Focus: Urgent gender equality action and rights of global women

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As March heads into the final week of Women’s History Month, another sexual harassment complaint has been filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; six Asian women were murdered Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia; the WHO released a finding that violence against women is “devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young”; US President Biden said on 17 March that “1 in 3 women are subjected to domestic violence” based on US studies; Sarah Everard’s murder-by-cop, brought out Metro London cops to put a beating on women, (Sisters United will never be defeated say endangered London women) at a vigil; Filipino women are being murdered for demonstrating for women’s safety, and thousands of women launched a demonstration in Sydney, Australia that shook that country.

News report by Sharon Santiago and Micheal John

 

A feminine-pespective on 2021 International Women's month, soon to end. A Feminine-Perspective on
2021 International Women’s
month, soon to end.
Photo Credit: Micheal John,
Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

March 2021, Women’s History month has been a horror show.

“These alarming events and realities need to be discussed in detail at next week’s gender equality forum in Mexico city,” says Okeke Victor Ikechukwu, RINJ African Advocate and Lawyer for the foundation who was speaking about recent kidnappings of school girls in Nigeria.

The Mexican government, UN Women, France, in partnership with civil society including the RINJ Foundation global women’s group, plus youth organizations, will comprise the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico City.

This year there will be greater pressure on the event to solidify a solid action takeaway with the Mexican government addressing its troublesome record on violence toward women and lead the world in a chorus for change. Mexico seems committed hence the outcome prospects are hopeful, but we must apply pressure and show our genuinely enthusiastic interest in order to motivate the leaders of the event,” says Katie Alsop, a founding director of The RINJ Foundation.

“Based on human rights principles,” say organizers of Generation Equality Forum “and through a data-driven process of consultation with international feminist groups (including The RINJ Foundation), grassroots activist organizations, governments and other partners, the selected themes of the Generation Equality Action Coalitions are:

  1. Gender-Based Violence
  2. Economic justice and rights
  3. Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
  4. Feminist action for climate justice
  5. Technology and innovation for Gender Equality
  6. Feminist movements and leadership
The gender equality virtual conference will run from 29 to 31 March, 2021, say organizers, who seek to “inspire and incubate the drive for urgent action,” and “to honour the grassroots legacy of the Beijing Platform of Action by highlighting the power of gender-based activism. It will provide the space to develop a multilateral feminist agenda and will include a side-event by the Government of Mexico to create a multilateral alliance of countries to promote gender equality.”

Polls suggest there is much work to be done globally to plant the seed of Gender Parity

A poll, conducted in Canada by Léger and the Association in concert with similar polls from 21 October to 15 December, 2020, claims over 26k respondents from 34 countries. (Read the poll in its entirety: WIN-Gender-Equality-2020

Released at the beginning of March the poll indicates equality between men and women has been eluded. Canadian female respondents were unequivocal. Canadian women were firmly at a 73 per cent response that said Canada has missed gender equality. Interestingly, 53 per cent of men agreed. That is significant.

Each year, the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN International), conducts the WIN World Survey, which explores perspectives about gender equality, violence, and sexual harassment. From October 21 to December 15, 2020, over 26,000 people from 34 countries responded to the survey. Source: WIN ~ Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

To what extent has gender equality achieved in your country in the following fields? Source: WIN ~ Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

Africa is not meeting goals says another poll

Meanwhile, “Africa has increased the number of women in parliament but still looks set to miss a global goal of gender parity in politics by 2030″, a European think tank said on Thursday. Read if you wish: Womens political participation Africa barometer-2021.

In the Philippines, women are being murdered for demonstrating against coal mining pollution that is harming young girls withe festering grisly rashes.

Dalena Tran, author of the Gendered Geographies of Violence report, explains the link between patriarchal violence and environmental activism, reports Euronews.  Big businesses “don’t have to pay for people’s suffering because women take care of things that should be provided, like public services, gaps in education or waste management,” she says. “Corporations in the pursuit of profit are not taking into account people’s lives, whether that’s in the United States, or South Africa. This is exacerbated in countries where this is a gender division of labour.” Photo Credit: LICCI/Coal-Free Bataan Movement Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

Bataan is also the battleground where Gloria Capitan lost her life, campaigning for greater regulation on the open coal stockpile 200 metres from her karaoke bar, reports Euronews.Targeted killing creates fear. “The children were getting sick. Her grandchildren had asthma and recurrent respiratory infections.” Derek Cabe, Capitan’s friend, has compiled a set of images that detail the grisly rashes sustained by neighbours who live closer to the stockpile. Photo Credit: LICCI/Coal-Free Bataan Movement.  Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine