THE NAIROBI WORLD CONFERENCE. SUPPLEMENT No. 24 to Women of Europe. 200 rue de Ia Loi D 1049 Brussels D Tel X/154/86-EN

Transcription

1 COMMSSON OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNTES Drectorate-General nformaton, Communcaton, Culture Women's nformaton Servce SUPPLEMENT No. 24 to Women of Europe THE NAROB WORLD CONFERENCE 200 rue de a Lo D 1049 Brussels D Tel X/154/86-EN

2 THE NAROB WORLD CONFERENCE by Karen MATERS The author wshes to thank sabelle von Prondzynsk for allowng her a free use of any of her wrtngs on the subject and for generously gvng up tme to provde help and advce whenever needed. Manuscrpt fnshed n Aprl 1986

3 CONTENTS Chapter ONE Chapter TWO Chapter THREE Chapter FOUR Chapter FVE Chapter SX Chapter SEVEN ntroducton 4 The Conference and ts W~rkngs 7 The General Debate 12 The Narob Forward-lookng Strateges for the Advan<~ement 1 of Women. ntroducton 22. Background and PurJoses of the Strateges! 23. Equalty 24 V. Development 27 v. Peace 39 V. Areas of Specal Cqncern 41 V. nternatonal and Regonal Co-operaton \ 44 The Resolutons The Forum '85 Outlook

4 -4- Chapter ONE From Mexco to Narob NTRODUCTON Ten years have passed and the World Conference closng the Unted Natons Decade for women has taken place. Lookng back we wonder how t all started and what happened durng all that tme : was anythng acheved, has anythng changed? n the followng pages the events at the Narob Conference, at whch 157 natons came together to tell one another of ther efforts and achevements regardng the advancement of women durng the Pe~ade, wll be related, hghlghtng especally the part played by the European Communty and ts Member States. J!le Frst Step The orgns of the Decade can be traced back to 1975 whch was desgnated nternatonal Women's Year by the Unted Natons (UN}. The objectves set for ths event were, frst, to defne a socety n whch women could fully partcpate n the economc, socal and poltca.l lfe of ther country, and from there to formulate strateges whch would enable such a socety to progress wthout any form of explotaton whatsoever. To mark the nternatonal Women's Year, a World Conference was proposed, to be held n Mexco Cty that same year. t was here that a World Plan of Acton for the mplementaton of the objectves of nternatonal Women's Year was adopted, proposng as ts central ssue the proclamaton of the years as the UN Decade for Women. The Themes of the Decade were to be Equalty, Development and Peace. Fve years later a second Conference was held, ths tme n Copenhagen. Here an acton programme for the second half of the Decade for Women was adopted whch focussed dscusson not only on the already approved themes of the Decade, but also on the subt.hemes of Employment, Health and Educaton, as adopted by the UN General Assembly n Another fve years brngs us to Narob where the closng conference of the Decade took place. Ths conference was gven two specfc tasks : to revew and apprase progress acheved and obstacles encountered durng the Decade, and to adopt a coherent set of Forward-lookng Strateges for the advancement of women up to the year Preparatons for the Conference The set tasks of the Conference as well as the mmense proportons the gatherng was to take - the World Conference was attended by an estmated 5,000 delegates wth a further 1~,000 or so partcpatng n the parallel Forum '85 - necessarly demanded complex plannng and co-ordnatng far n advance of the actual Conference. Extensve preparatons were undertaken at least as early as 1983 by the UN Secretarat, asssted by the Commsson on

5 -5- the Status of Women, a UN body whch devoted three specal s ssons n Venna to the preparaton of the Conference n the Sprng o ' 1983, ~984 and 1985 respectvely, the last of whch was resumed n May/June n New York. The regonal economc Commssons of the UN organsed ~her own preparatory events, the Economc Commsson for Euroee (ECE) holdng a 1 ) semnar on the economc role of women n the CE reg1on n Oftober 1984 Apart from organsng these meetngs the UN Secretara~ also sent a ' volumnous questonnare to all ts Member States, the reples to whch served to prepare the detaled documentaton submtted to the Conference, revewng progress acheved and obstacles encountered durng! the Decade. The Eu.ropean Communty repled to those parts of the qu' estonnare that fell wthn ts competence. The Role of the European Communty The European Communty took part n the entre prepara!tory process leadng up to the Conference, as well as 2 }n the Conference ~self. n 1982 the Commsson submtted a communcaton to the Councl co1ncernng partcpaton n the Narob Conference - ths n order to obtan a general mandate for ts preparatons for the Conference. The Councll meetng n February 1983, adopted conclusons on 1) the prncple and P1rocedure of the Communty partcpaton, and 2) the content of the Communty'! poston. Communty statements drafted by the Commsson servces and adopted by the Councl were made at each of the UN-organsed meetngs, normally by the Head of the Presdency delegaton. 1 The Communty poston was a strong one : ts advanced and by now wellestablshed polcy on behalf of women enabled t to contrb~te effectvely throughout - partcularly as regards the topcs of equalty,/ development and employment - and ts unty and cohesveness helped t tq ensure that ts concerns were taken care of n the fnal outcome of the Con~erence. Communty co-ordnaton meetngs took place on a regular bass throug~out the preparatory process, startng n Brussels durng the advance preparatons for meetn~ and contnung n Narob tself as and when requred. The Advsory Commttee on Equal Opportuntes for WomJn and Men for ts part delvered an Opnon n June 1984 n whch t emphass~d a.o. the mportance of the close cooperaton between the Communty and the relevant non-governmental organsatons and ther presence n a Forum at the same date and place as the World Conference. : '! 1) Ths semnar led to a detaled report beng publshed orl 11 The Economc Role of Women n the ECE Regon - Developments 1975/85. (obtanable from the ECE, Geneva) 2) COM (82) 796 fnal

6 The European Commsson does n fact set great store by mantanng regular contacts wth NGO s n the Member States and stmulates these relatons by.organsng and takng part n semnars, such as the ones held n Qonn (1982), Turn (1984) and The Hague (1985) where delegates of European Women s assocatons can meet wth each other and wth representatves of the European COmmsson. The most recent of these semnars (organsed jontly by the Natonal Women s Assocatons and the Commsson of the European Communtes) was of partcular relevance to the Narob Conference. Held n The Hague only a few months before the World Conference t was attended by 90 delegates belongng to sxty or so dfferent European Women s organsatons and provded a unque platform for each of these to take. stock of and evaluate progress acheved as the result of the Commsson s Acton Progra11111e for equalty of opportunty. Fnally - The European Parlament tabled a number of reso.utons ~oncernng a.o. the Communty poston at the Narob Conference, ther own stmulatve role n the establshment of the 3 drectves on equal pay, equal treatment n employment and n matters of socal securty, and ther support for the New Communty Acton Programme on Equal opportuntes for Women n Narob tself members of the European Parlament met up wth ther counterparts of the 66 ACP countres and took part n the workng group whch w~s organsed to study a report on the Role of Women n the Development Process1). Ths report whch was afterwards unanmously adopted could almost be consdered as an acton programme n tself, keepng clear as much as possble of theoretcal declaratons and dealng nstead wth the relevant ssues n a pragmatc and concrete manner =ooo=- 1) Doc ACP-CEE /0013/A/85

7 -7- Chapter TWO THE CONFERENCE AND TS WORKNGS The Narob Conference, whch was attended by 1S7 s~ates and 160 other enttes (ncludng the European Communty), covere9 by 1,400 journalsts and accompaned by a large Forum of non-governmental organsatons, ranks as the bggest and one of the most mportan~ conferences ever organsed by the Unted Natons.! The presence of these large numbers of people enabl~d the Conference to set up an f'lterm nab 1 e number of offc a 1 and nforma 1 comm ttees, workng partes, negotatng and draftng groups, etc., w~ch were themselves duplcated to a greater or lesser degree wthn the three major blocks of states (Western Group, Eastern European Grt'J 1 ' ahd Group of 77), regonal groupngs (such as the European Communty), and lndvdual delegatons.,! n vew of the numerous actvtes takng place at the Conference the smplest way to descrbe the events s to start at the begnnng of the 1 Conference. The World Conference to Revew and Apprase the Ach/evements of the Unted Natons Decade for Women : Equalty, Development and Peace - to gve t ts full ttle - was held n Narob from J,ly 19a5 durng whch perod 20 plenary meetngs were held. Forum as, t e gatherng of world-wde non-governmental organsatons, overlapped the Conference and was offcally organsed by the UN, unlke the prevous FQrums n Mexco Cty and Copenhagen.(A dscusson of events at Forum as wll be found n Chapter Sx).!! Pre-conference consultatons open to a 11 states nvlted to partcpate n the Conference had already been held n Narob on 13 ~nd 14 July 19a5 to consder a number of procedural and organsatonal matter]. The Conference tself was formally opened by the Prjsdent of the Republc of Kenya on 15 July 1985 and at the same meetng Mss Margaret Kenyatta, the head of the delegaton of Kenya, was elected by acclamaton as the Presdent of the Conference. At the 2nd plenary ~etng the Conference adopted as ts agenda the fo 11 owng ponts 1. Openng of the Conference. 2; Electon of the Presdent. 3. Adopton of the rules of prcedure. 4. Adopton of the agenda. S. Electon of offcers other than the Presdent. 6. Other organsatonal matters: (a} (b) Allocaton of tems to the Man Commttees and jorgansaton of work, Credentals of representatves to the Conference:!

8 -8- () Appontment of the members of the Credentals Commttee () Report of the Credentals Commttee. 7. Crtcal revew and apprasal of progress acheved and obstacles encountered n attanng the goals and objectves of the Unted Natons Decade for Women: Equalty, Development and Peace, and the sub~heme: Employment, Health and Educaton, bearng n mnd the gudelnes lad down at the World Conference of the nternatonal Women's Year, held at Mexco Cty, and the World Conference of the Unted Natons Decade for Women: Equa 1 ty, Deve 1 opment and Peace, held at Copenhagen: (a) (b) (c) Progress acheved and obstacles encountered at natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to attan the goal and objectves of equalty; Progress acheved and obstacles encountered at natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to attan the goal and objectves of development; Progress acheved and obstacles encountered at natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to attan the goal and objectve of peace. 8. Forward-lookng Strateges of mplementaton for the advancement of women for the perod up to the year 2000, and concrete measures to overcome obstacles to the achevement of the goals and objectves of the Unted Natons Decade for Women: Equalty, Development and Peace, and the sub-theme: Employment, Health and Educaton, bearng n mnd the nternatonal Development Strategy for the Thrd Unted Natons Development Decade and the establshment of a new nternatonal economc order: (a) (b) (c) Strateges and measures at the natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to acheve the goal of equalty; Strateges and measures at the natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to acheve the goal of development; Strateges and measures at the natonal, regonal and nternatonal levels to acheve the goal of peace. 9. Adopton of the report of the Conference. From a look at ths agenda, and n partcular at ponts 7 and 8, t should become clear what the major areas of debate \\ere to be. n accordance wth the rules of procedure, a number of offcers, apart from the Presdent, had to be elected, such as a Vce-Presdent for coordnaton, twenty-nne other Vce-Presdents, a Rapporteur-General and a Presdng Offcer for each of the two man Commttees. Perhaps t s useful at ths pont to explan that ths collecton ~f offcers s normally referred to as 'The Bureau'. The Rapporteur-General's job s to produce a report of the Conference and n ths she/he s asssted by two other rapporteurs each coverng one of the two man Commttees. (2)

