By Ter Manyang Gatwech, Kampala -Uganda,
Opinion.
March 16, 2015. (Nyamilepedia) — Last week, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains the World’s best blueprint for achieving gender equality and empowering women.
The review of this visionary road map, adopted at the Fourth World Conference for Women in 1995, is an opportunity to celebrate the word’s progress toward ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls, and also to renew and reinvigorate commitments to achieve gender equality.
One of the great achievements of the Beijing Platform for Action was the clear recognition that women’s rights are human rights. Since that historic gathering in Beijing, when 17,000 participates and 30,000 activists gathered to voice and demonstrate their support for gender equality and women’s empowerment, there has been increasing recognition that gender equality, in addition to being a human right, is also critical to making development progress.
I met with the Ms Clark in Kampala, Uganda last week and she is the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programe and also she is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. She asked me young man, which country in Africa are you from? I told her am from the Republic of South Sudan. How men do from South Sudan perceived the issue of Gender Equality in South Sudan? I answer her like this; you know most men in South Sudan do not understand the gender equality issue because of stereotype my Country. She me what do you mean by stereotype? Stereotype is a thought that can be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things. Those beliefs are the one destroying our country not to promote the gender equality in South Sudan.
According to Ms Clark, women generally earn less than men and, in rich and poor countries alike, carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, which deprives them of time for valuable pursuits like earning money……
If women and girls are not able to fully realize their rights and aspirations in all spheres of life, development will be impeded. Twenty years on, we can see both progress and challenges in the 12 areas of critical concern laid out in the Beijing Platform for Action. Gender equality parity in primary education has achieved, but completion rates and quality of education are not high across all countries. More women have been elected to public office- about 21 per cent of the world’s parliamentarians are women, up from about 11 per cent in 1995- but we are still far from parity. Especially Rwanda and Uganda, over 45 per cent are women in the Public Sector whereas 65 per cent in Rwanda‘s Parliament are women, that is why there is no corruption in Rwanda.
In South Sudan 25 per cent are women in Public Sector while the majority are men in Public Sector. According to the world’s statistics, South Sudan has been rank as number 2nd in term corruption than follow by Somalia as number 1st in term of corruption in the whole world. In South Sudan lack of a sense of patriotism and chauvinism is a big dilemma because everybody else is embezzling state funds, why not me?
In some countries laws exist to protect women from violence, sexual harassment, and gender based violence continue to occur on every continent and in every country, often reaching horrific levels where there is war and conflict. Fortunately, there is encouraging momentum not only to renew the promise of Beijing, but to address issues which were not in ensures women’s participation in responding to climate change, building peace and security, and helping their countries recover from crisis.
This year’s International Women’s Day was devoted to the theme, ‘’Empower Women, Empower Humanity’’ In my last conclusion let us fulfill the promise made in Beijing 20 years ago, and to realize a world in which every women and girl has the opportunity to participate in public and to fulfill her potential and enjoy equal rights and status. Please my men in South Sudan stopped harassing women in workplace, gender based violence.
Ter Manyang Gatwech is a novelist on Nyamilpedia and the Chairman of Ayod Community in Uganda. Former President of Cavendish University Uganda Students Association of Public Administration and Management (CUUSAPAM). You can email me; termanyanggatwech@yahoo.com
This views expressed in this opinion articles does not reflects my political position as the chairman of Ayod Community (Gawaar Community in Uganda).
1 comment
Totally agree.