“Right now 140 countries have constitutions that guarantee gender equality. What is lacking is the political will and proper resources to translate this into reality, “says Gülden Türköz-Cosslett , Director of Programme Support at UN Women has also served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary-General and the Executive Director of UN Women leading the Transition Team. For five years – 2005 to 2010 – United Nation's Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Albania, she has also worked in Malaysia, Turkey and Algeria. During a recent visit to Delhi she spoke to Pamela Philipose . Excerpts from the interview:
Twenty years have passed since the first Rio conference on sustainable development and the environment. Has gender made an impact ?
Women are very important players in the green economy and they are true agents of change. A recent report of the Food and Agriculture Association has noted that investing in women's access to land, better capacities as farmers in terms of credit, fertilisers, the removal of restrictive barriers in terms of inheritance rights, land ownership and so on, can actually unleash a lot of potential. We need to look at women, not as victims but as serious players and they must be given the opportunity to make a difference. This is where governments everywhere have a role to play, along with the international community and civil society organisations, including women's groups…
The problem seems to be that despite women having an increasingly larger presence in the agricultural sector, they are still not recognised as farmers.
We have been thinking a lot on this issue. The Committee on the Status of Women in 2012 had focused on rural women and now we are really advocating with governments to focus on helping rural women and women in agriculture too. We do hope the Rio conference will reiterate the key role that rural women can potentially play to ensure sustainable development, and not just in agricultural production but in terms of green entrepreneurship. If we are to have, what is often referred to as “inclusive growth”, women need to be on centre stage.
But this process should not be random and piecemeal – a scheme here or a scheme there will not work. We need an over-arching macro-economic policy framework. Governments should inquire into what the existing barriers are that come in the way of women's full participation and work systematically towards removing them. A very good example in India is of course the panchayati raj legislation. It has really shown that when women become leaders they are able to make the right choices about issues that crucially impinge upon the lives of millions, like water use and sustainability. Take violence against women. It is women's voices that have helped train the light on the issue.
But why has it been so difficult to address violence against women? We have been talking about it for decades.
Yes, what's striking about domestic violence is its persistence. Even colleagues from the Nordic countries say that despite their progressive laws and attitudes, violence continues to remain an issue there. I believe, we need to start with the family. The lack of respect and recognition of women's human rights begins there. The more we work to raise awareness, the more such concerns make it into school curricula, the quicker society will be able to put this legacy behind it. It is not something that can simply be switched off. But I do believe the right education for the young at the right time, and the economic empowerment of women will make a difference… So our appeal to governments everywhere is that they make financial investments in these areas – and not just in the gender machinery but across sectors. Right now 140 countries have constitutions that guarantee gender equality. What is lacking is the political will and proper resources to translate this into reality.
I believe there is going to be an international conference on women in 2015, to mark 20 years after Beijing.
The UN Secretary General and the President of the UN General Assembly did make an announcement to this effect. We are very pleased at this development and welcome it. Finally, if member states endorse the idea and the conference does take place, we hope the gains women have made thus far will be taken forward. (WFS)
