Beijing 1995 Conference and the Challenge of Women and Development in Africa

Introduction

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China from 4 to 15 September 1995 (the 50^th anniversary of the United Nations), was one of the largest global conferences ever held and it symbolises the fact that the advancement of women has become important in international development cooperation and that women agenda had moved from the margin to the centre of global debates. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) marked a global watershed in the trajectory of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) worldwide as it remains the most comprehensive global policy framework and blueprint for action for achieving the goals of gender equality and human development in Africa.

The purpose of the Conference was to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for women everywhere in the interest of all humanity. It was attended by about 17,000 participants including 6000 delegates from 189 countries, over 4000 representatives of accredited non-governmental organisations (NGOs), a host of international civil servants, about 4000 media representatives and more than 30,000 people also participated in the NGO forum. The conference builds on the results of the previous three world conferences on women and seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women through their life cycle.

Critical Areas of Concern

A review of progress since the Nairobi Conference highlights special concerns- twelve areas of particular urgency that stand out as priorities for action. To this end, governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, are called upon to take strategic action in the following critical areas of concern concerning the implementation of women’s human rights and set out an agenda for women’s empowerment:

1) the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women;

2) inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training;

3) inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services;

4) violence against women;

5) the effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation;

6) inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in access to resources;

7) inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels;

8) insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women;

9) lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women;

10) stereotyping of women and inequality in women’s access to and participation in all communication systems, especially in the media;

11) gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the environment; and

12) persistent discrimination against and violation of the rights of the girl child.

Impact

The Beijing Platform for Action, that was agreed on by all 189 countries present at the Conference, created a benchmark for achieving women’s empowerment and advancement as an investment for societies. The Beijing Conference was the catalyst for seeing the world through a gender lens which galvanised NGO and government action and resulted in some important policy trends with positive and considerable impact on women’s lives. Since the Beijing Conference of 1995, the lives of women and girls around the world and in Africa have on the average improved due in part to concerted action by the government, international community, NGOs and in part through the action of women and girls themselves.

Today, there is greater awareness that gender equality is important for economic development and poverty reduction and there is greater commitment to promoting gender equality almost everywhere. Africa has made significant strides in developing progressive frameworks to advance the rights of women. These strides have been evident in the adoption of the gender equality principle in the African Union’s (AU) Constitutive Act of 2002, the AU Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa of 2003, and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa of 2004, to mention a few.

One of the milestones of the Beijing Conference was the adoption by the African Union of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of Women in Africa in 2003. The protocol was the first African instrument to explicitly articulate the rights of women in Africa. It strengthened the legal framework for the protection and fulfilment of the rights of women in Africa. The protocol came into force in 2005 after 15 countries had deposited their instruments of ratification with the African Union.

At the national level and as is demonstrated in the state reports, there has been significant progress in critical areas such as: girls’ education, women’s political participation, maternal health, adoption of action plans on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as laws and policies on violence against women, amongst others. In this regard, African states must be commended for continued efforts to sustain initiatives towards gender equality generally and women’s rights specifically. The African Union (AU) now has a legally binding protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of women. The protocol spells out clearly women’s rights to equality and non-discrimination in a number of areas. It has been ratified by a growing number of African states, can be used in civil law proceedings and is being codified into domestic common law.

The AU has also issued a Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, under which member states are supposed to regularly report on progress. The protocol and declaration both reflect and reinforce developments at the national level. Many African states have moved to enhance constitutional protections for African women-particularly in the area of women’s rights and equality.

Challenges

Despite these commendable impact of the Beijing Conference on women and development in Africa, no African country have achieved complete gender equality as women continue to be treated a second class citizens in almost all area of their social, political and economic life. No African country has been able to achieve a complete implementation of policies in the twelve critical areas of concern as a result of certain challenges and obstacles.

In spite of a number of efforts to reduce feminized poverty in Africa, poverty among women remains a major challenge with various manifestations, including gender inequality in employment, lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure a sustainable livelihood. Traditions, customs, sexual stereotyping of social roles and cultural prejudice continue to militate against women’s assertion of their socio-economic rights and full participation in national development. The economic inequality remained widened between men and women including income inequalities, unemployment and under-employment of women.

Gender inequalities and disparities in economic power-sharing, unequal distribution of unremunerated work between women and men, lack of technological and financial support for women’s entrepreneurship, unequal access to, and control over capital, particularly land and credit, and access to labour market, as well as all harmful traditional and customary practices, have constrained women’s economic empowerment and exacerbated the feminization of poverty.

The health and well-being of African women have not given sufficient attention because despite progress in some countries, lack of sexual and reproductive health rights, the rate of maternal mortality and morbidity, HIV/AIDS, child mortality etc. remain unacceptably high in most African countries. The absence of a holistic approach to health and health care for women and girls based on women’s rights to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health throughout the life cycle has constrained progress. Inadequate financial and human resources and a lack of political will and commitment are the main obstacles confronting institutional machineries. This is further exacerbated by insufficient understanding of gender equality and gender mainstreaming among government structures.

Conclusion

The United Nations (UN) Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995, provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinforce national, regional, and international networking among women. Despite the progress made, much more remains to be done. While women have made significant advance in many African societies since Beijing 1995, women’s concerns in Africa are still given second priority and women still face discrimination and marginalisation in subtle as well as in flagrant ways and they do not also share equally in the fruit of production. Critical areas of insufficient progress include access to decent work and closing the gender pay gap, rebalancing of the care workload, ending violence against women, reducing maternal mortality and realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights and participation in power and decision-making at all levels.