9 -9- Further nput s provded by a group of offcers calle the 'Frends of the Rapporteur' (representng the Western Group, Eastern Eurppean Group, and Group of 77) who keep an eye on the way the report unfolds, manly to ensure that the end result s a~ceptable to ther own background.(the Western Group conssts of Western European countres, the U.S.A., Canada, ~ustrala and New Zealand, the Group of 77 comprses the three gro~ps of Arrcan, Asan and Latn Amercan countres, and the name of the Eastern Eulropean group speaks for tse 1 f).. Among the states actng as Vce-Presdents were France!, the Federa 1 Repub 1 c of Germany, Greece and re 1 and. Mrs. Cec 1 a Lope~ (Co 1 omb a}. was elected Presdng Offcer of the Frst Commttee and Mrs. Rosaro Manalo (Phllpnes),who had also chared the Preparatory body n Venna and the pre-conference consultatons n Narob, became Presdng 0 lfcer of the Second Commttee. J Wth the excepton of the frst and last few day~ <lf the Conference, when actvtes were concentrated n the plenary, the debatel took place more or less smultaneously at a number of dfferent levels. plenary handled The1 as ts prncpal tem the revew and apprasal of the Decade (pont 7 on the agenda), wth reports on developments beng presented b~ the heads of the dfferent delegatons, emnent personaltes all and often ~he mnsters responsble for women's rghts. The two Commttees were ch~red wth debatng and preparng a comprehensve programme of Forward-lookng ~trateges up to the year 2000, (pont 8 on the agenda) dealng wth all aspects of the advancement of women, and whch t was hoped would be adopted lby consensus when submtted to the Conference at the plenary.! Attached to the two man Commttees were a number of ~egotatng and draftng groups- both formal and nformal. Most delegato~s at the Conference for example, were splt up nto two groups of partcpants, lone dealng wth poltcal questons (ths was taken care of by the dplomatlc members of the delegaton) and the other concernng tself wth the substantve women's questons. Those two teams worked mostly separately, thoug~ n close coordnaton and would meet up wthn ther respectve delega~ons at regular ntervals durng the Conference.! The Western Group (whch provdes a forum for dscusson and concertaton but takes no bndng decsons), Eastern European Gro4p and Group of 77 normally met at least once a day to dscuss ponts of re1evance. These sessons amounted to farly broad poltcal dscussons, the outcome of whch would be presented n the relevant man Commttee.! The European Communty was represented wthn the Western Group (chared by Ms. Maureen O'Nell of Canada) by the Commsson and the Presdency of the Councl and t partcpated actvely and 'onstructvely n the dscussons. The Communty (Presdency and Commss n) was apponted wthn the Western Group, to the poston of co-ordnator o all resolutons 1 coverng the themes of employment and equalty. Austra ev ntually replaced t n ths role when t came to partcpatng n a negotatng group, snce the Sovet Unon objected to the Communty actng as spokesperson.! The document on the Forward-lookng Strateges was djcussed word for word n the Convn ttees. n case agreement on a $'Utlject coul ~ not be reached n the Commttee, the contentous paragraph n queston would be referred to a restrcted negotatng group consstng of members of all three major blocks of states and chared by a Vce-Presdent of that Co~ttee. Ths

10 -10- group would seek to fnd an acceptable soluton to the problem and send ts proposal back to the.commttee tself. f the Commttee agreed to the proposal then t could be presented to the Plenary. Here each paragraph of the Strateges document was agan examned and those whch had already been agreed n the Commttees were passed at a fast rate. The paragraphs on whch compr9mse had rot prevously been reached ~Jere for the most P?rt also agreed n ~he Plenary. whch had a choce of f~ur. poss~ b~ 1 j t,~: the paragraph could ether be adopted a.s propos~d py the major1 ty, 1 t cou d be amended; or countres wth objectons could have a footnote wth a reservaton relatng to the relevant paragraph nserted n the document; fnally a vote could be taken. Votes were n fact taken on four paragraphs, relatng to nternatonal trade, Palestnan women and chldren, and women and chldren under Aparthed; all four were carred,aganst the wshes of most of the Western Group and most of the European Communty countres. n ths manner ndvdual'paragraphs of the Forward-lookng Strateges to-and-froed ther way through the varous groups, fnally to end up as a complete package. The eventual adopton of the Strateges by consensus n the Plenary was a remarkable success for the Conference. The tems that throughout the Conference threatened ths eventual consensus were a number of general poltcal questons whch sometmes served to push women's specfc problems nto the background. Ths appled n partcular to tems such as dsarmament, peace, nternatonal conflct, and economc and fnancal questons whch are dealt wth n other UN bodes. Thus the postve outcome of the Strateges document was n doubt untl the very last moment, when at the 20th (fnal) plenary sesson the Conference reached a deadlock over a paragraph n whch the term 'Zonsm' was equated wth 'racsm'. After a protracted dscusson, followed by a recess, the Kenyan delegaton proposed a compromse whch was adopted by consensus. The fact that the dfferences on these acknowledged problems could fnally be set asde for the sake of the advancement of women, was a major vctory for the Conference as a whole. Apart from ther work regardng the Forward-lookng Strateges, the two man Commttees were also burdened wth processng 105 resolutons proposed to the Conference, whch were dstrbuted between them for dscusson and approva 1. Here agan each paragraph was dscussed and often changed and amended. Gven the exceedngly short tme left avalable, ggantc efforts were made to merge resolutons on smlar subjects and to negotate agreement on the contentous ones. Despte all ths, the Commttees had not even dscussed them all by the tme they had to wnd up -yet, surprsngly, agreement had been reached on a large number of proposals, ncludng one of two sponsored by the European Communty (cf.chapter Fve). The Plenary n ts turn, however, ran out of tme to dscuss the resolutons and smply forwarded them to the General Assembly, makng no dstncon between those already approved by a Commttee, those whch had not yet been dscussed, and those on whch agreement had not been forthcomng. Towards the end of the Conference, durng the 17th plenary sesson a draft report on the Conference was submtted, and, after a number of amendments were made, the Conference adopted the report at ts 20th plenary

11 -meetng on 26 July Ths event also marked the end of the proceedngs and after a concludng statement from the Presdent tne Con erence was declared closed. : Roughly n ths manner {though n realty events occu~red n far more complex and confusng condtons, beng n fact at tmes whallly chaotc due to the multplcty of thngs takng place at the same tme) the Conference worked ts way through the apponted tasks as set out n th9 agenda. European Communty Co-ordnaton Co-ordnaton among the Member States of the European Conmuntes at the Conference turned out to be -accordng to Commsson de llegates who were n the thck of the Conference actvtes - successful ar.d ~ffectve beyond expectaton. There were dffcultes n the frst sesson durng whch Member States were grapplng wth the mplcatons of o.npl~ng wth Communty competence, but all were eventually persuaded to do so. The practcal consequences. ths mpled were consderable, one delegaton n 1fact emphassng 1 the advantage of Communty co-ordnaton leadng to bndnq decsons whch -could be put to the ConfereJ\ce wth the combned we.ght..of ten (ndeed often twelve) cpuntres.. Span and Portugal also partcpated n the E111repean Commun1ty co-ordnatng meetngs; the treaty of accesson!concernng ther entry nto the European Communtes had already been sgned lat the tme of the Narob Conference and t was decded that on matters o~ Communty competence all twelve would, f at all possble, act togethr. -=ooo=-

12 -12- Chapter THREE THE GENERAL DEBATE The General Debate, whch took place n the course of 14 plenary meetngs from July 1985, covered the range of topcs to be consdered by the Conference, ncludng not only tem 7 of the agenda (revew and apprasal of progress acheved and obstacles encountered) but also tem 8 (Forward-lookng Strateges) whch was more specfcally the concern of the man Commttee. Representng the ten countres of the EEC a statement was delvered by Mnster Jean Spautz of Luxembourg. The Commssoner of Socal Affars, Educaton and Competton made a statement on behalf of the Communty. The frst speech h~ been drafted n European Poltcal C0operaton and touched on the more poltcally contentous ssues that were kely to arse n the conference. The second, delvered by Commssoner Peter Sutherland, was an evaluaton of the results of the Decade n the European Communty. Heads of delegaton of each of the ten Member States as well as of Span and Portugal also made statements, puttng forward the experences, achevements and ntentons of ther own countres over the last decade. Statement by the Commssoner for Socal Affars, Educaton and Competton Mr. Peter Sutherland The Commssoner, commentng on the stuaton regardng equalty n employment started hs speech by expressng prde to be able to say that now n 1985, employment equalty for men and women was one of the most advanced areas of the European Communty's socal polcy - n contrast, he explaned, to the stuaton n 1975 when the nternatonal Women's Decade began. He poeted to the adopton and mplemertaton of the three drectves on equal pay 1), equal tr~atment n employment 2), and equal treatment n matters of soca~ secur1ty3j and the sound legal bass these provded on whch to buld further measures. By approvng a new and comprehensve Communty A~ton Programme for the Promoton of Equal Opportuntes for Women ),, a framework had been created wthn whch these measures - such as further equalty legslaton, but also polces on postve acton to acheve equal opportuntes n practce - could be constructed. 1) Councl drectve 75/117/EEC, OJ. L45, ) Councl drectve 76/207/EEC, OJ. L39, ) Councl drectve 79/7/EEC, OJ. L6, ) COM (81) 758 fnal.

13 -13~ The Commssoner announced that apart from the Comm son s duty to safeguard what had already been acheved by ensurng the co~rect applcaton of of the three drectves, three further proposals for drectves - on equal treatment n occupatonal socal securty schemes 1}, on parental leave and leave for famly reasons 2), and on equal treatment for men 'land women n selfemployed occupatons ncludng agrculture'3)- were beng dscussed n the Councl of Mnsters. 1 Furthermore, addtonal mprovements n the area of sqcal securty and also n ncome tax systems to avod ndrect adverse efflects on women's employment, were beng consdered. The Commssoner spoke of the 1984 Recommendaton on ~ostve Acton 4) whch had created a broad fr amework for a whole range of postve actons as ncluded n the Acton Programme. There was a need for postve acton wthn companes and organsatons and the Commssoml therefore had supported - both fnancally as well as morally - a Q e.1t n~mber of projects wthn organsatons, and was currently drawng up a code or practce wth deas and suggestons for employers nterested n launchng a postve acton programme. 1 The Commssoner mentoned a number of ssues wth wh~ch the Commsson s currently partcularly concerned :! - t s supportng the creaton of Women s Cooperatves n' order to enable women to manage ther own busnesses; 1 - t s makng efforts to ensure that women, from the out~et, attan ther rghtful places n the feld of the new technolog~es;, 1 -t s conductng comprehensve studes nto the stuatfn of mmgrant women so as to be able to formulate measures to beneft them; - t s takng a broad range of measures to combat female unemployment. When speakng of the second theme of the Decade, deve~opment, the Commssoner partcularly referred to the efforts by the C~munty to ntegrate women frmly nto ts development polcy, whch had resulte~ n sgnfcant provsons beng ncorporated n the Lome Conventon between the European Communty and the ACP states. Concernng the subtheme of educaton,he reported thatlthe Commsson had launched and supported postve acton n ths mportan~ feld and sad that a major programme to brng about equal opportuntes h educaton had been adopted n June ) OJ. C 134/7, ) OJ. C 333/6, and OJ. C 316/7, } OJ. C 113/4, ) Councl Recommendaton 84/635/EEC, OJ. L331/34,

