Seizing Gender Equality: Post-2015 (Kidung Asmara) - Pusaka Politik 2015
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Transcript of Seizing Gender Equality: Post-2015 (Kidung Asmara) - Pusaka Politik 2015
Seizing Gender Equality
Post-2015
Written by: Kidung Asmara (2014)
People shouts about human rights, people justify the harmony of living in diversity, but for whom those
addressed for? Human rights are humans’ truly. The God, the surroundings, or everything that we spiritually
believed in, has created Adam and Eve to complement each others, not to overcome nowadays’ true languages
of the world; gender discrimination, sex abuse, domestic violence, patriarchal and matriarchal orders. Gender
inequality has been rooted in our living and never been reversed with comprehensive solutions. Until this early
year we see bright attempt in the Millenium Development Goals number three. Now the challenge comes to
us, are we ready to respond and act for it’s continuance?
Gender equality—depart from the words it self—is an equal treats for ones without
determined by gender. Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same
rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and
decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and
men are equally valued and favoured.1 However, certain literatures distinguish the term to
gender equity—the process of being impartial to women and men.2
Gender issue remains inequality across the globe. In compliance of civil rights,
women are still underprivileged. In labor force, women often stereotyped as a figure who
cannot leave the household matters when they are working and considered less powerful
than men which believed to be resulted in deficient working performance —these further
manifested in the low salary gained, hard time of finding job opportunities, and lack of
women in multisectoral areas (representatives in parliament, top ladder positions in
economic fields, etc).
Both genders often treated as the object of sexual assault; forced sex workers in
conflict areas, female genital mutilation for non-medical purpose in Africa, sexual
harassment in public sphere across the globe, and even unjustified accusation towards men
whenever women feels offended if men looks at their inappropriate apparels and blame men
as ‘pervert’. 3
However, these issues are accepted as everyone’s responsibility. Comparing to the
rise of domestic violence which considerably dilematic whether in personal or even grander
scope. Both spouse may engage in abusive behavior, although women are commonly
victimized. Domestic violence against men often unreported due to the social pressure that
lingers on them—afraid of losing machismo and to maintain their stigma of masculinity.4 5
In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted a solution known as The Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The
convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through
ensuring women’s equal access to, and equal opportunities in political and public life,
education, health, and employment.6
Additionally, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the United
Nations’ The Four World Conference on Women in 1995. The principal themes were the
advancement and empowerment of women in relation to women’s human rights and other
areas of concern.7 In accordance to review, United Nations Commission on the Status of
Women (UNCSW) hold the twenty-year review called Beijing+20 as proposed by the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), at it’s 59th meeting in March 2015.8
Non-governmental bodies has established countless international frameworks
regarding gender equality. Mentioned resolutions above are the substantial ones that triggers
the growth of it’s continuance frameworks.
Although efforts to ace gender inequality has been embarked over decades, it still
remains barriers. Gender equality is achieved when women—who are commonly
underprived—have received equal treatments. But if we want a gender equalable society,
empowering women is not enough, men should also be implicated.
The idea of women empowerment seldom involves men as the agent of sustaining.
Women struggles as they live on their own in a men’s world. However, by empowering
women, men are being empowered.9
Either way, desire comes from radical movements who wants to put women superior
in all spheres. Opposes the other gender as to ‘revenge’ the old time scars of how was
women been marginalized. Ideally, feminism is a way to reach gender equality—both ideas
created not to oppose each others.10
It still kept in the mind of society, that a state has even more complex matters in
prior—economic development, polemic on political situation, etc—than to combat the
gender gap. Gender inequality issue seen as it has no urgency for further destiny of a state,
but the truth is it’s reverse—gender inequality is not a current problem, it will goes even
rooted if it’s kept on the trail.
We figured out three main reasons to ace gender inequality immediately. First,
gender inequality remains major driver of women’s poverty. Women account for about two-
thirds of the 1.4 billion people globally who live in extreme poverty. Without specifically
addressing gender inequality, women’s poverty—and global poverty—will persist.
Second, gender inequality blocks progress on other key development goals. For
example, research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation dan Development
(OECD) found that women’s access to resources is strongly correlated with child health
outcomes. Countries where women lack any right to own land have on average 60% more
malnourished children; this rises to 85% where women lack access to credit. There is also a
clear link between levels of gender discrimination and rates of maternal mortality.
Third, there is a real risk that gender equality gains could be reversed. The 1990s
were a decade of huge possibility and political will on women’s rights. Now we are operating
in a darker international environment, marked by the resurgence of fundamentalisms, and
increasing attacks on women’s rights and women’s human rights defenders. There is a real
risk of reversals in progress unless we continue to make gender equality a priority.11
Efforts to eliminate gender inequality prospectively carried on a mission of creating
an equalable world’s society of non-gender based—which is poured in the Millenium
Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs is centered following the UN’s Millenium Summit
in 2000, encapsulated eight goals including it’s number three; “To promote gender equality
and women empowerment”.12
As the MDGs expires in 2015, the UN iniciated the Post-2015 Development
Agenda—a process that aims to succeed the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by the
end of 2030. In 2013, the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda released
“A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through
Sustainable Development”.
