Solutions for a world sick of patriarchy

2021-07-03T18:08:56.653Z

The Generation Equality Forum ends, the five-year countdown begins to fulfill what was promised: 40,000 million dollars, policies and projects to end violence and discrimination suffered by women

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Feminists and leaders of the world have learned a lesson in the last 26 years, since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing: debating more about gender inequality is not going to remedy it. Not even grandiose speeches, but void of content, are useful. They almost always serve to improve the image of those who pronounce them and change the situation of women little or nothing. The proof is the slow and scant progress towards the goals that were established in Beijing in 1995 and in the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. For this reason, the Generation Equality Forum that has just concluded has demanded a

payment

for the entrance to those who would like to participate: a commitment.

A real and concrete one - be it funds, policies, programs or campaigns - for the next five years.

Time long enough to achieve what was promised, and short enough not to forget it.

More information

Women's rights must be a priority in international recovery
The essential feminist transformation
Goal: 1,000 commitments for gender equality
Generation Equality Forum: a global meeting in Paris to promote gender equality after the setbacks of the pandemic

In the opening session of the Forum, sponsored by the governments of France, Mexico and UN Women, the director of this body, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, announced that there were 40,000 million dollars on the table (almost 33,800 million euros) to "change the world". Visibly excited in a video press appearance at the conclusion of the event, the diplomat thanked all their contributions, but especially Melinda Gates. "Without her this would not have been possible, it has been because she supported us from day one," he said. "It is the largest collective contribution of resources to date for global gender equality," underlined Delphine O, General Secretary of the Generation Equality Forum. "We will be up to the task."

Each commitment, of the type, size and level that is;

comes from governments, private entities, philanthropists, civil society or activism, it must be aimed at tackling any evil related to gender violence, guaranteeing justice and economic rights for the female population, as well as autonomy over their bodies, ensure their sexual and reproductive health, contribute to feminist action for climate justice, and advance technologies and innovation for gender equality.

And also, strengthen and support feminist movements and leaderships.

These are the six coalitions of action of the Forum.

33.8 billion euros committed is the largest collective contribution of resources to date for global gender equality

After two years of preparation, previous conversations and meetings, the participants arrived with their homework done and the organizers estimate that they have reached a thousand commitments.

In the absence of an official communication of the complete list with the details of the inscriptions, these are some of the most prominent announcements that have been revealed in the dozens of sessions, with their echo on the networks, corporate websites and other channels.

And why they are important.

Gender violence

“Gender-based violence against women and girls is deeply embedded in social and gender norms, attitudes and beliefs. It is estimated that 736 million women, almost one in three, have been subjected to violence by their partner or ex-partner, sexual or both at least once in their life ", warns the gender violence coalition in a letter . And they can be many more because only 40% denounce it. The ambition of this group is that 550 million more women and girls live in countries with laws and policies that prohibit all forms of sexist violence, that 4,000 private sector organizations have regulations against this scourge and that 55 more countries prohibit marriage child without exception and female genital mutilation is illegal in 75% of the nations where it is practiced. And they have more goals.

- Kenya takes a step forward.

The African country has been one of the great protagonists of the event. She won her invitation to the opening ceremony of the Forum (the only one in person, on June 30 in Paris) with an important battery of 12 commitments against gender violence, which was listed by President Uhuru Kenyatta. "We will invest 23 million dollars for the prevention and response to gender-based violence." They will also allocate a million annually to research and development in this area, and will include a module on this problem in their national health survey to understand and attack this disease. "We will eliminate female genital mutilation by 2022," he said.

Here are Kenya's Commitments currently being read to the world by HE President Kenyatta at the #GenerationEquality Paris Forum # EndVAW #EndGBV pic.twitter.com/J4CEqdL7CF

- Catherine Nyambura (@ catherinenyamb1) June 30, 2021

- Protect maternal and child health in West Africa.

The Government of Burkina Faso, together with Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Togo are working on common goals related to family education, free care during pregnancy, care for women during pregnancy and children under five years of age and seeking legal solutions to end child marriage and gender violence.

Feminist hotels?

Sebastián Bazin, executive director of Accor Hotels, confessed in his speech at the Forum that he was very surprised to learn that 80% of women who work in the private sector had been victims or witnesses of gender violence in the workplace .

"You have to establish a methodology to reduce that figure to 10%," he said.

"You have to be sure that the victims can tell it and, above all, prevent it from happening."

For this reason, she promised to create "a safe environment for women, in which they feel protected."

Something that it will do in its more than 5,200 hotels in more than 120 countries.

Sexual and reproductive health

In the world, 45% of girls and women between 15 and 49 who are married or in a partnership cannot make their own decisions regarding their sexual health, the use of contraceptives and when or how to have sex.

- The Gates Foundation

. Melinda Gates was in charge of announcing the largest donation at the opening session of the Forum: $ 2.1 billion. "New contributions," he said, adding to the efforts that the largest philanthropic entity on the planet had already been making. Almost half will go to projects related to family planning. The United States was also generous in this area, with a contribution of one billion dollars to support programs that eradicate violence against women. About 175 million dollars are reserved to respond to what is already happening in the world.

