Wednesday 2 September 2015 08:00
Sherwin Bryce-Pease
The struggle for gender equality is intensely political and national parliaments have a game-changing role in ensuring gender equity is achieved by 2030.
That was the challenge delivered by the Executive Director of United Nations(UN) Women to parliamentarians attending the Inter Parliamentary Union's World Speakers Conference in New York.
Phumzile Mlmabo-Ngcuka pointed to the need for law reforms and implementation of new laws as critical to ensuring that the women's goal in the SDGs was realized.
Mlambo-Ngcuka applauded the strides made in gender equality, particularly girl's education. But warned progress was too slow and parliamentarians had to step up to the plate.
"At the same time the laws that have been passed by parliamentarians have not been effectively implemented and there has not always been good oversight to ensure that they have the desired impact. And even though in the last 20 years we have increased the number of women who are in leadership positions, progress has been slow and we have not been able to reach a global average of the 30% that was aspired," says Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The facts were hard to dismiss; women presiding officers in parliaments globally make up less than 17%, women minister's about the same, just 23% of national parliamentarians are women and only 10% of political parties globally have a woman at the helm. In addition, 75% of women who work outside of the home, do so in the informal sector.
UN Women has also identified high impact interventions towards 2030
Mlambo-Ngcuka says, "Gender equality and the struggle for the gender equality is intensely political. It would take the activism of political parties, of members of parliament, of speakers, for us to turn the tide decisively and effectively. UN Women is looking forward for the new era of political leadership and to align the achievements that you want for yourself with the implementation of the sustainable development goals."
UN Women has also identified high impact interventions towards 2030.
"The first area that we would like to focus on and we would seek collaboration with you is law reforms. In the law reforms we'd be addressing the countries that still have legislation that discriminate against women, we would also be looking at better implementation of the laws and policies that have been adopted that are not being implemented, we'd also be looking at the challenges that represented by customary law, such that in some countries even where we've passed good legislation, we do not see the impact of the good legislation because it competes with customary law," says UN women.
Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030 is Goal 5 of the 17 goals to be adopted by heads of states later this month.
source: UN WOMEN
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/7f4d490049b2c6bb8adbdeba369cf722/Parliamentarians-must-step-up-on-gender-equality:-UN-Women-20150209
