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Gender Wire
February 2012 | Issue 13 | UNESCO Bangkok
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Hello!Welcome to Gender Wire! It’s a newsletter highlighting current gender trends and issues, for people pushing forward gender equality in education in Asia and the Pacific.
Every year on 8 March, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. Thousands of events occur throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. International Women’s Day is not only an occasion to review how far the women of the world have come in the fight for equality, peace and development, but also an occasion to mobilize for sustainable change.
The 2012 global theme is “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Future”. If every International Women's Day event held in 2012 includes girls in some way, then thousands of minds will be inspired globally. How are you and your organization celebrating IWD in 2012? Let us know your activity and theme by sending details to the APPEAL Gender Team at gender.bgk@unesco.org
We finish by asking for YOUR HELP identifying how Gender Wire can become more useful. Please use 3 minutes of your valuable time to provide quick feedback via online survey available here.
Until our next issue: farewell, au revoir and hanggan sa muli...
Fuchsia, Adrien and Ayin  Christian, 18, the Philippines
WHAT'S NEW? Global: UN Women “Equality and Access to Education Must be Increased for Rural Women”
Focusing on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges, the 56th Commission on the Status of Women was opened on 27 February 2012. Many women in Asia Pacific are from rural areas, almost 70 percent of employed women in South Asia work in agriculture. Inequality exists for rural women and girls, who face high disparities in access to education and other services and cannot reach their potential. According to global statistics, just 39 percent of rural girls attend secondary school. This is far fewer than rural boys (45 percent), urban girls (59 percent) and urban boys (60 percent).
Global: UN Secretary-General: Addressing the Needs and Hopes of the World’s Women not Simply an Act of Solidarity, but an Act of Necessity
Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to empower women and youth, who have been at the center of recent social protest movements worldwide, and warned countries against ignoring their voices as they are critical to countries’ development. “Tahrir Square [in Cairo] and the fight for democracy throughout the Arab world, Occupy Wall Street, ‘los indignados’ in Puerta del Sol [Madrid], protests in Greece… What was the common thread? They were overwhelmingly women and young people,”
India: First Comprehensive Study on Status of Women in 30 Years
The government is establishing a high level expert committee to report the socio-economic, political and legal status of women in India and evaluate the impact of government schemes. The panel will examine the overall status of women including the socio-economic, health and nutritional, legal and political status disaggregated by rural and urban populations, economic and social position.
India: Home to One Third of the World’s Child Brides – and Missing out on the Benefits of Delayed Marriage
Ten million girls annually are forcibly married before the age of eighteen, many as young as twelve or thirteen years old, equal to around 25,000 girls a day. Mary Robinson, ex-President of Ireland, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and member of The Elders reflects on the benefits of delaying marriage, which are felt community-wide. Girls stay in school and gain the opportunity to learn skills that will better equip them to work and contribute economically to their families and community. Their children will benefit too. Sadly, babies born to mothers under 18 are 60% more likely to be poor, and are at much higher risk of dying in their first year of life than those born to older mothers.
Afghanistan: Blog on Self-Immolation of 15-year old child-bride: Why Sadat Set Herself on Fire
Afghanistan: Culture, Security Concerns and Fear Preventing Girls from Attending School
Participants in a recent Advancing Children’s Right to Education e-discussion identified many barriers facing girls in accessing education. Youth Organization United through Hope (YOUTH CAN) discuss barriers for girls in Afghanistan. A total of 647 schools have been damaged due to the conflict, many of them girl’s schools targeted by the Taliban.
Pakistan: Stories of Hope for Gender Equality
The Senate has passed a bill that makes violence against women and children an offence carrying jail terms and fines. At the same time, transgender people are accessing newfound rights, such as the right to register to vote as a third sex – transgender. Courts have also ordered that they be given preference for civil service jobs for affirmative-action reasons.
Pacific: UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Director Calls for Increased Sexual Health Education
Global: Advertising Campaign That Sorts the Girls from the Boys
Plan UK is highlighting the lack of choice that girls face in the developing world with an advert that can detect the gender of the person viewing it. Using the latest video technology, a camera at a bus stop in London will scan the viewer's face –– and if it determines you to be female, you will be shown the advert, a 40-second film featuring three 13-year-old girls from Thailand, Mali and the UK talking about their lives and their hopes for their futures. This is one way to get people thinking about what it's like to have choice taken away from you, says Marie Staunton, chief executive of Plan UK.
Global: Women Can Add the Power of China and India to the Global Economy
A new advocacy campaign raises awareness of women’s potential for the global economy. If successfully harnessed, women’s participation would add the equivalent of a billion people to the work force contributing to the global economy. The biggest challenges for success are social and cultural norms – the ideas and beliefs that are institutionalized within culture. These changes go hand-in-hand with access to education. “We must work to make sure women are prepared despite social and cultural norms that inhibit girls from finishing secondary school,” said La Pietra Director. “Getting girls prepared, in addition to women entrepreneurs, is critical."
Global: Davos World Economic Forum – If Women are the Future, Where Are They?
Despite a quota system to boost female participation, the gender imbalance is still heavily skewed towards men at the World Economic Forum. The Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The Forum demanded that the largest members send one woman for every four men, but just 17% of the 2,500 delegates are female. And despite a push to encourage more women on to panels to discuss the issues of the day, just 20% of those invited to do so are women. The majority of panels, especially on key economic topics, are still dominated by (white) men. | |
WIDER LENS
WHAT'S GOING ON?International Women’s Day, 8 March 2012
Global theme Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures. Download the ‘Student’s Achieving Gender Equality’ secondary school kit created by UN Women Australia.