14 -14- n concludng hs statement the Commssoner requested the Conference to concentrate the debate on ssues of substance r~latng to the advancement of women, so as to gve drecton to future efforts durng the years and decades to come. Statement by Mnster Jean Spa.1:1tz of Luxembourg representng the ten countres Gf the EEC Mnster Jean Spautz sad t was an honour for hm to be at the. Conference as a representatve of.the ten- S?on to be twe~v~- co~ntr1es of the European Communty. He sa1d the Ten w1shed to part1c1pate 1n the actvtes of the Conference n a sprt of common responsblty vs-a-vs ther poltcal role, ther economc potental and ther numerous tes wth so many peoples. He then spoke of the wsh of the Ten to express, here at ths Conference held n Afrca, ther soldarty wth the women of Afrca, many of whom lved and suffered n areas afflcted w tr. drought and starvaton. The efforts of the Communty towards the level of ths sufferng, he sad, was reflected n the Lome Conventon. The Presdent of the Councl explaned that hs remarks on the work to be carred out would be of an exclusvely poltcal and general nature. The UN Decade had been a stmulus for the European Communty n ts efforts to elmnate dscrmnaton aganst women, and the Member States consdered that the frst task of the Conference now was to address the objectves that had not been realsed, so that Strateges for the progressve achevement of complete equalty could be formulated. n ths context the Ten were extremely pleased wth the progress made durng the UN preparatory sessons - partcularly n the resumed 3rd sesson n New York - regardng a plan of future Strateges. He added, however, that the Ten were convnced that - even. f the dffcultes facng women were often lnked wth problems of a poltcal, economc or socal nature- all actons amng at poltcal equalty for women must focus on problems that were specfcally women s problems. The Conference, therefore, must not spend too much tme on ssues of poltcal conflct whch were already beng dscussed by other UN bodes. The Presdent of the Councl concluded that n the opnon of the Ten, substantal success could be acheved by the Conference f consensus on the document relatng to Forward-lookng Strateges were arrved at. Such a document, he added, would be a fttng concluson to the Decade for Women and, even more mportantly, would provde a sold bass for future actons. Statements by the ten Member States of the European Communtes, as well as Span and_portugal All natonal statements_touched on the stuaton, ntentons and polces of ther countres wth regard to the themes of the Decade, some gong nto great detal, others expressng more general phlosophcal vews. Overall the man focus of these statements was on Equalty as well as on the subthemes of Employment, Health and Educaton, these beng the areas on whch Communty polcy has concentrated most persstently snce the s and on whch much of substance could be reported - obstacles as well as achevements.

15 -15- Equalty Gene.ra t support for the ams of the Decade and evdence of the great dffcultes nvolved n achevng equalty world-wde was ~oced by all, the delegate for France sayng that equalty was an Tllense lbattlet,_.all the more so snce "equalty cannot be proclamed". taly called for a-'socety whch respects human rghts and fundamenta 1. freedom, these ~~e ng the bass for overall equalty. The delegate for Greece spoke of the contnung need to make the whole world aware of the exstence of the equahty ssue. She llustrated the need for awakenng men and women takng ther unequal postons n socety as the norm, by the followng tale. 11 ln a small vllage near Delph n Central Greece 11, she rec~unted, "a delegaton of a women's organsaton was dscussng the theme "Women and Work" wth the local rural women. The queston was: why do the male olve pckers receve a hgher hourly rate of pay than women? One of ~h~ rural women responded that they clmb up the trees and shake the brancbj "s that very 11 dffcult?" was the queston. "No," was the response. ls!t dangerous?". "Not really,", was the answer. "Do the men pck more olve~ than you per day?". "When they are shakng the trees, 11 she responded, '\we pck up the 11 o 1 ves. Men who are pckers pck the same amount as we." :Then the o 1 ve grove owner gets the same amount of work out of men and women," a spokeswoman for the women's organsaton stated, "so you stll haven't explaned why you do not get the same pay." Slence n the group whl' t struggled wth the problem. Fnally, the face of one woman lt up as lshe appeared to have come to an nsghtful concluson. She rased her hand and sad, "Because we are women." The answer was so rght and so smple that t brought a plethora of noddng heads and murmurs of approval lat the ntellgence of the woman o 1 ve pcker."! The answer, sad the Greek delegate, was r.ght, becaus~ t represented centures of cultural atttudes about the second-class status and the economc explotaton of women all over the world. What was needed,j'the talan delegate sad, was for all efforts regardng equalty to be effectuated on a natonal level and ths would requre a great deal of pohtcal wll. All such efforts should moreover, be ncorporated n a precse ~nd all-nclusve legal framework, bearng n mnd that not only the letter o~ the law but also the sprt mattered~ De facto Equalty A 11 de 1 ega tes sad that there was s t ll a wde gap between 1 ega 1 equalty and equalty n practce and that ths should be a~ area of partcular concern for the future. Legslaton and Admnstraton The delegates for Belgum, Denmark, Greece, Span, france and Portugal reported that ther countres had ratfed the UN onventon on the elmnaton of all forms of dscrmnaton aganst wome~, wth the Unted Kngdom announcng ts ntenton of dong so n the n ear future and reland statng t ntended to accede shortly. Legslaton 1 regardng employment equalty n the ten Member States was reported tg have advanced greatly snce the begnnng of the Decade.!

16 -16- n Portugal a law was adopted n 1979 regardng equalty n employment, ncludng access to employment, vocatona tranng, promoton and pay, thus mplementng the rghts already recognsed n the 1976 Consttuton. n Span the Consttuton of 1978 had smlarly establshed equalty of all Spanards before the law 11 Wthout any dscrmnaton for reasons of sex 11 ncludng prncples of employment equalty (roughly relatng to those of the EEC drectves} later reflected n sublaws. All delegates told of Advsory and Consultatve bodes that had been set up n the twelve countres, provdng deas, opnons and stmulatng governments nto acton concernng equalty polces. reland and France were the only two countres to have seperate mnstres exclusvely concerned wth women s affars; most other countres had equalty ssues dealt wth n already exstng departments, Belgum n fact belevng t undesrable to have specal women s mnstres headed by women mnsters. Economc Crss Many countres found the nternatonal economc crss had had a severe mpact on employment, housng, health, the qualty of lfe and development, and consequently on the mplementaton of equalty polces as well. The Netherlands delegate wshed to stress that t was very wrong 11 to assume that the desre of women for ndependence and equalty was a luxury for more affluent tmes... Belgum on the other hand had a more cheerng account to relate: due to the polces to combat the crss wllngly and frmly undertaken by the government, unemployment amongst women had decreased at a faster rate than amongst men, wth numerous jobs havng been created for women and especally for younger women. n Greece the government had had great success n creatng jobs for women by promotng a number of cooperatve projects n agrotoursm, handcrafts, poultry, wool-dyng, etc., all run by women. Economc ndependence Economc ndependence was mentoned by a number of Member States, especally France and the Netherlands as beng a prerequste for women n ther struggle for equal rghts and opportuntes; ths, accordng to the Netherlands delegate, mpled that measures leadng to a redstrbuton of unpad domestc and carng responsbltes among men and women would be ndspensable n an equal opportuntes programme. Work and the Famly Most delegates expressed ther concern that the realty of workers havng famles to take care of was nadequately reflected n the organsaton of workng tme. n Luxembourg, t was reported, both men and women now have a rght to part-tme leave after the brth or adopton of a. chld up to the age of four. The Unted Kngdom delegate mentoned that her government, as an equal opportuntes employer, had ncreased the number of part-tme jobs avalable, and was takng acton to ncrease the opportuntes for women (3)

17 -17- workng part-tme to reach the hghest grades n the publc servce. The Dansh and Netherlands delegates, however, sad tha c part-tl'me work for women only, was not a sound long-term soluton, gvng them fewer rghts,.a weaker status and a more casual attachment to the labour ma 1 ket. Ths stuaton needed to be counteracted, accordng to the Dansh delegate, by the ntroducton of flexble workng hours. Such measures werealso beng looked at n the Federal Republc of Germany and the Belga~ delegate reported that the mplementaton of flexble workng hours n the publc sector had ndeed led to a sgnfcant ncrease n women em,loyees. n the Unted Kngdom re-entry schemes had been set u~ provdng the possblty for women lookng after ther young chldren to,return to work after career breaks. The Netherlands and Germany supported ths ~easure addng that such women should also be gven the chance to obtan t~e necessary qualfcatons to help them fnd work agan after ther jobfnterrupton. Parenthood On the subject of parenthood a number of countres felt t was hgh tme that motherhood, not just fatherhood, was made compat~le wth workng and socal lfe. n Portugal parenthood was recognsed by the Consttuton and by law as beng of emnent socal value and the Spanshldelegate sad there was a need for better nursery facltes, reducton of workng tme, schemes for parental leave and a sharng of famly responsbltes. n Greece a law concernng parental leave had been ntroduced and n France als~measures allowng both father and mother to nt,rrupt ther professonal actvtes to brng up small chldren under th; age of two had been set up. The Luxembourg delegate sad that hs governm nt had ntroduced a maternty allowance, pad for by the State, for all house ves, women farmers and women n ndependent jobs. The government had ~lso establshed measures to help the growng number of dvorced sngle parents by payng those lookng after ther chldren a penson correspondng to the legal mnmum salary n the country, and by coverng the health nsurance payments of these famles.! The delegate for Germany sad her country was examn~ 1 g the stuaton regardng the problems specfc to sngle parents and older women, and n Portugal measures to ensure sngle mothers had the same rg ts as marred ones had been ntroduced. : Cvl Equa 1 ty The delegates for Span, Portuga and Greece all repoe' ted that a number of measures regardng cvl ndependence had been m lemented, ncludng cvl equalty for both partners wthn the marr, ge, and equal treatment of chldren born outsde and wthn marrage. '

18 - 18- Educaton The delegate for Span reflected that men and women need an educaton whch constantly questons the dvson of roles accordng to sex and whch can ntegrate all the necessary knowledge for the development of men and women as persons; ths would mply a change n the socal model, whch n today's world s stll a masculne one. n Luxembourg educaton for boys and grls was stated to be mxed at all levels, and currcula were now dentcal. n Belgum measures towards the same end were beng developed and the school-leavng age had been rased to 18 years whch the delegate for Belgum hoped would mean an mportant step toward the emancpaton of those grls who would otherwse have left school at 14 to fnd work. The delegates for reland, France, Portugal and Greece reported a number of mportant changes n ther educatonal syste 1s, ncludng the establshment of new currcula and gudelnes for the elmnaton of sexstereotypng n school books and the settng of examnaton papers. The Unted Kngdom delegate reported that dscrmnaton n educaton s llegal n her country and that the current polcy ams to focus on specfc areas where progress s needed. Thus, ntatves to get more women nto scence have been started and ways of ncreasng pupls' experence of techncal and vocatonal subjects at school are be_ng_ souaht.._ The Netherlands delegate consdered that educaton was an mportant nstrument for promotng women's economc ndependence, addng that n recent years the Netherlands government had taken many ntatves to ensure equal educaton for grls and boys. New Technologes n France specal catchng-up measures for women only were beng establshed on a temporary bass to boost the equalty process. Ths, the French delegate nformed the Conference, ncluded vocatonal tranng and gudance for women from the moment they left school n order to promote ther access to non-tradtonal jobs and the job-sectors of the future such as nformatcs and electroncs. n Greece, vocatonal gudance programmes for women over the age ~f 25 have been started, as well as programmes to tran women for tradtonally male jobs. The Netherlands and Belgan delegates voced ther concern about the development of the new technologes. The Belgan delegate told the Conference that people today were n the mddle of an hstorcal change~ over from an ndustral socety to a socety of nformatcs and women must not be allowed to mss the boat. nformaton and Women's Rghts n Portugal and France the avalablty of nformaton for women on ther rghts has been mproved by varous measures. n France numerous nformaton centres on women's rghts -staffed by traned personnel -.have been set up on the prncple that a rght no-one knows about s a useless rght. n Belgum efforts were reported to have been undertaken to make such nformaton more readly avalable n order to fght the stereotyped notons held by men and women concernng the..r role n socejy.

