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Editor's Note: This post is part of the 2011 Amplify International Women's Day Blogathon. Click here to learn more about how you can join this week of action.
Amidst what is a disturbingly and increasingly acrimonious political environment for reproductive health and rights, it was a pleasure to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day at the United States State Department earlier this week. For any budding historians, it's interesting to note that International Women's Day was first observed in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland following a decision agreed upon in Denmark at the second International Conference of Working Women held in 1910. At this meeting, a woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) proposed that there should be a celebration of women on the same day every year— a Women's Day — to push for women's demands around the world. The suggestion was approved unanimously with over 100 women from 17 countries represented from unions, socialist parties, and working women's clubs.
A trailblazer herself, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted this week's commemorative event with special guest First Lady Michelle Obama in order to present the 2011 International Women of Courage Awards. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer and other U.S. and foreign dignitaries also participated.
The International Women of Courage Awards annually recognize women around the world who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and courage in advocating for women's rights and empowerment — much like Clara Zetkin did back in 1910. Since the first awards were given in 2007, the Department of State has honored 38 women from 27 different countries.
This year’s International Women’s Day, for me, brings with it particular significance because 2010 happens to mark the 15th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women that was held in Beijing in 1995. The Beijing Conference, as it is known, was an unprecedented gathering of one hundred eighty-nine governments and representatives from thousands of NGOs working on women’s issues from around the world. They came together to focus on increasing opportunities for women and on advancing goals of equality, development, and peace. Member states put forth a Platform of Action that outlined strategic objectives to advance the roles of women, which included an objective specific to the “girl child,” in support of reproductive and sexual health and rights. This World Conference followed on the heels of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which put the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women at the center of the development agenda.
Needless to say, at that time, there was this wave of solidarity among women around the world, this significant push for women’s rights in the global policy arena, and a real sense that we were really finally getting somewhere in the struggle for equity, respect, and the power over our sexuality and reproductive choices. Upon attending the beginning of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) last week with Advocates’ staff and three members of our International Youth Leadership Council, we witnessed country delegates from around the world taking stalk of progress towards the Beijing Platform for Action. Some countries reported on concrete actions that their governments have taken to advance the rights of women; others gave more generalized statements; many highlighted challenges that remain; and some focused more on health while others on economic opportunity and women in political leadership.
While delegates reaffirmed their support for the Beijing Platform for Action, there seemed to be a lack of urgency and a concrete sense of what’s next during the proceedings, aside from a push for a consolidated gender entity within the United Nations (which we are fully supportive of provided that it mandates youth representation within its leadership and structure). There was also a gap in terms of inclusion and partnership with young women throughout the proceedings. While a number of countries mentioned girls, few addressed the critical nature of integrating young women leaders and not enough addressed the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young women in the context of Beijing. Sweden provided by far the strongest country statement that we heard supportive of youth inclusion and young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, in addition to a statement made by UNFPA’s Director, Thoraya Obaid, a steadfast champion of young people, and a journalist who moderated a panel and made valiant efforts to raise the issue of youth and offer her young woman panelist the opportunity to speak out.
At long last, Secretary Clinton gave her much anticipated address to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which took place in Cairo, Egypt, back in 1994. Hosted on Friday afternoon, January 8th, by the State Department, this event has been in the making for some time. Originally scheduled for December, it was last rescheduled due to the biggest snow storm to hit Washington, DC, in over a decade. This time around, in the New Year, proponents of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights have finally had our day.
Secretary Clinton did not disappoint in her commitment to women’s and girls’ reproductive health and rights. She stated unequivocally that reproductive rights are at the heart of development, that we cannot achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) without them, and that ensuring these rights is key to development and political and economic stability and security around the world. Secretary Clinton also made it very clear that allowing women and girls around the world to be helpless to plan their families and to die and suffer from maternal mortality and morbidity is simply unacceptable. She also talked about how culture can prevent women from obtaining reproductive health services, from negotiating contraceptive use with their partners, and from realizing their potential. She underscored the need for gender equity, the involvement of men and boys, and just basic equity in societies.
All this said, it’s still hard for me to believe that we have to look back more than a decade to re-articulate a progressive agenda for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, men and young people around the world. So thank you Secretary Clinton for taking us back in order to take us forward from where we have been for the past eight years. Thank you for talking about the fact that a woman dies every minute of every day from complications due to pregnancy and childbirth. Thank you for reminding us that there are still 20 million unsafe abortions that take place every year. Thank you for talking about fistula and the sigma and devastating consequences that women, especially young women who are too young to give birth, must face when suffering from this preventable and treatable condition. Thank you for talking about gender-based violence and telling us that 70 million women and girls worldwide have been subjected to female genital cutting. And finally, thank you for talking about girls and young people.
There are 1.1 billion young people between the ages of 15-24 in the world today. They have the power to make change but not if our foreign assistance continues to fail to recognize them or prioritize their sexual and reproductive health needs. Fifteen years after ICPD, complications from pregnancy and childbirth remain the leading cause of death for young women ages 15 to 19 in low and middle income countries; less than 40 percent of young people have basic information about HIV; and each year at least two million young women in developing countries undergo unsafe abortion.
These dire realities for youth around the world are unacceptable and preventable. There is no excuse for denying young people the information, tools, and services that they need to live healthy lives and plan their families and futures. It’s time for U.S. Foreign Assistance to get real and support policies and programs that help young people make responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. This is their right, not ours to merely ponder or squander, but to respect and uphold.
Secretary Clinton’s speech today gives hope that the Administration is committed to instituting structural and organizational change to support women and girl’s reproductive rights. We as a community need to support her vision and the Cairo Program of Action. While Secretary Clinton acknowledged and described examples of real progress made towards the ICPD Program of Action in the past 15 years, she provided sobering reminders of how much farther we have to go and that we need to act quickly. The Administration and Congress must act now. Time is ticking towards the target year of 2015 for ICPD and the Millennium Development Goals. Time is ticking period.
Secretary Clinton thanked the audience for their efforts to advance women’s and girls’ reproductive health and rights throughout the good times and bad times. At the same time, she also asked us not to give up--not to become weary of the fight for what seems to be so evident, so obvious... She urged us to shoot for institutional and structural change that does not get wiped away with the winds of political change. This to me was the biggest call to action that she put forward. So now is the time, within the Global Health Initiative, within Foreign Assistance Reform, within the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and within any other vehicles, to make programming for women and young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world a long-term and unquestionable component of U.S. foreign assistance.
