Constructing Gender Equality
Kaavya Ganesh, reporting from United Nations Women (UN Women), analyses council proceedings as the delegates come up with ideas to improve infrastructure to promote the empowerment of women.
According to a new report from UNICEF and the World Health Organization, 2.1 billion people around the world face infrastructural challenges every day. For the simple task of getting water for drinking, bathing, cooking, and other household needs, millions of women and girls spend hours every day travelling to water sources, waiting in line, and carrying heavy loads—often several times a day. These were the problems that were focused upon by the council.
The Delegate of the Russian Federation (Russia) opened discussion by talking about the risks faced by women when they use public sanitation facilities and when they collect water. He was of the opinion that the member states must develop gender specific public sanitary infrastructure keeping in mind the unique needs of women. The Delegate of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (Bolivia) talked about the physical toll that women and girls face when they are forced to travel large distances each day and about how this amounts to unpaid care, thereby increasing gender disparity. The Delegate of the Republic of El Salvador (El Salvador) continued the discussion by stating that countries must categorise social infrastructure into rural, urban, and conflict-zone infrastructure—all three having different needs. She stressed on the need to consider socio-economic differences between the people who use the structures. According to her, the women of El Salvador are hesitant to go to male doctors due to social stigma. She suggests that the number of female doctors, paediatricians, and gynaecologists need to be increased keeping in mind, the aforementioned problem. She also agreed with the Delegate of Russia and added to his points by saying that educational facilities must be available in close proximity to the children’s homes. She also said that the transportation facilities provided must be secure and the schools must have inclusive schedules, taking into consideration the female children’s additional responsibilities.
The Delegate of the Federal Republic of Germany stressed on the fact that making infrastructure gender neutral is not an easy task. The Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan was in agreement and further put ahead proposals to include both maternal and paternal influenced structures at workplaces such as, day care centres and changing rooms. She echoed the sentiments of the Delegate of El Salvador and supported secure public transport which is well connected to schools and nurseries. She also said that facilities that provide people with means to report abuse in schools and workplaces are of utmost importance, reflecting on how similar policies have greatly improved the redressal options available to the victims of such abuse in Kazakhstan.
The Delegate of the People’s Republic of China, having observed the discussions taking place, spoke about the multiple projects undertaken by the Chinese government regarding the same. He said that the women were given a continuous role in these projects through the following ways: First, gender experts who worked closely with the women to get to know their exact needs were maintained at each stage. This was so that they could design models that women would be comfortable working with. Second, gender sensitivity training was given to all the people involved in the project so that women felt included. Third, awareness was spread about the project. The Delegate claimed that women knew exactly what the project in their locality was and therefore had the ability to take part in them. Fourth, transport to and from workplace was increased and made more secure. Fifth, subcontracting these projects to small rural contractors increased public private partnerships and also helped the local economy grow. The Delegate concluded discussions by suggesting that the other member states present in committee should look into these methods and potentially employ them.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Politics Is A Hypocritical Game
Kaavya Ganesh, reporting from the United Nations Women (UN Women), observes, as discussions in the council move towards the political participation of women with the delegates taking polar positions.
As multiple countries debated how best to incorporate gender equality in all spheres, the role of women in politics and law-making began to take centre stage. Many states had conflicting views about this, as was reflected in council.
The Delegate of the Republic of Columbia opened discussions noting that, all around the world, women are subjected to the varying degrees of social stigma which seek to confine women to the household. He was of the opinion that encouraging the participation of more women in council would seek to destigmatise the working of women, while simultaneously providing them with the authority to make policies and laws that pertain to women’s issues. The Delegates of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Delegate of the Republic of Albania furthered these sentiments by establishing that the representation of women in politics is highly beneficial.