International Girls in ICT Day, 26 April 2012
International Girls’ in ICT Day aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Check out 2012 Toolkit on organizing Girls in ICT Days and the Girls in ICT Portal at www.girlsinict.org.
Policy Forum on Gender Equality in Education, IIEP
Following the IIEP 2011 Evidence-Based Policy Forum on Gender Equality in Education held in October 2011, an e-forum will run from 26 March to 6 April 2012 to facilitate continued discussion on:
• Gender differences in student learning achievement at the school and classroom level;
• Gender equality in relation to educational leadership in planning and management.
Raise your voice for gender equality in education by registering here.
Women of the World App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, World Bank and Fotopedia
Women of the World takes users on an eye-opening tour and educational look into the lives of women all across the world. The app explores the stunning images of a bride at her wedding in Singapore, a woman whose daughter had just been saved from malaria and women minesweeping the fields of Cambodia, among other scenes. Find it for free download at the App Store. You can find it here. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIESGrants for Women’s Organizations, Global Fund for Women
Grants support women's groups that advance the human rights of women and girls. They aim to strengthen women's right groups by providing small, flexible, and timely grants ranging from $500 to $30,000 for operating and program expenses. Local expertise is valued, along with the belief that women themselves know best how to determine their needs and propose solutions for lasting change. NEW TUBEPakistan: Changing Attitudes to Education for Girls
South Asia: Ending Child Marriage in South Asia
In February 2012, Girls Not Brides brought together over 70 organizations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to discuss how to create change across the region. All were united in the belief that together we can end child marriage and give every girl the opportunity to fulfill her potential.
India: Love Commandos Helpline
A group of Indian men are tackling the problem of honor killings in the country by protecting those who have married against their families' wishes. A newly-formed helpline called Love Commandos is supporting distraught couples. |
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NEW ON THE SHELFOutcome Report: 2011 Evidence-Based Policy Forum on Gender Equality in Education: Looking Beyond Parity, IIEP
Globally, some 39 million girls of lower secondary age are currently not enrolled in either primary or secondary education, while two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate adults are women. Only about one-third of countries have achieved gender parity at secondary level. The evidence shows that something needs to change. The report is the outcome of discussions at the forum looking beyond access to education for girls, examining gender equality in more depth in terms of learning achievement.
Why Language Matters For the Millennium Development Goals, UNESCO
For the Millennium Development Goals to be effective, all people need to be included. Language is the key to inclusion and at the center of human activity, self-expression and identity. This publication recognizes the importance that people place on their own language in achieving the MDG Goals. Women from minority groups are often particularly excluded from opportunities to improve their situations. The booklet offers case studies from India and Bangladesh empowering women by working in local languages, showcasing how language fosters participation in development with lasting results.
Global LIFE Mid-term Evaluation Report, UNESCO
31 countries around the world are struggling to provide basic literacy skills, and only six of these countries saw improvements in the number of illiterate women between 2006 and 2011. One-quarter of the countries struggling with literacy are in Asia Pacific. While some countries are gathering the momentum to respond to illiteracy, such as China, Indonesia and Iran, the issue has stalled for other countries. Literacy remains at levels of around 60% in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan. The literacy rate in Afghanistan is the lowest among the region, at an estimated 26.2% in 2008. Women make up the majority of these numbers in all countries. Girls, women and families living below the poverty line, particularly in rural areas, are most at risk. The global mid-term evaluation report on UNESCO’s Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE, 2006-2015), produced by UNESCO Institute of Learning on the basis of national and regional mid-term evaluation processes and reports. The report contributes to the effective implementation of the LIFE initiative through to 2015.
Review of Policies and Strategies to Implement and Scale up Sexuality Education in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO
Sexuality education provides young people with critical information and skills to safeguard their sexual and reproductive health. This review examines the existing frameworks present in the Asia-Pacific region to implement and scale up sexuality education. It includes a systematic review of over 300 national policies, laws, strategic plans on HIV, education, population and reproductive health, and youth in 28 countries in Asia and the Pacific. The review finds that there are still significant gaps across the region in terms of legal and policy frameworks, particularly in education policies. They are the least likely policy to include content on sexuality education. ONE GOOD PRACTICE A MONTHCreating and Using Physical Evidence for Education Advocacy Campaigns
Sri Lanka may have one of the highest literacy rates in the region, but behind the scenes there are a million functionally illiterate citizens, usually belonging to the older generation and mostly women who were unable to go to school when they were young. The Coalition for Education Development (CED) has been campaigning for government to step up implementation of Non-Formal Education, including literacy and adult education classes, for mothers – both for their own empowerment and so they can support their own children’s education. By doing so, CED represent marginalized sectors under-reached by education, providing convincing, concrete physical evidence of prevailing deep-seated problems in education.
Read more about the campaign in Chapter 3 of the Adventures in Advocacy publication.
JUST A QUICK QUESTIONHow did International Women’s Day Come About?
International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, emerging from the women’s movement mobilization to demand shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. It is now an official holiday in the region in Afghanistan, Cambodia, China (for women only), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal (for women only), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Find out more on the history of IWD here. |
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