Challenges and Opportunities for NGOs in their Efforts to Globalize Women's Human Rights (2004), Dr Hanna Beate Schoepp-Schilling at the Women In Development Europe (WIDE) Annual Conference 2004 www.eurosur.org / wide / Structure / CBS4_ UN_l.htm#top Resources 115

Beijing Platform for Action (2004), Carol Gender Equality and the Millennium Barton Development Goals (2003), MDGenderNet www .eurosur.org / wide / Structure / CBS4_ www.mdgender.net UN_2.htm www.mdgender.net / upload / tools / MDGe The Beijing Platform for Action was adopted nder_leaflet.pdf at the Fourth UN World Conference on This brief leaflet summarises why gender Women in Beijing, China in 1995. Carol equality and the empowerment of women Barton provides a concise summary of the are crucial in achieving all eight Millennium Beijing Platform for Action and its strengths, Development Goals. It provides examples of weaknesses, and contradictions. Barton broad-based actions that would help sheds light on the background of backlash incorporate gender equality into the Goals against which women's rights activists are and result in development gains that would now being forced to defend the Platform, support the achievement of all the MDGs. despite its many limitations. Gender Equality and the Millennium Beijing Declaration and Platform for ActionDevelopment Goals Poster (2003), (1995) MDGenderNet www.un.org / womenwatch / daw /beijing / www.mdgender.net/resources/tool_detail. platform/ php?ToolID=3 The UN website that provides the full text of Downloadable poster stating '189 Heads of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for States committed to Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Gender equality Action, including the 12 strategic objectives is central to all the Millennium Development and actions that women's organisations Goals'. argue are more representative of women's rights than the MDGs.

Tools fox a^^a^y i' - . Women's International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICE]), 12 Dongan Place #206, New Women's Empowerment, Gender Equality and York, NY 10040, USA the Millennium Development Goals: A WEDO [email protected] Information and Action Guide (2004), Women's www.wicej.org Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) WICEJ is an international coalition representing organisations in all regions of www.wedo.org / publicat / MDG_toolkitl .p the globe. It works to link gender with df macro-economic policy in international This leaflet provides Goal-specific reasons intergovernment policy-making arenas, for the centrality of gender issues to the from a human rights perspective. WICEJ attainment of all the Goals. It urges actions uses an integrated feminist analysis which such as lobbying governments to use sex- links the multiplicity of systems that oppress disaggregated data and gender-sensitive women, and recognises the diversity of indicators (and provides information on women's experience by race, ethnicity, class, where such indicators can be found), and national origin, citizenship status, and other pushing for a gender review process of factors. It seeks to bring local perspectives on country Millennium Development Reports. gender and economic issues to the There are a number of links provided to international arena, and shared analysis relevant organisations, papers and tools, for from the international arena back to regions further action. and national communities. 116

Women's Environment and Development Gender and Development Network (GADN), Organization (WEDO), 355 Lexington c/o WOMANKIND Worldwide, 2nd Floor, Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10017- Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, 6603, USA London EC2A4JX, UK [email protected] [email protected] www.wedo.org www.gadnetwork.org.uk/ Established in 1990, WEDO is an The GADN is a membership network of over international advocacy network that seeks to 180 practitioners, academics, and increase the power of women worldwide as consultants working on gender and policy makers in governance and in policy- development issues in the UK. It has been making institutions, forums, and processes, active in advocacy and awareness-raising on at all levels, to achieve economic and social gender and development issues since its justice, a peaceful and healthy planet, and founding in 1985. The Network enables its human rights for all. WEDO's programme members to share information and expertise, areas are Gender and Governance, discuss concerns, lobby government and Sustainable Development, and Economic international bodies on their development and Social Justice. WEDO seeks to advocate programmes, and provide expert advice and women's equality in economic and political comment on policies and projects. GADN decision-making, find development members work in partnership with solutions that are sustainable for women, development and advocacy organisations communities, and the planet, promote throughout the world. The GADN is the UK economic equity for women, and increase representative for Women In Development public awareness about the negative impacts Europe (WIDE) in Brussels. of globalisation on women, their families and their communities, and the Women In Development Europe (WIDE), rue de environment. la Science 10,1000 Brussels, Belgium [email protected] United Nations Development Fund for Women www.eurosur.org / wide /home.htm (UNIFEM), 304 E45th Street, 15th Floor, New WIDE is a European network of York, NY 10017, USA development NGOs, gender specialists, and www.unifem.org human rights activists. It monitors and UNIFEM is the women's fund at the UN. It influences international economic and was created in 1976 and provides financial development policy and practice from a and technical assistance to innovative feminist perspective. WIDE's work is programmes and strategies that promote grounded on women's rights as the basis for women's human rights, political partici- the development of a more just and pation, and economic security. Within the democratic world order. WIDE strives for a UN system, UNIFEM promotes gender world based on gender equality and social equality and links women's issues and justice that ensures equal rights for all, as concerns to national, regional, and global well as equal access to resources and agendas by fostering collaboration and opportunities in all spheres of political, providing technical expertise on gender social, and economic life. mainstreaming and women's empowerment strategies. Resources 117

International Women's Rights Action Watch - Africa, South Asia, Central and South Asia Pacific (1WRAW Asia Pacific), 2nd Floor, America, and Europe. Block F, Anjung Felda, Jalan Maktab, 54000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The UN Millennium Project Task Force 3 on [email protected] Primary Education and Gender Equality, www.iwraw-ap.org / Center for Global Development, 1776 IWRAW Asia Pacific is a non-profit Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington international women's organisation based in DC 20036, USA the South. It promotes the domestic [email protected] implementation of international human www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/ rights standards by building the capacity of tforce_3.shtm women and human rights advocates to claim The UN Millennium Project Task Force has and realise women's human rights. This is been tasked with developing an operational done through the development of new framework of action for meeting MDG knowledge and the utilisation of a rights- Target 3 - to ensure that, by 2015, children based approach. IWRAW Asia Pacific everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able contributes to the progressive interpretation, to complete a full course of primary universalisation, implementation, and schooling. In addition, the Task Force is also realisation of women's human rights developing an operational framework of through the lens of CEDAW and other action to meet MDG 3: promote gender international human rights treaties. equality and empower women. The Task Force comprises two groups (on education WOMANKIND Worldwide, 2nd Floor, and gender) that will produce two separate Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, reports, though the groups work closely London EC2A 4JX, UK together. The education group is [email protected] systematically analysing the means to www.womankind.org.uk achieve dramatic improvements in education in the developing world, and to WOMANKIND Worldwide is a UK-based highlight priority actions for both charity dedicated to women's development developing and developed countries. The and women's human rights globally. gender group has taken a broad look at the WOMANKIND Worldwide has developed goal of gender empowerment within the programmes in partnership with local framework of enhancing women's capabil- community groups to tackle women's ities, opportunities, and security in order to inequality in many of the world's poorest meet the goal. The group is highlighting places. These programmes are called the priority areas of action, which include and Four Literacies - Word Literacy, Money go beyond the issue of gender disparity in Literacy, Body Literacy, and Civil Literacy. education. The Task Force has completed its WOMANKIND works to unlock women's Interim Reports on Education and Gender potential and maximise their ability to make and will prepare its Final Reports by the end decisions in their own lives, the lives of their of 2004. families, as well as in the future of their community and country. WOMANKIND Worldwide works with 70 partner organisations in 20 countries, spanning