http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39670
DEVELOPMENT: The Missing Piece of the Poverty Puzzle
By Anita Petry
Credit:Supmarilore
A woman holds a sign at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, Mar. 2,
2007.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (IPS) - Women are seen as the key for ending global
poverty and the issue of gender equality is receiving special attention at
events marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on
Wednesday.
One of the largest is the International Women's Tribunals on Poverty, which
will highlight the feminisation of poverty.
There will be four major tribunals this week presenting testimony on the
worsening conditions of women worldwide, and discussing strategies to tackle
the root causes at the political and economic level. They will take place at
the United Nations in New York, in Cairo, Egypt, Lima, Peru, and in Delhi,
India.
"We know already that the concept of Women's Tribunals has been very successful
and we are expecting the biggest ever alliance of women's groups and NGOs in
India to join together on Oct. 17 in Delhi to discuss responses to poverty that
the government can deliver on this year, especially for women," said Ciara
O'Sullivan of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, a three-year-old
movement that claims nearly 2,000 member organisations and millions of
supporters worldwide.
"Three hundred women from 20 states are attending this unprecedented moment,"
she told IPS.
The fact that so many women live in poverty means they are critical -- but
often ignored -- players in reversing poverty itself. While figures from the
World Bank estimate that 1.1 billion people live in "extreme poverty",
surviving on less than a dollar a day, women represent a disproportionate 70
percent of the world's poor.
The U.N. Population Fund notes that worldwide, women on average earn slightly
more than 50 percent of what men are earning, while women and girls are often
the last to eat, and women's health problems are considered less important than
other family priorities.
The huge numbers of women affected means that empowering women is critical to
the effort to halve extreme poverty by 2015, one of the so-called Millennium
Development Goals set by world leaders meeting at the United Nations in 2000.
They also include gender equality and reducing child deaths by two-thirds and
maternal deaths by three-quarters, although these goals are lagging in nearly
every country.
This week's events are organised by many different institutions, but one of the
biggest campaigns is "Stand Up and Speak Out", supported by GCAP and the
Millennium Campaign. The Stand Up and Speak Out campaign, now in its third
year, consists of a global call to action against poverty and inequality, and
for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Women's Funding Network
recently established a partnership to draw international attention to women
during the Stand Up Campaign by launching a call for greater investment in
women by governments and donor institutions.
UNIFEM notes that among the factors that place women at risk of poverty are
their unequal access to resources and capabilities, such as education, skills,
land and property, the discrimination they face in the labour market and their
lack of political voice. In all countries, women do most of the unpaid
household and care work -- yet this work is not counted as contributing to
national economies.
The partnership is a unique initiative because it also focuses on the
mobilisation of a vast online community to support the message that, in the
fight against poverty, gender equality is an essential target.
"The Economist [magazine] estimates that over the past decade, women's work
worldwide has done even more to fuel the global economy than has the stunning
growth of China," said Joanne Sandler, UNIFEM's acting executive director.
"We know what is possible when women are recognised as agents of change," she
said. "To realise this vision we must remove obstacles such as discriminatory
ownership and inheritance laws to help women embark on asset building."
"Women are indeed the missing piece of the poverty puzzle," agreed Christine
Grumm, president and CEO of the Women's Funding Network, a U.S.-based group
that mobilises private donors and foundations to support a range of initiatives
for women and girls, including programmes to help women start businesses, leave
violent homes, gain access to health care, raise their self-esteem, and
advocate for fair public policies.
While the network has raised more than 400 million dollars over the last 15
years, it notes that just seven percent of all philanthropic dollars overall
are earmarked for programmes for women and girls.
"Our network's experience in the area of economic empowerment has convinced us
that policy supporting women's economic empowerment -- from education to job
training to child care to financial literacy to microfinance and beyond --
holds the potential for vast change, and fast change. Our cooperative outreach
with UNIFEM will call on policy makers to recognise the untapped potential of
women in eradicating extreme poverty," Grumm said.
More than 720 different events are to take place in over 100 countries in the
24-hour period from 9 p.m. GMT on Oct. 16 to 9 p.m. GMT on Oct. 17, the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. These events will range from
major rallies and concerts to gatherings in school assemblies, town halls, and
refugee camps.
The international gatherings are intended to help the poorer, marginalised
people of the world get actively involved with existing campaigns, become aware
of the work that is being done and become actual agents of change.
According to GCAP, last year, 23.5 million people were part of the campaign and
literally "stood up" against poverty in a 24-hour period, setting a new
Guinness World Record. This year, GCAP and the United Nations Millennium
Campaign hopes to break that record, although it is unclear what the lasting
impact would be.
A wide variety of organisations, institutions and community groups are expected
to call on political leaders to deliver more and better aid to the poorest
nations, implement fairer trade conditions, cancel debt, and ensure gender
equality
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