19 -19- Women and the Meda The delegate for the Unted Kngdom stated that the me~a had a crucal and responsble role to play n seekng to alter atttudes t~rough the manner n whch women are portrayed. She felt t was mportant tha~ women should be employed at decson-makng levels n the meda. The Greek delegate sad t had remaned clear.t~at women's ssues were not amoryg t~el prortes ether of the press or telev1s1on. Protests by women's organ1sat1on and state nterventon had, however, lmted the amount of advertsnghl explotng and demeanng women. n Greece as well as n Belgum acton was currently beng undertaken to lay down rules governng the manner n w ch women are presented n advertsng.!! ' Volence and Abuse of Women The delegates of the Netherlands, France, Greect bnd B~lgum n partcular mentoned that ther governments had ntroduced, 6r were n the process of ntroducng, more strngent measures to combat v:olence aganst women. n Greece automatc prosecuton n rape cases has belen ntroduced and the penaltes have become heaver. n Belgum also such measures wll shortly take effect and n France t was reported a law had been adopted whch made rape a crme. The French delegate also told the conference that 1 mprovements had been acheved n the way polce statons an;d centres for battered women dealt wth vctms of rape and volence. The de legate for the Netherlands reported that her gov!ernment',s polcy on combattng sexual volence aganst women and grls! had been explctly ncluded as part of the emancpaton polcy, covelrng a.o. rape, battered women and sexua 1 harassment at work. From an nternat ona 1 pont of vew the Netherlands government was partcularly nlterested n combattng traff.ckng n women, n elmnatng forced prostltuton and n safeguardng the poston of female refugees. On ssues such as these the Netherlands would welcome nternatonal ntatves. She also called for a greater amount of general tolerance, the need for whch was reflected n 1 her government's emancpaton polcy: the dstrbuton of ~ork or the allocaton of responsblty ought not depend on sex, prj:vate status or sexual preference. Polces ncluded the prncples that thle husband was no longer the sole breadwnner n the famly' and smlarly ~hat heterosexual behavour had no more rght to exstence than homosexual behavour. Women's Organsatons The delegates for reland, the Unted Kngdom, Belgum!, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark all spoke of the value ther governments attached to mantanng a dalogue wth women's organ,satons. The delegate for the Unted Kngdom wshed to pay trbute to thel work done by numerous such organsatons and the way ther rec011111endatons contnued to provde a stmulus to the government's way of thnkng n equalty ssues. 1 n reland the umbrella organsaton for 40 rsh Wom~n's organsatons (Councl for the Status of Women) represented, accordng to lthe rsh delegate, a very effectve pressure group and contnued wth other women's nterests such as women n trade unons and rural women to trng about soc a 1 change.!

20 -20- Women and Development On the theme of development delegates of a number of countres, especally of the Netherlands, Germany and reland, stressed the mportance of meetng women s own prortes when settng up ad polces. The Netherlands felt, moreover, that formulatng polces was relatvely easy, but actually mplementng them was a much more dffcult task. n Germany, development ad polces were centred around the prncple that 11 ad towards self-ad 11 was most productve and to ths end fnancal support for a number of projects benefttng women had been gven. Smlarly n Denmark projects to mprove the stuaton of women n developng countres had been set up, whch emphassed the promoton of self-suffcency, the easer access to resources (land, captal, tranng, nformaton and know-how), and the stengthenng of co-operaton and soldarty among women so as to ncrease ther self-confdence and self-respect. The Unted Kngdom delegate stated that women need to have control over ther own fertlty, bearng n mnd that populaton polcy also means reducng nfant mot tt.lty so that parents may be confdent that ther chldren wll survve. Her government was currently fundng major multlateral populaton organsatons. A number of countres, especally France and taly beleved that famne was the worst of a 11 evls besettng the Thrd World. The talan delegate reported that her government s efforts n ths feld were partcularly drected at mothers and chldren n famne areas. The delegates ror France and the Unted Kngdom stressed that help was needed to lghten the man burdens women face everyday, such as the gatherng and purchasng of domestc fuel and the carryng of drnkng water. The Unted Kngdom s supportng projects amng to fac 11tate these tasks, and France s supplyng grants for young women n developng countres to be traned n techncal and technologcal subjects as well as n agronomy. reland and the Unted Kngdom reported that they supported the actvtes and ams of the UN Development Fund for Women and were provdng fnancal ad. Peace All delegates sad ther countres were frmly commtted to peace and especally France, the Netherlands, Germany, reland and Greece stressed that f women were more vsble n poltcs and more present n decson-makng areas, peace and harmony world-wde mght become a more feasble am. The delegate for Greece reported that her government had adopted a mult-faceted foregn polcy for the promoton of peace, ncludng ntatves for a nuclear-free zone n the Balkans, acton towards the removal of foregn mltary bases and jont responsblty n organsng the fve-contnent sx-leader ntatve for the reversal of the nuclear arms race and the preservaton of humanty. Women and Power The delegates of all twelve countres and n partcular France, reland, Germany, the Netherlands, the Unted Kngdom and Denmark stressed that there was an urgent need for more women n decson-makng functons. The French delegate sad that the great decsons concernng peace and harmony n the world were beng taken n places where women were conspcuous by ther absence. The rsh delegate felt that efforts n ths respect durng the Decade were partcularly dsappontng. The Netherlands delegate sad t was an absolute must to moblse women nto a more effectve and

21 co-ordnated partcpaton n poltcal lfe, n ther nat ns government 1 and above all n ts hgher echelons. She also sad that h1r country had come to regard the entre equal opportuntes problem as an ssue relatng to the dstrbuton of power and that the redstrbuton oflwork, ncome, status and socal power between men and women was an mportant element n her government's equal rghts and opportuntes polcy. nternatonal Conflct The delegate for Denmark wshed to reterate her gover~ment's strong condemnaton of the Aparthed system whch places.b.lack. wo~n under a tr~ple form of dscrmnaton and represson, due to ther sex, the colour of ther skn, and because of the separaton from ther famly whch lwas often mposed through the Bantustan system. The Greek delegata s~mlarly condemned Aparthed and sad that her government was equally concerneq wth the stuaton of women refugees n Cyprus, the dffcult ~J~ton of Palestnan women and the women sufferng from the mltary conflct stuatons n Central Amerca. ' The delegates for Luxembourg, the Unted Kngdom and Germany all hoped that the Conference would not be burdened by excessve poltcsaton of certan controversal subjects. The delegate for German~ urged the Conference to avod treatng subjects such as Peace and Dev~lopment, unless lnked to concrete problems specfc to women. The Unted Kngdoms delegate hoped that the Conference's efforts would not be thwarted b~ overconcentraton on dvsve poltcal ssues that could be more properly ana effectvely dscussed elsewhere. The Greek delegate, however, stated t~at all ssues at ths Conference were poltcal: to fght for equal pay, ~or the rght of women to have control over ther reproductve functon, was that not, she asked, poltcal? The w.onen's movement was, accordng to her, a poltcal movement and there was no lne to be drawn as to where ssues nvolvng women would cease to be poltcal. Women lvng :n so-called nternatonal conflct areas needed to be heard and tme should be made at the Conference to hear them. Forward-lookng Strateges : Most delegates gave expresson to ther hope that on Jhe subject of the Forward-lookng Strateges a consensus document could ~e arrved at coverng a multtude of necessary ssues on whch to buld acton concernng the advancement of women for the future. France and Greece called for an adequate montor..ng system so that the Forward-looldng Stra.teges would not just reman an dea, but become realty. Achevements of the Decade -21- The delegate for Denmark told the Conference that t was obvous that progress had been made, the man achevement beng that women and ther specal problems had been made vsble. The delegate for G~eece underlned ths by statng that an essental precondton for organsng aganst sex dscrmnaton had been acheved durng the Decade and ths!could be descrbed as a "global conscousness rasng". ts mpac;t ~as that t had put women on the agenda and had brought to lght nformaton about women's 1 ves, ther burdens, poverty, to 1 and msery, but a 1 so ther hopes and vsons. ' -=ooo=-

22 -22- Chapter FOUR THE NAROB FORWARD-LOOKNG STRATEGES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN. NTRODUCTON The Narob Forward-lookng Strateges for the Advancement of Women s a document addressng tself to the obstacles standng n the way of a successful pursut of the advancement of women, followed by the strateges and measures to overcome these obstacles. The document contans 371 paragraphs and s dvded nto fve chapters dealng wth the three themes of the Decade, as well as wth categores of women that are of specal concern, and wth nternatonal and regonal co-operaton. t was felt that the Forward-lookng Strateges deserved to be treated n detal n ths supplement and the broad summary below cannot but reflect the tghtly wrtten nature of ths ntensvely negotated document. n Chapter TWO the treatment of the Forward-lookng Strateges at the Narob Conference has alr.~ady been touched upon. Nevertheless, t may be useful to come back to ths ssue brefly and make clear how ths document came nto exstence and n what way the Conference dealt wth t. - ~ The document was ntally drawn up by the UN Secretarat and amended by the preparatory body (.e. the Commsson on the Status of Women) n a seres of three preparatory sessons held n Venna and New York n the Sprng of t was partcularly at the two New York sessons that agreement on the document progressed sgnfcantly so that t could be submtted to the Conference n July 1985 n an advanced condton. At the Conference the document was negotated n the two Commttees and ther varous attached draftng groups, after whch t was presented to the Plenary where after some outstandng paragraphs had been dscussed n great detal and dsagreement on a few had led to a growng fear that all efforts mght as yet turn out to have been n van, t was fnally - to the relef of many - approved by consensus. The European Communty played a sgnfcant role throughout the dscusson of the Strateges document - ndeed from the moment the frst drafts became avalable - and put forward a set of substantve amendments to the document of whch far the greatest part was eventually adopted. After the adopt+on ofthe Narob Forward-lookng Strateges for the Advancement of Women - by whch name t was decded they should henceforth be known as a token of grattude to the Government and people of Kenya - a number of statements were delvered to the Conference, ncludng one on behalf of the European Communty and ts Member States. t expressed the Convnunty s satsfacton at the successful outcome of the negothtons on the document whle regrettng that the dscussons on general poltcal questons had sometmes served to relegate the specfc problems of women to a secondary poston. The Communty consdered, however, that the Narob Forward-lookng Strateges would be an mportant factor n supportng and ntensfyng ts efforts concernng the development of actons to promote equal opportuntes for women at all levels.