While we have seen progress over the past quarter century, nowhere on earth are women on equal footing as men.

That's why we're committing $ 2.1 billion over the next 5 years to advance gender equality.

#ActForEqual https://t.co/6TCQen2Qlh pic.twitter.com/KPiSt5Nw6l

- Gates Foundation (@gatesfoundation) June 30, 2021

Prevent AIDS through school

Five out of every six new adolescent HIV infections on the African continent are girls.

They account for almost 600 a day.

School closures due to the pandemic and huge dropout rates are behind these terrifying numbers.

"When a girl goes to secondary school, you cut the risk in half," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UN AIDS, during the launch of Education Plus, an initiative that aims to bring the more than 34 million secondary school students to the classroom. Sub-Saharan Africa who are not in school.

The project, to which almost a dozen nations such as Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Lesotho have already signed up, includes everything from economic initiatives to free personal hygiene kits.

Economic rights

More than 740 million women around the globe work in the informal sector, where job insecurity, low wages and precarious conditions are a constant. In addition, the invisible weight of care falls on them. For this reason, access to economic rights has been key in the meeting. Public sector, private sector and NGOs have come together to put an end to the trip faced by half of the world's population.

- Leaders in business.

Under the slogan "Choose equality" the multinational Procter & Gamble (P&G) has committed to allocate 10 million dollars until 2025 to companies run by women. "We must take a step forward to invest and actively choose equality," said Carolyn Tastad, the president of the company's North American department. "These commitments will create a significant impact to promote gender equality around the world." In collaboration with Promundo, UN Women, WEConnect International, and Women's Forum for the Economy & Society, P&G also pledged to support working families with feminist policies that promote equity in home care.

$ 100 million for 10 million girls.

CARE, the major humanitarian agency, has promised to invest $ 130 million to reduce the gender gap. The first 100 will go to savings and microcredit funds that promote the inclusion of 10 million girls. The other 30 million will go to humanitarian work that defends women's rights and empowerment. "Global leaders need to engage, unite and act collectively now for us to make this an opportunity to build forward, not just rebuild," encouraged Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, CARE Secretary General.

- Invest in those who inspire new leaders.

The Malala Foundation is committed to providing $ 20 million (€ 17 million) in feminist funds for local activists who promote girls 'education, as they are the ones who “are breaking down barriers to girls' education in their communities all the days". The initiative aims to create, together with these actors of change, a quality agenda that brings together gender equality and equality of opportunities. "With 130 million girls out of school, we need action, not words," said Malala Yousafzai, activist and founder of the organization.

Gender equality starts with educating girls.

That's why we pledge to award $ 20m in funding to education activists and to co-create a quality education agenda with girls.

We need leaders at #GenerationEquality to take action too.

@UNWomen @GenEgaliteFR

➡️ https://t.co/vYEm2NIpMk pic.twitter.com/TkiGAM5UJU

- Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) June 30, 2021

Climate justice

- Women decide on their lands.

Despite the huge presence of women in agriculture, they only own 15% of the land.

And only 3% of environmental philanthropy funds support their activism.

For this reason, the most ambitious project to be launched in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of the Equality Forum is the Feminist Youth for Climate Justice, with a budget of 5 million dollars, more than 4.2 million dollars. euros.

The purpose of this initiative is clear: to distribute decision-making on land and decentralize the management of natural resources.

- Summer camp for environmental activists.

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) is organizing a summer camp bringing together environmental activists from around the globe in Nairobi, Kenya. The school will serve as a platform for sharing, learning and networking on key issues driving environmentalism. With a budget of one million dollars, the main goal is for young, feminist and creative voices to come together to share experiences and reflect on fair paths towards a low-carbon and resilient development trajectory. The project plans to empower girls to take the initiative and break with the statistic that women only make up a third of young people enrolled in the green jobs of the future.

Improvements will only occur when the paradigm of philanthropists changes and they fund women's organizations that work in the field

Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation

Technologies and innovation

- Bridging the digital divide in India.

In low- and middle-income countries, only 54% of women have access to telephones with internet.

The gap is nearly 300 million less than men.

A UN initiative known as GirlUp claims not to perpetuate this statistic.

The aim of the Indian delegation is to create electronic modules and conduct workshops in schools and universities to educate all women about their rights and close the gaps in the area of technology and science.

Feminist movements and leaderships

- 420 million dollars:

the Ford Foundation announced a millionaire donation for feminist organizations that are broken down into: 159 million for those that fight against gender violence, 94 for the coalition on feminist movements and leaderships, 79 to guarantee economic rights, 83 for the body autonomy group and five for technology and innovation.

“We support feminist movements and organizations led by women and girls in the Global South that are at the forefront of advocating for gender equality.

We hope that this funding will provide the resources and support they need to make their work resilient to the ravages of COVID-19 and beyond.

"Improvements will only occur when the paradigm of philanthropists changes and they fund women's organizations that work in the field," explained Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, in his intervention in one of the dozens of talks at the Forum.

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