A panel of experts addressed members of the press as well as NGO and government delegates today about the role of women in global television. Panelists Barbara Pyle of CNN, Anita Anand of Women’s Feature Service, Jenny Richards of the UN funded Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), and others, discussed the need for more […]
A committee of the U.N. Fourth World Women’s Conference passed an agreement Sunday night which acknowledges women’s right to control their sexuality and sexual relations. The committee’s wording added that women should enjoy this right, “free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” The passage of the resolution represents a victory for women activists and the most […]
A Federal judge sentenced Shelley Shannon to twenty years in prison Friday. Shannon had earlier pled guilty to charges of attacking six abortion clinics. She begins serving the term after she finishes a previous ten year term which she received for shooting and wounding a doctor outside a Wichita abortion clinic in 1993. Judge Redden […]
As of September 11, 1995, 109 governments have addressed the official meeting at the Fourth World Conference about the commitments they will take home with them. Of these, 47 have made specific commitments to implement the conference recommendations. Australia will introduce a new health program for indigenous women. Cambodia will ensure gender parity in peace […]
Women’s advocates claimed victory today as two measures that had faced stiff opposition from anti-abortion and conservative delegations were approved. The Working Group I, which deals with health issues and other matters, approved paragraph 107 (k) which addresses women’s freedom from sexual violence and coercion; and urges nations to review laws which punish women who […]
Unwaged work continues to be a contentious issue at the Fourth World Conference On Women. The European Union is seeking a return to language from the Social Summit held by the UN in Copenhagen this past summer. Language at that conference did not contain provisions urging countries to count women’s unwaged work in their national […]
At a press conference at the official government meeting at the Fourth World Conference On Women (FWCW), the UN Conference Secretariat for the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), Kristen Timothy announced that 3000 NGO’s represented by over 4000 individuals, were participating in the FWCW. Timothy said NGO participation in the FWCW has included involvement in prior world […]
Unwaged work continues to be a contentious issue at the Fourth World Conference On Women. The European Union is seeking a return to language from the Social Summit held by the UN in Copenhagen this past summer. Language at that conference did not contain provisions urging countries to count women’s unwaged work in their national […]
The final day in Huairou was, again, wet and muddy, as NGO participants conducted their last day of work and workshops. The number of participants ended at over 31,000 compared to the 1985 Third World Conference On Women in Nairobi where only 300 NGO’s were represented by 10,000 participants. The program led with young feminists […]
On the final day of the NGO Forum in Huairou, Western women’s NGOs held a press conference to confront Western media about their poor coverage of Forum activities. Representatives from NGOs in Spain, Norway, and the United States decried the media’s almost exclusive focus on the logistical difficulties of the conference and on criticism of […]
The International Wages for Housework Campaign at an NGO Forum panel called upon delegates at the Fourth World Conference on Women to accept Platform language urging governments to measure and value women’s unwaged work. The provision suggests that governments include unwaged work in their national accounting, but does not go so far as to require […]
At the final press conference for the NGO Forum, Irene Santiago, Executive Director, said the Forum had been an extraordinary gathering where women “shared their strategies, research, their knowledge of technology, information and connected the local to the global.” Over 30,000 women registered and participated in the Forum where 4,500 workshops, panels and plenaries were […]
Commentary by Eleanor Smeal The Senate Ethic Committee’s stunning recommendation to expel Senator Packwood sends a strong message to the Senate and the Nation that women have at last been heard. Sexual harassment is a serious offense which won’t be ignored. Senator Boxer and the courageous women from Oregon, who have led the fight, have […]
A second provision urges the review of the “differential impact of electoral systems on the political representation of women in elected bodies” and asks governments to consider the adjustment or reform of systems to enhance women’s representation. Other organizations working for the adoption of strong language on women in political-decision-making include International Alliance of Women, […]
Beatrice Bakojja, Member of Parliament from Uganda, expressed that Uganda has very few women in politics at all levels of government. She identified the main obstacles to womenês political participation as being mainly cultural, educational and financial. Ugandan society is traditional and stigmatizes women politicians. In addition, few women possess the financial resources to run […]
Commentary by Eleanor Smeal When he addresses the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing next week, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn is expected to argue that women bring a necessary resource to economic strategizing. Indeed the bank is expected to take to Beijing the long-time feminist message that discrimination against women hurts financial […]
At a press conference yesterday, Nancy Mellete, a second lieutenant in the Oak Ridge Military Academy corps of cadets, announced that she planned to join the legal proceedings seeking to allow women into the Citadel. Mellette, who is a member of her a cademy’s cross-country, track, basketball and softball teams and who can run two […]
Following a series of regional strategy meetings held over the course of the past week, the First Global Congress of Women in Politics has agreed on an overall strategy that calls on governments assembled here in Beijing to commit to gender balance in political decision-making at all levels and in all the world’s countries. While […]
Approximately 40 people braved the rain to attend today’s Feminist Majority workshop, From Cairo to Beijing. Panelists spoke from Asia, Africa, and the United States about the successes and problems with the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo last year. All three panelists stressed the important role of NGOs […]
Commentary by Eleanor Smeal When he addresses the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing next week, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn is expected to argue that women bring a necessary resource to economic strategizing. Indeed the bank is expected to take to Beijing the long-time feminist message that discrimination against women hurts financial […]