23 n the followng pages, whch take up the contents of Jhe Strateges n ts entrety, specal attenton s gven to those tems t~at are of major relevance to the European Communty.. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSES OF THE STRATEGES: -23- When lookng at the background aganst whch the ssueof women's advancement has taken shape snce the second World War we see an era of hope and reconstructon, brngng wth t the foundng of the Unted Natons and the emergence of ndependent states followng de olonsaton. All these events were mportant elements n the poltcal, e~onomc and socal lberaton of women. Partcularly postve were the l970's whch saw a whole range of happenngs all contrvng to lend mpetws to the progressve advancement of women n all spheres of soc 'et.y. lt was n ths postve clmate that the orgnal Strateges for the kdvanc,ment of Women came nto beng, n the form of the World Plan of Acton for~_the mplementaton of the Objectves of the nternatonal Women's Year (a 1opted n 1975 n Mexco Cty) and subsequently the Programme of Acton forlthe Second Half of the Unted Natons Decade for Women (adopted n 1980n Copenhagen). ' The present Narob Forward-lookng Strateges, howevet, are set n dfferent tmes and n dfferent crcumstances. The econom~ depresson pervadng the frst half of the 1980's have taken ther tolllof efforts to mprove the stuaton of women everywhere and the genune low whch the state of the development of women worldwde has reached s reflected n the depth and the wde-rangng nature of these numerous Strateges. The Narob Forward-lookng Strateges consst of concrete measures whd~, buldng on a range of other nternatonal equalty prncples, reaffrm the nternatonal 1 concern regardng the status of women and provde a framewor~ for renewed commttment to the advancement of women and the elmnaton pf gender-based dscrmnaton.! The Forward-lookng Strateges start from the premses!' that the Decade has only partally attaned ts goals and objectves and that the reasons for ths are - for a large part - to be found n the, 1 nternatonal economc crss: economc adjustment progranvnes to counter t!he mpact of ~he negatve economc stuaton have been effected.at a very hgh socal cost and have pushed Governments to concentrate on attemptnlg to allevate the ncrease n poverty rather than on measures tacklng equ 1 alty ssues. Especally for the developng countres the Decade has been 1a crtcal perod wth the gap between deve 1 oped and deve 1 opng countr1es wdenng rather than narrowng. The Strateges'pont of departure s that the develop~ent of women wll brng development of all socetes, that equalty between alll men and women promotes peace, and that women.' s p vota 1 ro 1 e n socety and ther essent a 1 productve force n all economes need to be recognsed and gven ther true value. Great mportance s attached to the dea that the e~forts to promote the economc and socal status of women (so vulnerable to the effects of a negatve world economy) should partcularly rely on the prncples of a new nternatonal economc order as the restructurng of the wo~ld economy, vewed on a long-term bass, should be to the beneft of all people -women and men of all countres.! ' '

24 -24- Thus the Strateges are ntended to provde a practcal and effectve gude for global acton on a long-tenn bass. Measures are desgned for mmedate acton, wth montorng,and evaluat.on occurrng every fve years, dependng on the decson of the General Assembly. t s also stated that snce countres are at varous stages of development, they should have the opton to set ther own.prortes based on ther own development polces and resource capabltes. What may be possble for mmedate acton n one country may requre more long-range plannng n another, and even more so n respect of countres whch are stll under colonalsm, domnaton, and foregn occupaton. The exact methods and procedures of mplementng measures wll depend on the nature of the poltcal process and the admnstratve capabltes of each country. The Forward-lookng Strateges not only suggest measures for overcomng obstacles that are fundamental and operatonal, but also dentfy those that are emergng. Ths means that the strateges and measures are ntended to serve as gudelnes to be contnuously adapted to t1e changng stuatons and needs determned by overall natonal prortes, wthn whch the ntegraton of women n development should rank hgh. The Strateges are prmarly addressed to Government~ nternatonal and regonal organsatons, as well as non-governmental organsatons; but an appeal s also made to all women and men, partcularly those A postons of nfluence, to further the cause of the advancement of women n a sprt of soldarty.. EQUALTY The Chapter on Equalty contans a blend of legslaton and postve acton to make equalty between women and men a practcal realty. On the consttutonal and legal plane the Strateges start out by urgng all governments that have not yet done so to sgn the UN Conventon on the Elmnaton of All Fonns of Dscrmnaton aganst Women. World-. wde nequalty between women and men s, to a very large extent, the result accordng to the Strateges document, of backwardness, mass poverty and general underdevelopment wth the stuaton beng aggravated by contnung de facto dscrmnaton of women. The frst step to....take s to establsh legslaton as a bass for acton to counter ths nequalty. The effectveness of any legslatve measures, however, must be renforced by approprate legal redress mechansms. Such measures should be enforced from the local level up and should be adequately montored so that ndvdual women m~y seek to have dscrmnatory treatment redressed wthout fear of beng vct.msed or obstructed n ths purpose. Employment legslaton ensurng equty should not only cover women 1n the conventonal and fonnal labour force but also those n the nfonnal sector {partcularly wth regard to mgrant and servce workers) by provdng mnmum wage standards, ensurng benefts, safe workng condtons and the rght to organse. Such guarantees and benefts should also be. extended to women makng vtal economc contrbutons n actvtes nvolvng food producton and processng, fsheres and food dstrbuton through trade. These benefts should also be provded to womer workng n famly enterprses and ~ f possble - to other self-employed women n an effort (4)

25 -25- to gve due recognton to what after all consttutes the vtal contrbuton of all the nvsble economc actvtes by women tj :he development of the h~ann~. As for agraran reform measures t s judged that suchfmeasures have not always ensured women's rghts - even n countres where wome' predomnate n the agrcultural labour force. Therefore, women's contr~utonal and legal rghts n terms of access to land and other means of producton should be guaranteed, as should ther rght to control the fruts of t~er labour and ther ncome. Benefts from agrcultural nputs, research, }.ranng, credts and other nfrastructural facltes should also be easly avalable to them. n terms of socal and economc development the Narob Strateges set ams and targets closely resemblng those already well on th' way of beng realsed n the Communty countres, namely the partcpato~ of women as equal partners wth men n all felds of work, equal access to all postons of employment, equal pay for wo.rk of equal value and e lt:al opportuntes for educaton and vocatonal tranng. Legslaton should there!ore be ntroduced to ensure that men and women have the same rght to work and to unemployment benefts. Any dsmssal on the grounds of pregnancy or of m ternty leave, as well as dsmssal on the grourls of martal status should ~e prohbted and enforced by a.o. the mposton of sanctons. Legslatpn and any other measures necessary should be adopted and mplemented to fac~tate the return to the labour market of women who have left for famly reasons and to guarantee the rght of women to return to work after maternty leave. Whle nsttutng the varous legslatve and other remedal measufes, governments should contnue to take specal acton n order that women wprkers are nformed of ther rghts, and all relevant polces should e~phasse the ~mportance of freedom of assocaton and the protecton of the rght to organse - these beng partcularly relevant to the poston! of women n employment. ' Research on the problems assocated wth the relatons~p between the law and the role, status and materal crcumstances of womenls consdered essental and the Strateges recommend that any such nvestgatons should be ntegrated nto the currcula of relevant educatonal nstt;utons n an attempt to promote general knowledge and awareness of the lar. The capabltes of natonal nsttututons concerned Wth statstcs of women's ssues should be mproved so that governments canl make effectve use of these statstcs n polcy plannng. Tranng for thlose producng and those usng such statstcs should play a key role n th/s process. n order to revew all laws, law reform commttees w~h equal representaton of women and men from government'~ as well as non-governmental organsatons should be set up, not only as a montorng de~ce but also wth a vew to determnng research-related actvtes, amendments and new legslatve measures. n ths context t s consdered ext~emely mportant that approprate acton s taken to ensure that the judca~y and all paralegal personnel are fully aware of the achevement by women lof ther legal rghts, and to ths purpose any form of n-servce tranng and retranng 1 should be desgned and carred out. The Strateges state that specal attenton should be_lgven n crmnology tranng to the partcular stuaton of women a~ vctms of volent crmes. Legslaton should be passed and laws enfqrced n every country to en~d the degradaton of women through sex-related 1crmes, and

26 -26- gudence-should be gven to law enforcement authortes on the need to deal sensbly and senstvely wth the vctms of such cr~es. On the subject of cvl rghts the Strateges advocate the revson of cvl codes, partcularly those pertanng to famly law, wth a vew to elmnatng dscrmnatory practces where these exst. Changes should be made, for example, wher.ever women are consdered mnors; the legal capacty of women should be revsed n order to grant them equal rghts and dutes; marrage agreements should be based on freedom of choce; the rght to dvorce should be granted equally to both partners under the same condtons, and custody of chldren should be decded n a non-dscrmnatory manner. Legal or other approprate provsons should be made to elmnate dscrmnaton aganst sngle mothers and chldren, ths, wthout prejudce to the relgous and cultural tradtons of countres. The rght of all women, n partcular marred women, to own, admnster, sell or buy property ndependantly should be guaranteed as an aspect of ther equa1ty and freedom under the law. As regards equalty n socal partcpaton the Narob Strateges reflect that although there s no physologcal bass for regardng the household and famly as essentally the doman of women, for the devaluaton of domestc work, and for regardng the capactes of women as nferor to those of men, the belef that such a bass exsts does n fact perpetuate nequalty and stands n the way of structural and atttudnal changes necessary to elmnate such nequalty. The year 2000 s set as the target date by whch all governments should have adequate natonal polces to abolsh any obstacles to the full and equal partcpaton of women n all spheres of socety. Ths ncludes the fght aganst all dscrmnatory perceptons, atttudes and practces, for whch purpose comprehensve and sustaned campagns should be launched by all governments n close coll,aboraton wth non-governmental organsatons, women s pressure groups, research nsttutons, as well as the meda, and educatonal nsttutons and tradtonal forms of communcaton. Other postve actons nclude government ntatves to encourage women to enter a.whole range of tradtonally male job areas, the ntroducton of employment equalty programmes to ntegrate women nto all economc actvtes on an equal bass wth men, and a specal concentraton on any measures desgned to redress the balance mposed by centures of dscrmnaton aganst women. Another mportant recommendaton s that governments should ensure that the publc servce 1s an exemplary equal opportunty employer. Where equalty n poltcal actvtes and decson-makng s concerned the Strateges stress the mportance of women partcpatng at all levels of natonal and local legslatve bodes and the duty of governments and poltcal partes to stmulate efforts towards the achevement of equalty n the appontment, electon and promoton of women to hgh posts n these bodes. t s consdered desrable that governmental departments establsh a specal offce n each department to montor and accelerate the efforts towards an equtable representaton of women. To the same end other measures could be undertaken such as the ncrease n recrutment and n~naton of women to decson and polcy postons by publcsng posts more wdely and by ncreasng upward moblty and so on. Women should be aware of ther poltcal rghts and such awareness can, and should b~ promoted through a number of dfferent channels ncludng edu~aton, non-gov~rnmental organsatons, trade unons, the meda and bus1ness organsat1ons. All these should encourage and motvate women to

27 -27- exercse ther rghts to vote, to stand for electon, and to take part n the pol.tcal process at all levels together wth men. Poltcal partes and trade unons also have a specal responsblty n mprovng women's partcpaton wthn ther ranks as well las provdng the resources and tools for developng sklls n the art and tactcs of practcal poltcs and effectve leadershp. 1 The Strateges also recommend that more women should belapponted as dplomats and to decson-makng posts wthn the Unted Nat~ns system, ncludng posts n felds relatng to peace and development strateges, and that support servces - such as educatonal facltes for famles of dplomats and other cvl servants statoned abroad, employment of spouses at the duty staton where possble, as well as specal needs,lsuch as the wsh of couples employed n the same servce to be posted to the same duty 1 staton - should be strongly encouraged. V. DEVELOPMENT The Chapter on Development deals wth a very wde rangelof subjects touchng most areas of lfe, such as employment; health; educaton; food, water and agrculture; ndustry; trade and commercal servces; scence and technology; communcatons; housng; settlement; communty de~elopment and transport; energy; envronment; socal servces.! Development as referred to n the Narob Forward-lookng Strateges covers not only the mprovement n the qualty of lfe for wolen n the poorer and developng countres, but s ntended to reach out to alllwomen, regardless of the degree to whch ther natons are ndustralsed t and measures recommended under ths headng generally am for the realsaton of a socety n whch women can fully and freely partake n a process of growth, - both mental, physcal and materal. On a general level the Strateges urge governments everywhere to commt themselves to ths am by workng towards the removal of obstacles that prevent women from takng part n effectve development as ntellectuals, polcy~akers, decson-makers, planners, contrbutors and be~efcares. t s essental that women take part n the totalty of the deve~opment process wth an equal share of power n gudng development efforts a~d n benefttng 1 from them.. The \lallen- n-deve 1 opment ssue, says the Document. has ~enera lly been seen as a welfare problem and consequently has been a low-prorty subject n many governments '.. natonal polcy-plannng. Therefore specfc women's polces have had lttle attenton, awatng the atta~nment of development rather than beng nstrumental to t. Women's contrbuton to development and therefore therlrght to receve an equtable share of the benefts thereof, should, however, pe recognsed by governments and be reflected n the full range of developm+nt polces and programmes n all sectors, and natonal plans wth specf~c targets for women n development should be made. 1