The Delegate of the Swiss Confederation, however, disagreed with the aforementioned delegates. She stated that even though she believes that women should be encouraged to enter politics, the female population is not a homogeneous group. She observed that in any country, women come from all kinds of social, religious, and financial backgrounds. Women living in urban areas might not be able to address issues faced by women from rural areas. This, she said, meant that not every woman in politics will be able to champion women’s rights. The Delegate of the Republic of India echoed her sentiments and brought up the topic of reservation for women in politics. He opined that giving reservation to women might make way for undeserving women to use the reservation to take up the place of other more eligible candidates. Instead, he proposed that temporary quotas be given to women which can be removed after a few years, when a more balanced political participation of the sexes is observed. The Delegate of the Russian Federation agreed with his statements by saying that these quotas must be provided both at the national and the local levels.
At this stage in the debate, the Delegate of the People’s Republic of China (China) expressed his views on the subject, being that reservations and quotas are unnecessary. He said that the women who will join politics through these means may not necessarily be very capable. He reminded the council that the feminist movement in China was originally started by men. The delegates then pointed out that he seemed to be forgetting about the Feminist Five incident in which, five female activists were clamped down upon and detained for 30 days, by authorities for protesting against sexual harassment on public buses. This transgression was brought up in council by the Delegates of Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Korea and Republic of Uganda who all seemed to be of the opinion that the statement given by the Delegate of China was hypocritical in nature.
The discussions at this point quickly turned into a verbal spat between the Delegate of China and the delegates who opposed him; thus, moving the debate away from the original agenda. The discussions were concluded with no significant consensus reached by the council as a whole.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Plebiscite
Ashwini Rajanikanth, reporting from the United Nations Women (UN Women), conducted an opinion poll among the delegates of the council. The results of the poll were analysed and thereby, the direction of the committee was traced.
Question: Which of the following is the main factor that is holding women back from becoming leaders in their communities?
From the poll results, the lack of sufficient education seems to be one of the biggest factors affecting the role of women in leadership. Educating women involves the development of their skills and knowledge, including both technical and non-technical education. Realizing how important education is to assure sustainability, it is necessary for both the governmental and non-governmental organisations to strengthen education for women.
The other extensive factor hindering the leadership of women is the lack of support from society, which was predominately opinionated by the African member nations. This shows that the member nations have comparatively slow progress in terms of sustained support within their own societies for women empowerment.
The secular member nations believe that traditional duties are an essential factor that hinders the empowerment of women.
In conclusion, the international member nations must take immediate and effective measures to eliminate the hindrances faced by their countries in the empowerment of women and in the enhancement of their leadership statuses.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Are We Truly Empowering Women?
Kaavya Ganesh, reporting from United Nations Women (UN Women), asks the council an important question that may form the basis for the report that the council is to submit to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), and analyses the polarising response.
Q. How much correlation does the delegate believe social protection schemes have with regard to women empowerment? In particular, how likely are social protection schemes such as Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) actually helpful in lifting women out of poverty?
It is very obvious from the chart, that save for two, all the other delegates are of the opinion that CCTs are either helpful in most cases or are only helpful conditionally. Social protection policies geared towards improving the lives of women and children have relied on CCT programmes that target the woman within the household as the recipient of the funds. However, most CCTs were designed to alleviate poverty and do not have the reduction of gender inequality as a priority. There is evidence that suggests that the impact of these programmes is undermined by the limited scope of analysis done on the whole impact of gender inequality on women’s lives and well-being. Households that opt out of such programmes are not followed up on and properly evaluated, leading to a gap in the information we have about true outcomes. In most cases, the families that are a part of the program do not have women at the head of them, and in some cases, the women are not able to use the cash transfer which is instead appropriated—often by force—by the man.
It is curious to see that after considerable time spent in debate and deliberation on the same, the committee has not come to a consensus on whether CCTs and social protection schemes in general are gender sensitive enough or if they actually economically empower the women they target. This hints at considerable vagueness which may be present in the report which is to be submitted by the UN Women to the UNCSW.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu,)