Native women die younger and have a higher rate of being attacked by men. At a United Nations forum on the rights of indigenous women, an Australian delegate asserted that “levels of violence against indigenous women are unacceptably high” and that “there is no room to fudge basic human rights issues in deference to outdated traditional cultural practices,” reports Reuters.
The UN reported that indigenous women are more likely to die during childbirth, have higher rates of illiteracy, and have higher rates of malnutrition than men in their communities.
According to Reuters, in 2000 the UN Economic and Social Council decided to create a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The United States and Canada had objected to the creation of this forum because of the native American populations in their countries. According to the UN, there are an estimated 370 million indigenous persons living around the world in 70 countries, Reuters reports.
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