28 -28- Governments should also be aware of the many ways n whch women's nvolvement n decson-makng and management n ecvnomc and socal structures s lnked to the achevement of development, and therefore women should be present n such areas as worker partcpaton n management, ndustral democracy, worker self-management, trade unons and co-operatves. The Strateges urge governments to nsttutonalse women's ssues by settng up approprate machnery n all sectors of development. n addton they should drect specfc attenton to effectng a postve change n the atttudes of male 'decson-makers, and a socal awareness of the legal rghts of women to partcpate n all aspects of development - plannng, mplementaton and evaluaton - should be created. Ths s an area n whch women's organsatons and groups have an mportant role to play and governments should stmulate ther growth and formaton by gvng fnancal and organsatonal support when approprate. The Document ponts out that there has not been t.ffcent awareness and understandng of the complex relatonshp'between development and the advancement of women to ~educe the problems n formulatng polces. Whle durng the earler part of the Decade the belef that economc growth would automatcally beneft women was more wdely shared, an evaluaton of the experence of the Decade has shed consderable doubt on ths over-smplfed premse. Therefore the need to understand ths relatonshp better and to gather, analyse and dssemnate nformaton for more ~ffectve polcy-makng has become greater. Governments,then,should comple gender-specfc statstcs and nformaton and develop nformaton systems to take decsons and acton.on the advancement of women. The remunerated and, n partcular, the unremunerated contrbutons of women to all aspects of development are mportant here and should be measured and reflected n natonal accounts and economc statstcs as well as n the gross natonal product. Concrete steps should be taken, also,.to quantfy the unremunerated contrbuton of women to agrculture, food producton, reproducton and household work. The Strateges emphasse that economc and development measures must not turn out to have an adverse effect on women n any sense. Therefore the mpact of scence and technology, for example, on women's health, employment, ncome and status should be assessed and the relevant fndngs ntegrated n polcy formulaton to ensure that women beneft fully from avalable technology and that any adverse effects are mnmsed. Another specfc example s that n exp'lorng modes for transportaton - lke those amed at reducng the heavy burden on women n developng countres carryng farm produce, water and fuelwood as head-loads - efforts should be made to avod loss of ncome and employment for women by, for example, attachng costs to transportaton facltes that may be too hgh for them.. Smlarly where energy s to be used as a substtute for muscle n the performance of the ndustral and domestc work of women, care should be taken that women do not lose ther jobs and tasks to men. n order to enhance the self-relance of women economc ndependence must be establshed frst. Governments should therefore pay attenton to strateges amed at helpng women to generate and keep ther own ncome. Such measures must necessarly focus on the removal of legal and any other barrers that prevent women from usng exstng credt systems.

29 -29- Women's organsatons, co-operatves, trade unons and rofessonal assocatons, also, should have access to credt at~d other francal assstence as well as to tranng and extenson serv.ces, and gove1rnments should mantan supportve tes wth women's grass-roots organsatohs such as selfhelp communty development and mutual ad socetes. Governments should also support local research actvtes and loca l experts to h~lp dentfy ways towards the advancement of women, focussng on the self:-,relant, selfsustanng and self-generatng socal, economc and poltcal! development of women. Wth regard to mprovng the self-relance of rural wombn, fnancal, techncal, advsory and nsttutonal support should be prov:ded to them wth the assstance of women's organsatons and groups. f 1the provson of farm nput, prmary processng and the wholesale marketng ofl women's producton were mproved, women's co-operatves could be promote~ to operate on a larger scale. Comprehensve support should thus also bel gven to women's assocatons to facltate the acqushon of farm n1 u::s and nformaton, and to facltate the marketng of produce. n the nformal sector, also, governments should suppo~t women nvolved n tradtonal craft and cottage ndustres as well as ther 1smaller ndustral efforts by makng avalable a better access to credts, tran1ng facltes, marketng opportuntes and technologcal gudance. Produce~s co-operatves should be supported and women should be encouraged to establ!sh, manage and own small enterprses. The Forward-lookng Strateges state that the nternatonal economc crss has tended to ht develcwng countres the hardest. The Document explans that these countres' ggantc publc and prvate ex!ternal debts, the nadequate readjustment polces n respect of the negatjve effects of the economc crss, lnked to protectonsm aganst the exp9rtng efforts of developng countres, as well as the falure to acheve the restructurng of nternatonal economc relatons on a just and democratc lbaszfs, cons tt-. ute the man reasons why ther efforts to attan the objectves of the UN Decade for Women have had lttle chance of success. Governments are urged to establsh mult-sectoral programmes to promote the produc~ve capacty of rural poor women n food and anmal producton. The reducton of such women's work load could be acheved by varous measures, such as the ntroducton of adequate chld-care facltes, a reversal of ther paupersaton,. mprovement of ther access to all sources of energy, as wen as to adequate water, health, educaton and transportaton facltes., Approprate food-processng technologes can also free!women from tme and energy consumng tasks and thus effect mprovements n th;er health and the possblty to ncrease ther productvty and ncome, elther drectly or by freeng them to engage n other actvtes. The desgn, testng and dssemnaton of the technology should be approprate also td the women who wll be the users and, agan, non-governmental and women's o~gansatons can play a valuable role n ths process.!

30 -30- Employment Polces amed at the advancement of women n all types of employment should provde the means to moblse publc awareness, poltcal support, and nsttutonal and fnancal resources, so that women can obtan jobs nvolvng more sklls.and responsblty, ncludng those at the manageral level n all sectors of the economy. Measures should also cover mprovement n the occupatonal moblty of women, especally n the mddle and lower levels of the work-force where the majorty of women work. Elmnaton of all forms of dscrmnaton by legslatve measures centrng especally on the wage dfferences yet exstng between women and men carryng out work of equal value, s strongly recommended n the Narob Strateges. Dfferences n legal workng condtons of women and men should also be done away wth where there are dsadvantages to women and prvleges should be accorded to both male and female parents. Acton should also be taken to promote desegregaton of employment. Legslaton and acton by trade unons should also be effected to ensure equty n all jobs and avod explotatve trends n part-tme work; n ths respect the tendency towards the. femnsaton of part-tme, temporary and seasonal work should be tackled as well. Furthermore, the mportance of the possblty for all workers to work flexble hours, whch would encourage the sharng of parental and domestc responsbltes by women and men, s underlned strongly n the Forward-lookng Strateges. Re-entry programmes, complete wth tranng and s'tpends, should be provded for women who have been out of the labour force for some tme. Tax structures also, should be revsed so that the tax lablty, on the combned earnngs of marred couples does not consttute a dsncentve to women's employment. Workng condtons for women should be mproved n all formal and nformal areas by the publc and prvate sectors. Protectve measures aganst work-related health hazards should be set up for men and women alke. Acton should also be taken to prevent sexual harassment on the job, or sexual explotaton n specfc jobs, such as domestc servce. These rghts should be enforced by legslatve measures, and measures enablng workers to seek legal redress should be taken by governments n ths feld. A two-fold attack should be launched on poverty and unemployment. Women should be nvolved n all phases of plannng, ancl programmes should contnue to fght dscrmnaton aganst women, provde the requred supportve servces and emphasse ways to generate ncome. Especal attenton should be devoted to the nformal sector snce ths wll be the major employment outlet of a consderable number of underprvleged urban and rural women. The co-operatve movement could play an ndspensable role n ths area. As regards the need to combat unemployment the Strateges Document very postvely reflects European Communty polcy. Hgh unemployment levels persst n many countres and governments should strengthen ther efforts to cope wth ths ssue. Gven that n many cases women account for a dsproportonate share of total unemployment, that ther unemployment rates are hgher than those of men and that, owng to lower qualfcatons, geographcal moblty and other barrers, women's prospects for alternatve jobs are mostly lmted, more attenton should be gven to unemployment as

31 -31- t affects women. Acton to allevate the consequences of unl.ployment for women n declnng sectors should be forthcomng ar.d n ths ~espect tranng measures -to make the trans_ton to other employment sectors aser should be mplemented. The Strateges reflect that although general polces to reduce unemployment, or to create new jobs, may beneft both men andwomen, they are by ther nature often of greater assstance to men than to wo~en. For ths reason, specfc measures should be taken to permt women to ~eneft equally wth men from natonal polces to create jobs.! Hgh unemployment among young people, wherever t exst$, s a matter of serous concern, and polces desgned to deal wth ths problem should take nto account that unemployment rates for young women arelmostly much hgher than those for young men. Care has to be taken, howev,r, that measures amed at reducng unemployment among young people should not f'egatvely affect the employment of women n other age groups - for exam, le by lowerng mnmum wages. mportant also, s to make sure women do not ace any mpedment to employment opportuntes and benefts n c..1~es where ther husbands are employed. Health n the secton devoted to health the paragraph dealng ~t~ occupatonal protectve legslaton s of partcular relevance to the Comm~nty. The Strateges recommend that occupatonal health and safety provjsons should equally cover female and male workers. Thngs to focus on are the rsks endangerng men's and women's reproductve capabltes, unbotn chldren, as well as any rsks to the health of pregnant and lactatng women. The rest of the secton centres on the vtal role of w~en as provders of health care both nsde and outsde the home. Basc serv es should be created ~nd strengthened for the delvery of health care wth! due regard to the levels of nfant and maternal mortalty and the needs of the most vulnerable groups, as well as the need to control locally pre~alent endemc and epdemc deseases. The hgher professonal and manageral postons n health nsttutons should henceforth be flled wth a greater proporton of women and to ths end supportve acton should be set up tb ncrease the number of women who go nto the hgher levels of medcal trahng or healthrelated felds. f women are to be effectve n communty nvolvement they should also be represented n natonal and local health counc~ls and commttees. The World Health Organsaton's goal of Health for All by the year 2000 can be promoted by a whole range of actons. Healt~ educaton can help to acheve a change n atttudes and values that are gnprant, dscrmnatory and detrmental to women's and grls' health. t canl also encourage greater sharng by men and women of famly and health-care re~ponsbltes. mmedate access to water and santary facltes for women s~ould be provded and governments should consult and tran women n pl~nnng and mplementaton of water-supply projects. Women need to have ~ccess and control over ncome to provde adequate nutrton for themselyes and ther chldren. Generally, governments should try to create more awareness of the specal needs of women, such as, for example, ~he need to! take suffcent rest n the last months of pregnancy and whle breastfeedng,, -!and the mportance of reducng nutrtonal dseas-es such as anaema n women of all. ages. 1! '

