Women have suffered every known violation of fundamental human rights╔rape, mutilation, massacre. Jailers, executioners, torturers and killers don't discriminate on grounds of sex╔unless it is to inflict abuses on women to which they are particularly vulnerable.
Female rape victims in Pakistan are subject to prison sentences for "adultery." Hundreds of women in Algeria have been summarily executed for merely showing their unveiled face. Chinese women have to contend with their government's one-child policy, that forces them into abortions and sterilizations. Divorce is still prohibited in Ireland, no matter how brutal and life-threatening the marriage. Everywhere, violence and discrimination against women remain rampant and usually unpunished, while new problems like the transnational traffic in female sex-slaves are exploding.
Women form half the world's population, yet they lack the power and resources to decide their own destiny. In 1995, only six countries in the world had women as heads of government. Over two-thirds of illiterate people in the world are women. For the same work, women receive 30 to 40 per cent less pay than men. At the same time, much of women's daily work is unpaid, and the value of household their labor unrecorded.
To help fight the worldwide oppression of women, the UN established the Commission on the Status of Women in 1946. With 45 member states, the commission meets annually to form strategies to promote and protect women's rights.
There have been four UN world conferences on women: in Mexico City in 1975, in Copenhagen in 1980, in Nairobi in 1985 and in Beijing in 1995.
Since the Mexico conference, 20 years ago, the campaign for women's rights has witnessed momentous changes-women are entering the work force in unprecedented numbers and playing a greater role in all areas of public life. Healthcare and education is more accessible now that it ever was.
But just how much have these advances improved the life of the average woman? How deep is the commitment of governments to eliminate discrimination against women?
The last UN conference on women in Beijing tried to answer these questions. Early signs are encouraging; by the end of the conference, most of the 189 countries represented agreed with the women's rights document that was debated over the nine days. This document gives human rights groups a benchmark, a record to point to every time women's rights are endangered.
But the drive must continue long after the delegates have gone home. History shows that protecting women's rights cannot be left to governments. To guarantee real action, to ensure that governments everywhere match their words with their deeds, women's groups and the general public must be involved.