The report calls upon five major goals, including these two goals that leans on
gender equality issue; 1) Leave no one behind. We should ensure that no person—regardless
of gender or other status—is denied universal human rights and basic economics
opportunities, 5) Forge a new global partnership. A new partnership should be based on a
common understanding of our shared humanity, underpinning mutual respect and benefit in
a shrinking world. Involving the government and also others including women.13
We also have Sustaining Development Goals (SDGs) as a continuance and reflection
program of the MDGs. SDGs frameworks is now underway, but there has been several draft
goals on August 2015 that has been proposed and agreed by 193 countries.14 15 One of them
is lingers on the gender issue; “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and
girls”.16
We have taken eyes on international frameworks considered as the ‘letters of
encouragement’ to the UN member states to rightly succeed these global aims. However,
aiming visions without solving the past and happening polemic is like an owl yearning for
the moon. We have come to the challenge where implicating regulations requires different
treats in different states—regarding it’s inherent cultural system that the UN has no
mandatory to rules.
In most hemispheres, cases that sub-human women too often seen as a natural case
departed from a stigma of either women or men have different roles—and further rights—in
society; it is in order when women tend to follow men. Society have tendency to develop in
patriarchal order—why does men tend to predominant the occupation sphere? Because in a
convention sense they have more brute strength, do not give childbirth, have the basic
instinct of seeking powers, and focused on the intangible knowledge which made them the
formers of some ‘thoughtful’ things – nationalities, religions, morality.17 However, gender
activists today are in favor of none gender, race, or other groups domination—the
egalitarianism order.18
On the other hands, these gender-dominated order brought to the kinship system.
Some of the world’s tribes still inheritance either patriarchy or matriarchy system. But
nowadays it’s been a hard time for men living in matriliny system, while the outside modern
society stresses in patrilineal—and also patriarchal—practices. Some tribes remains as they
tries their best to be more inclusive with outside customs, yet some are extinct.19 We also believed that gender gaps are flourished by region disparity. Most of times
the international forums raises topics about gender, there have hatched the pro and contra
blocks. Major states are aligned to gender liberation, while others tend to counter it. Islamic countries—in the Middle-East Asia and Africa—are under the law of Sharia
which sourced from the doctrine of Islam. In Sharia law, women are limited to some access
and dependence to their husbands. To travel, work, or going out of house, they should
accompanied by their spouse—or at least having their spouses’ permission if going on their
own. In social interactions, women are expected not to be an outspoken and physical contact
with non-relative men is forbidden. Restriction also comes to their apparels, women’s parts
of body except the eyes considered as aurat—something that should be hidden from public
to avoid sexual appeals—therefore Islamic women ‘uniformed’ in a long-covering robe.
We have recognized that inherent cultural systems mentioned above are big burdens
that even the world’s top ladders haven’t known yet on which side they should fallen to. The
other thing we see as a challenge to construct an equality is the causal relation of financial
and development—a sufficient gold-mine could sustain the progress of equalable society.
Gender equality matters in it’s own right but is also smart economics: Countries that
create better opportunities for women and girls can raise productivity, improve outcomes for
children, make institutions more representative, and advance development prospects for all.
The World Bank has given financial support to women in chance of education, health
insurance, and access to credit, land, agricultural, services, jobs, and infrastructure. It’s World
Development Report 2012 also report the accomplishment on sustaining women’s
occupancy in agricultural in India and women enterpreneurship in Indonesia. The state and
IGO should mainstream the gender work and find other ways to move the agenda forward
to capture the full potential of half of the world’s population such as in labor participation,
maternal mortality, access to formal financial institutions and also development planning and
budgeting.20
Providing financial support is however not enough, we figured out that states are in
lack of budget allocated to this issue. Therefore, implementing commitments towards gender
equality requires intentional measures to incorporate a gender perspective in planning and
budgeting frameworks and concrete investment in addressing gender gaps. The UN Women
has provided support to gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) initiatives in cooperation with
local partners. Gender-responsive budgeting is not about creating separate budgets for
women, or solely increasing spending on women’s programs. Gender-responsive budget
analysis along with legislation, and other practical policy measures can address gender bias
and discrimination.21 As a leading organization with global mandate to promote gender equality, as well as
robust mainstreaming of gender considerations across all parts of the framework. UN
Women is a member of the UN Task Team—which was established to coordinate system-
wide preparations for a post-2015 UN development agenda. UN Women also advocates
with member states on integrating gender equality perspectives in the future development
agenda.