32 -32- Governments should take acton to vaccnate chldren and pregnant women aganst certan endemc local dseases as well as other dseases as recommended by the World Health Organsaton and dfferences n the coverage of vaccnaton between grls and boys should be elmnated. Grls should be vaccnated aganst rubella before they reach puberty n regons where ths dsease s prevalent and the qualty and preservaton of vaccnes generally should be of a hgh standard. The nternatonal communty should also fght aganst the traffckng, marketng and dstrbuton of unsafe and neffectve drugs and spread nformaton on ther ll effects. Smlarly the Strateges Document recommends that fertlty-control methods ~~d drugs be made to conform to adequate standards of effcency and safety. Health facltes should be such that clncs dealng wth maternal and chld health-care as well as famly plannng are easly reached and that openng tmes do not conflct wth women's workng hours. Screenng tests and treatment of women's common dseases and cancer should be avalable wherever possble, and wth regard to the levels of me, trrnal mortalty whch are unacceptably hgh n developng countres, t s emphassed that the reducton of maternal- mortalty from now to the year 2000 to a mnmum level should be a key target for governments and non-governmental organsatons ncludng professonal organsatons. tn vew of the fact that pregnancy occurrng n adolescent grls has an adverse effect on the health and psychologcal state of both mother and chld governments are urged to delay the commencement of chld~bearng by rasng the age of entry nto marrage n countres where ths age s stll qute low. The Narob Strateges pont out that all couples and ndvduals have the basc rght to decde freely and nformedly the number and spacng of ther chldren. Governments should make avalable, as a matter of urgency, nformaton, educaton,as well as the means, to help women and men take famly plannng decsons. Women should have adequate nformaton on contraceptves, and educaton for responsble parenthood and famly lfe should be wdely avalable and drected at both'men and women. Access to all these servces should be encouraged by governments rrespectve of ther populaton polces and should be carred out wth the partcpaton of women's organsatons to guarantee ther success. Educaton To get a clearer vew of the totalty of measures recommended n the Narob Strateges n the feld of educaton, all relevant tems from the three Chapters of Equalty, Development and Peace have been classed together and wll be dscussed n ths secton. Educaton s vewed as the basc tool that should be gven to women to ful~l ther role as full members of socety. Governments are urged to nclude women at all levels of the educatonal polcy-makng and mplementaton process, and one of the man polces to be acted upon should be the revson and adaptaton of women's educaton to the realtes of the developng world. The Strateges stress that governments should recognse the need for a body of knowledge on women's studes from the pers.pect ve of women themselves. Such studes shquld then be developed to alter the current models nfluencng the consttuton of knowledge, as these serve to sustan a value system that renforces nequalty. Any new or exstng educatonal servces should be drected at women as potental polcy-makers, ntellectuals, decson-makers, planners, contrbutors and benefcares

33 1-33- wth partcular attenton to the 1960 UNESCO Conventon aga st Dscrmnaton n Educaton. Specal measures should be taken by governments and the nternatonal organsatons to elmnate the hgh rate of llteracy by the year Prorty prograflllles are requred to overcome the specal obstacles that have generally led to hgher llteracy rates among women thlm among men and efforts to deal wth ths stuaton could be drected for example, at the promoton of functonal lteracy, whch places specal e~phass on health, nutrton and vable economc sklls and opportuntes and should therefore appeal to women makng the step towards 1 teracy a~ a more realstc proposton.!. The causes of hgh absenteesm and drop-out rates of gprls n the educatonal system must be addressed. There need to be ncentves to ensure that equal opportuntes to educaton, and later to wbrk, are taken advantage of by grls, and ths needs to be supported y set~ng up nformaton networks, by establshng the necessary legslaton ana by r~rentng all educatonal personnel. Governments should also fnance adul~ educaton prograflllles for the beneft of those women who never complete~ ther educaton or were forced to nterrupt ther studes owng to famly r~ponsbltes or lack of fnancal resources. The present educatonal system, whch n many countre~ s stll sharply dvded by sex, wth grls recevng nstructon n pome economcs and boys n techncal subjects should be revsed<~o that curfcula and general standards of educaton are the same for females and males. ext books and other readng materals should be contnuously evaluated and updated to make sure that they reflect postve, dynamc and partcpatory mages of women and to present men actvely nvolved n all aspects oflfamly responsbltes. New teachng methods should be encouraged, espec ~ally audovsual technques to demonstrate clearly the equalty of the sexes, and educatonal personnel should be retraned n order to elmn~te all dscrmnatory gender stereotypng n educaton. All educatonal and occupatonal tranng should be fl~xble and accessble to both men and women. t should am to mprove employment possbltes.and promoton prospects for women, ncludng t~ose areas where technologes are mprovng rapdly.- and vocatonal tranng! programmes should stress the mportance of equal opportunty for women ~t all levels of work and work-related actvtes. t s mportant, abo,l~hat a fully ntegrated system of tranng has drect lnkages wth emplo Dent needs and s pertnent to future emp 1 oyment and deve 1 opment trends - t h1 s n order to 1 avod wastage of human resources.! Strateges on educaton wth regard to the Decade's th~me of Peace nclude the recommendaton that chldren be educated n an a/tmosphere of understandng, dalogue and respect for others. The provs on of chldren 1 wth games, publcatons and other meda promotng or favour1ng the noton of war, aggresson, cruelty, excessve desre for power and :other forms of volence, should be dscouraged. Governments, educatonal ~sttutons and non governmertal organsatons have an mportant role to pla~ n the development of a hgh-qualty content and a wdespread dssemnaton of books and programmes on educaton for peace. Women should take an actrve part n the creaton. of those materals, whch should nclude case stud~s of peaceful settlements of dsputes, non-volent movements and passve r~sstance, and the recognton of peace-seekng ndvduals.

34 -34- Co-operaton amongst peace researchers, government offcals, nongovernmental organsatons and actvsts should be ~ncouraged and fostered, and the partcpaton of women n peace research, ncludng research on women and peace, should be promoted. Food, Water and Agrculture The Strateges Document ponts out that women - as key ~ood producers n many regons of the world - play a central role n the development of food and agrcultural producton, partcpatng actvely n all phases of the producton cycle, ncludng the conservaton, storage, processng and marketng of food and agrcultural products. Ther vtal contrbuton to economc development therefore, must be better recognsed and rewarded. To ths end gender-specfc statstcs and nformaton accurately reflectng women's contrbuton to food producton should be developed and should nfluence the restructurng of rural development schemes to res..,ond to women's needs, as well as the allocaton of resources between women a11d men n mxed projects. Development programmes need to be desgned n such a way that women are fully ntegrated at all levels of plannng and mplementaton - ths wth a vew to enhancng ther role as food producers and to ensure that they receve proper benefts and remuneraton reflectng ther mportant contrbuton n ths feld. The Strateges state that f women's partcpaton n food producton projects s to be fully successful, such projects need to be located wthn techncal mnstres as well as mnstres of socal affars. Ther partcpaton would also be enhanced f they were gven the opportunty to hold offcal postons, to receve tranng n leadershp, admnstraton and fnancal management. The Document also warns that there are ndcatons that poverty and landlessness among rural women wll ncrease sgnfcantly by the y~ar f ths trend s to be stemmed governments must, as a matter of pr6rty, set up stable nvestment and growth polces for rural development and the country's resources - whch n many cases are largely derved from the rural areas but spent on urban development - must be reallocated. Rural women's access to land, captal, technology, know-how and other productve resources should be secure:!. A woole range of rghts and benefts should be granted them on an equal bass wth men f they are to contnue ther rural occupatons on an economcally worthwhle level. They should, for example, be. gven full rghts to land ownershp, regstraton of land ttles and allocaton of tenances on rrgaton or settlement schemes. They should also beneft from land reform. Ther customary land''and nhertance rght - under condtons of land shortage, land mprovement or shfts nto cash-croppng. should pe protected. mplementaton of nhertance laws should be modfed so that women can nhert a far share of lvestock, agrcultural machnery etc. They should also be supported n ther efforts to ncrease ther productvty and ncome by beng gven full access to nvestment fnance and tranng, wth prorty placed on producton, especally of staple foods. The stress on ths latter tem s connected wth t~e great concern expressed n the Document at the dramatc deteroraton n ~can food and agrcultural producton, and the resultng alarmng ncr~ase n the number of people, especally women and chldren, exposed to Wunger, malnutrton and even starvaton. The nternatonal communty s strongly urged to assst Afrcan women n ther role as food producers by contnung and, where possble, ncreasng fnancal assstance, geared especally to tranng n food technologes so as to allevate the problems resultng from extended drought and a severe shortage of food. Donor countres should also contrbute to the

35 0 specal Natons regons funds launched by varous organsaton's for examplel, the Unted Development Fund for Women - and emergency ad for f~mne strcken should be a prorty The mportance of tranng and research n food and agrcultural development s underlned n the Narob Strateges and womeh should be fully.nvolved n ths area. Research and expermentaton should centre around both tradtonal knowledge and modern technology. Tr~dtonal producton and storage technques should be mproved and mod~rn technology programmes ntroducng new crops and mproved varetes, rot~ton of crops mxed farmng, low-cost sol fertlty technques, sol and ~ater conservaton methods, etc., should be set up.! 0 Great mportance s attached to governments concentrat~ng efforts towards the preservaton and mantenance free from polluton! of any knd of water supply for rrgaton purposes, domestc consumptorr~~s well as for the needs of lvestock. To ths end wells, bore- o1es, drans and locally made water-catchment devces should be constructed. women should be nvolved n all the stages of warter supply plannng and should be encouraged to receve tranng to take responsblty for the management of 0 hydraulc nfrastructures and equpment. n the felds df anmal husbandry, fshery and forestr~ programmes women should partcpate more effectvely, both as contrbutbrs and benefcares. Governments should also moblse women n th~ fght aganst desertfcaton through large-scale afforrestaton campagns!, whch should concentrate on the plantng of woodlots, the use of collect~e farms and seed 1 ngs! On a more general level the Strateges underlne the ~portance of rural women havng access to nformaton. Ths should be efwected through natonal nformaton campagns usng all avalable meda as ~ell as establshed women's groups. Campagns should am to cover t~e followng range of actvtes : nterestng local populatons n crea~vty and nnovaton through open-ar flms, talks, vsts of the targ 1et groups to areas where needs are smlar and demonstratons of scentf11c and technologcal nnovatons {that have been confrmed as ecologcallyl~safe); the partcpaton of women farmers n these nformaton campagns should be welcomed, and acton should be taken to nvolve women n tecjhncal cooperaton among developng countres and n the exchange of!nformaton. ndustry The Strateges state that \'.Omen should be enabled to p:artcpate ncreasngly n polcy-makng and decson-makng at all levlels of ndustry. Governments should expand women's employment opportuntes, :and drect ther efforts to avod the explotaton of female labour. mprovements n the earnngs and workng condtons of women n the tradtonal 1and selfemployed sectors of both the rural and urban economy should 1be made. Approprate legslaton n the feld of female employment should be adopted and mplemented at the natonal level. Such legslalton should be n accordance wth nternatonal labour standards and should, am to remove