In 2013, UN Women has iniciated a position paper advocated for a stand-alone goal
in the post-2015 development agenda responding the gender equality goals. In this paper,
UN Women is calling an agenda that is grounded in human rights standards that
governments have already committed to and that can transform women’s and girls’ lives. UN
Women believes that it is critical to address the structural causes of gender inequality, they
have argued that stand-alone goal must establish minimum standards and push change
forward in the three critical areas that are holding women back which are ending violence
against women, expanding women’s choices and capabilities, and giving women a voice
within households and in public and private decision-making spheres. Against each of these
core elements, a list of possible target areas and indicators is proposed.22 23
We have imposed plenty of frameworks and campaign by the UN’s organs, as the
world’s leading IGO, they are thoroughly going on the path to achieve those visionary goals.
But an equalable society is not merely created by authorized bodies, we are the major agent.
Efforts to minimize the gender gaps can be done in such ‘mini’ things.
First, is learning from the past study cases across the globe. Gender equality is
nothing before we complement the basic needs of civil rights for everyone. Women and men
are equal to have the same access to education and health, to get job opportunities, to shouts
their aspirations—and as the outcome there is no gaps between women’s and men’s
performance.
Living in comfort and security are also put highlights. Women has their rights to
decide which apparels to wear, it is simply in their preference. If men can wear more casual
clothes, why can’t women? Sexual harrassment in public areas or rape cases are truly
perpetrators’ fault. Women should not be taught how to dress up, but men should not sees
women as sexual object.
Domestic abuse and honor killings also remain high rate in crime. We believed that
household is spouse’s private entity, but when it comes to an abusive behavior that
disadvantage ones, there is no hesitate to bring it upon the law. None have the rights to
harm each others even if you do to yourself. Also, either male or female descendants are
blessings from The God, there is no shame of having a daughter or son –there is no honor
in the honor killings or gender preference.
Second, we have learnt what was happening, and now the challenge comes to us to
seize the gender equality that has been a big burden for us—to act upon the inherent cultural
system. Patriarchal or matriarchal system has mounted over debate on which one is more
suitable for a society. We believed that the practice of these gender-based order appears to
be one’s superior to another, but then again we believed that an ideal system can only be
taken over by a head, we cannot reach the point of aims if commanded by more than a
leader. Therefore, deciding women or men to lead ideally based on their capabilities not
referring to a conventional stigma of which gender is more praised.
Freedom also lingers on us to decide which beliefs and religious doctrine we devoted
to. Responding to gender restriction by the Sharia law in Islamic countries, although the
world shouts loudly about endless freedom for all, but still we have no mandate to rule their
law and we shall respect every religions exist in the hemispheres. We believed if the muslims
sees Sharia law as the goodness and substantial source from their God, therefore Sharia law
would not harm it’s followers. What can we do is to ensure if the people from any religious,
races, and natives society received their rights appropriately.
Lastly, gender equality is not a wind blowing—it is real, struggling, and emerging. As
the MDGs expire this winter, new blank sheets comes to us to be written about our efforts
to pull back inequality. Goes with the UN’s vision on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
and Sustainable Development Agenda, let’s support these visionary aims by every single
casual things we can do. Here we present several illustration about the pro and contra of
gender equality issue.
References 1http://www.genderequality.ie/en/GE/Pages/WhatisGE
2 http://www.unfpa.org/fr/node/9348 3 Joan Chittister, “Gender inequality is a man’s problem”, http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/gender-inequality-mans-problem, (November 4, 2014) 4 Lupri, Eugene; Grandin, Elaine (2004). “Intimate partner abuse against men” (PDF). National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. P. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2009. Retrived June 21, 2014. 5 Migliaccio, Todd A. (Winter 2001). “Marginalizing the Battered Male”. The Journal of Men’s Studies 9 (2): 1—18. Doi:10.3149/jms.0902.205. Retrivied June 20, 2014 6http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
7 http://wnc.equalities.gov.uk/work-of-the-wnc/international-articles/beijing-platform.html 8http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/step-it-up/commitments#7868D4DE4BD54A13BA10530C786BF154
9http://huffpost.com/us/entry/6833450
10http://womenhistory.about.com/od/feminism/g/radicalfeminisn.htm
11http://www.womankind.org.uk/2013/05/post-2015-sights-set-on-gender-equality
12 United Nations Millenium Development Goals website, retrieved 4 February 2013. 13http://www.un.org/sg/management/pdf/HLP_P2015_Report.pdf 14http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/08/transforming-our-world-document-adoption/ 15https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsproposal 16https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/6754Technical%20report%20of%20the%20U NSC%20Bureau%20%28final%29.pdf 17http://www.quora.com/Gender/Why-did-more-societies-develop-to-be-patriarchal-than-matriarchal 18www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/1839527-patriarchy-matriarchy-egalitarianism.html 19http://firstpost.com/specials/married-in-meghalaya-feminist-dream-or-the-iron-fist-of-matriarchy-2368472.html 20http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2011/09/20/world-development-report-gender-equality-indonesia-improving 21http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/focus-areas/women-poverty-economics/gender-responsive-budgeting 22http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/post-2015/un-women-position 23http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/post-2015/frequently-asked-questions