36 -36- dscrmnatory practces concernng employment condtons, health and safety, and to guaranteeng provsons for pregnant women and maternty benefts and chldcare. Smlarly socal securty benefts should be guaranteed to women on an equal footng wth men. Efforts to get more female workers recruted n new captal-ntensve, hgh productvty sectors should be encouraged. The problems related to the ndustral development of the developng countres reflect the dependent nature of ther economes and the need to promote ndustres based on processng domestc agrcultural producton as a prme ssue of development. Women are an mportant part of the agrcultural work-force, and ths fact should be taken nto account n any acton taken to counter the present stuaton. Further factors that should be borne n mnd by governments are the lnk between agrculture and ndustry; the need to elmnate all obstacles to ndustralsaton (such as energy, lmted markets, the rural exodus, poor nfrastructure, the lack of techncal know-how and of fnancal resources, etc), the need f, r women's equal and ncreased partcpaton n ndustry whch could be secured partly by ther access to adult educaton and n-servce programmes as well as by.. encouragng them to take part n collectve organsatons ncludng trade unons; the beneft of promotng ndustral co-operaton among developng countres; the beneft of assstance from nternatonal organsatons and developed countres to developng countres n ther ndustralsaton effort and the ntegraton of women nto that process. Trade and Commercal Servces The Narob Strateges name a number of measures that could be taken for the beneft of women workng n, or havng to deal wth areas of trade and commerce. Thus legslatve and admnstratve barrers preventng women from havng an equal access to fnance and credt facltes should be removed. Postve measures such as gvng loan guarantees, techncal advce and marketng development servces should also be consdered. Governments need to further support women traders by mprovng nfrastructure and management of markets, as well as transportaton and socal servces; opportuntes to receve tranng n subjects such as book-keepng, fnance, packagng etc., should also be avalable to women traders. Efforts should furthennore be made to encourage enterprses to tran women n economc sectors that tradtonally have been closed to them. ~~s would promote the dversfcaton of women's employment and would hel~to elmnate gender bas from labour markets. Scence and Technology The effectve partcpaton of women n the decson-makng and mplementaton process related to scence and technology, ncludng plannng and settng prortes for research and development, and the choce and applcaton of scence and technology for development should be enhanced. The Strateges stress the mportance of the need for governments to assess the mpact of scence and technology on women's employment n the varous sectors of the economy, and the ensure that women beneft fully from avalable

37 -37- technologes and that any adverse effects are mnmsed. Women should be actvely nvolved n actvtes regardng the peaceful uses of outer space and should take part n all decson-ma~ng n ths area. n order to be able to do so they should have access to advanced educaton and tranng and should be encouraged to study scence, mat~ematcs and engneerng at unversty level. nformaton on the peacef 1 uses of outer space should be made avalable to all women and women s org nsatons n all o countr1es. Women wth appr~prate sklls should be employed at mjnageral and professonal levels and not be restrcted to workng n ser~ce-level jobs. Workng condtons for women n the scence and technology felds should be mproved to elmnate dscrmnatory classfcaton of jobs land to protect ther rght to promoton. Efforts should be made to make s~re that women obtan ther far share of jobs at all levels n new technology ndustres. Communcatons The Strateges recognse the crtcal role of the com~uncatons sector n elmnatng stereotyped mages of women. f ths ls to be done successfully, the partcpaton of women must be ncreased ~tall levels of communcatons polcy and decson-makng, as well as n pr~gramme desgn, mplementaton. and montorng. The meda s portrayal of stereotyped mages of womeh and also that of the advertsng ndustry can havela profoundly negatve effec~ on atttudes towards and among women. Wome should be fully nvolved n the choce and development of alternatve forms of communcaton and should have an equal say n the determnaton of the co tent of all publc nformaton efforts.. The cultural meda, ncludng rtual,ldrama, dalogue, oral lterature and musc all have an mportant role n development efforts to enhance communcaton. Fnancal support should be avalable for women s own cultural projects amed at changng the tradtonal ma~es of women and men, and nternatonal co-operaton regardng nformaton o~ the experences of women, and to enhance the ~wareness of accomplshments a1 ready made and tasks that reman to be fulflled, should be stmulated.. 1 n addton the enrolment of women n publcly operated mass communcatons networks and n educaton and tranng should be ncreased, and organsatons amng to promote the role of women n development as contrbutors and benefcares should be supported n ther effort~ to establsh effectve communcatons and nformaton networks. 1 Housng, Settlement, Communty Development and Transport The Strateges call for women to be much more promnently nvolved n housng and nfrastructure projects. More women should move nto archtecture, engneerng and related felds so that they can take part more effectvely n professonal and decson-makng postons. Women should be provded wth constructon, mantenance and management skl~s so that they could be nvolved n the management of facltes, and cou~~ be consulted to more effect n formulatng the specfc needs of women to ce ncorporated n housng, communty development, slum and squatter projects,! and so on. Women shou.1 d a 1 so have access to housng and mprovement cr1ed ts and exstng legslaton or admnstratve practces endangerng women s! ownershp and!!!

38 -38- tenancy rghts should be revoked. There s tould also be s.pecal attenton for the problems of women who are sole supporters of ther famly, and low-cost hou sng and facltes shou 1 d be provded to them. On the subject of transport the Strateges state that all measures desgned to.mprove land, water and ar transport should take nto account the needs of women both as producers and consumers. Natonal and local decsons concernng polces on subsdes, prcng, choce of technology for constructon and mantenance should be based on consderaton of the possble m~ct on the emplo.}411ent, ncome and health of women. n the desgn and choce of vehcular technology the needs of women, especally those wth young chldren should be kept n mnd. Women transport operators and owners should be provded wth better credt.facltes and should have an equal access to the allocaton of contracts. Ths s partcularly mportant for women's groups and collectves, especally n rural areas, that are usually \Ell organse:j but are cut off from servceable means of transport and communcaton. Energy The Narob Strateges recommend that energy consumpton be ratonalsed and energy systems be mproved. Women should be traned as producers, users and managers of energy sources. Educaton and tranng should prepare women to take an equal part n decson-makng n ths area. Grass-roots partc 1»ton of women n energy-needs assessment should be supported and assessment of new energy sources, technologes and delvery systems should specfcally consder the reducton of the drudgery that consttues a large part of the work of poor urban and rural W>men. n vew of the mplcatons of ncreasng energy costs and the current threats posed by nflaton, mmedate attenton should be gven to fuel conservaton methods and mproved or new sources of energy, such as bomass, solar and wnd energy, geothermal and nuclear energy, as well as mn-hydroelectrc power plants - ths s especally relevant to low-ncome countres where a hgh percentage of domestc use n total energy consumpton s prevalent. nformaton on all these possbltes should be made avalable to women's ass>.catons and non-governmsltal organsatons for further d ssennaton to womsl ever)where. New programmes, such as farm-woodlot development should be undertaken to prevent the depleton of forests, wth nvolvemslt of both men and W>men. n the commercalsaton of fuelwood energy, care should be taken that women do not lose ther sources of ncome to mddlemen and urban ndustres. Env ronm Sl t Under ths headng the Strateges state that deprvaton of tradtonal means of lvelhood s most often a result of envronmental degradaton, resultng from such natural and man-made dsasters as drought, floods, hurrcanes, eroson, desertfcaton, deforestaton and napproprate land use. Women affected by such dsasters need optons for alternatve means of lvelhood. Women must also have the same opportunty as men to partcpate n the wage-earnng labour force n such programmes as rrgaton and tree-plantng and n other programmes needed to upgrade urban and rural envdronments. Urgent steps need to be taken to strengthen the machnery for

39 -39- nternatonal economc co-operaton n the exploraton of wa~er resources and the control of desertfcaton and other envronmental dsasters. Governments should also take steps to dssemnate nformaton amhg to mprove the s elf-telp potental of women n conservng and mprovng! ther en v ronmslt. Soca 1 Servces Throughout the Document the Narob Strateges refer t~ the mportance of the avalablty of an adequate socal nfrastructure. T~e weght ths ssue carres s underlned agan n a separate secton deal~ng wth ths subject. Governments are urged to gve prorty to the df'v~lopm~t of socal nfrastructure, such as adequate care and educaton fcjt the chldren of workng parents, whether such W>rk s carred out at home, ~ the felds, or n the factores - ths wth t.he am of reducng the "douple burden" of workng women n both urban and rural areas. Governments should lkewse offer ncentves to employers to provde chld-care servces! and the possblty for both men and women to work flexble workng hours.j The Document also calls for Government acton to establsh organsatons 'for consumer protecton, to protect the p.~blc from unsafe goods, dangero~s drugs, unhealthy foods and unethcal and explotatve marketng pract1ces. Governments should also take measures to dentfy, prevent and el~nate all volence, ncludng famly volence aganst, w;>men and ch ldrf'. They should also am at makng women conscous that maltreatment s a form of volence aganst whch they have the rght (and the duty) to fght, whether they are themselves the vctms or the w'b'lesses. Long-term machnery should moreover be set up to offer ad and gudance for maltreated women and chldren, as well as the people, often men, who rna 1 treat them.! ' V. PEACE Despte the achevements of the Decade, women's nvolv~ent n governmental and non-governmental actvtes related to ~edc~, as well as n eduaton for p'eace and peace research, tas remaned lm e The Strateges po'nt out, however, that unversal and ~urable peace cannot be attaned wthout the full and equal partcpaton pf women n nternatonal relatons, and partcularly n decson-makng! concernng peace. t s mportant therefore to ncreasewomen's unders~andng and awareness of constructve negotatons amed at reachng pos~tve results for nternatonal peace and securty and to encourage women ~o partcpate n these ssues. To ths end governments whch have not alr~ady done so should undertake all approprate measures to elmnate exsthng dscrmnatory practces towards women and to provde them wth equal oppor~untes to jon, at all levels, the'cvl servce, to enter the dplomatc servce and to represent ther countres as menbers of delegatons to natonal, regonal and nternatonal meetngs, ncludng conferences on peace, Fonflct resolutonr,~.

40 -40- d sarmammt, and meetngs of the Securty Councl and other Unted Natons bodes. mportant, n ths context, s for governments to provde nformaton to womm on opjx>rtuntes for such partcpaton n the publc servce. Women should also be encouraged and gven fnancal support to take unversty courses n governmmt, nternatonal relatons and dplomacy n order to obtan the necessary professonal qualfcator$ for careers n felds relatng to peace and nternat on a 1 securty. The Narob Strateges observe that the major obstacles to human progress, and specfcally to the advancement of women, le n the threat to peace resultng from contnung nternatonal tenson. The Document lsts as the ~rst barrers to human progress, the unabp.ted arms race, parteularly n the n~clear feld, wars, armed conflcts, external domnaton, foregn occupaton, acquston of land by force, aggresson, mperalsm, colonalsm, neo-colonalsm, racsm, aparthed, gross volaton of human rghts, terrorsm, represson, the dsappearance of persons,?n1 dscrmnaton on the bass of se<. The elmnaton of all these obsta~l~s to nternatonal peace, W'lch are renforced by hstorcally establ s l"ed hostle atttudes and by a lack of tolerance and respect for dfferent cultures and tradtons, should be a prorty concern for all governments. The arms race n partcular should be halted n ts course and resources used to fuel the arms race should be dverted to the more proftable purposes of developmental and humantaran progress. The Document warns that human~ s confronted wth the choce between haltng the arms race and proceedng to dsarmament, or the possblty of annhlaton'/ and states that the growng opposton of women to the danger of war, es pec'ally a nuclear war, and ther support for dsarmament, must be respected. States should be encouraged to ensure unhndered flow and access to nformaton wth regard to the varous aspects of dsarmament, so as to avod the dssemnaton of false and tendentous nformaton. Publcty should also be gven by governments and non-governmental organsatons to the man treates concluded n the felds of arms control and dsarmame1t, and more should be done to moblse women to overcome socal apathy and helplessness n relaton to dsarmament and the mplementaton of tl"ese agreements. On the subject of women n areas affected by armed conflcts, foregn nterventon and threats to peace, the Strateges state that armed conflcts and emergency stuatons mpose a serous threat to tl"e lves of womm and chldren, causng constant fear, danger of dsplacement, destructon, devastaton, P,yscal abuse, socal and famly dsrupton, and abandonmmt. They can also result n complete denal of access to adequate health and educatonal servces, loss of job opjx)rtuntes and overall W>rsenrYJ of materal condtons. nternatonal nstruments, provdng a general frame: work for tl"e protecton of cvlans n tmes of hostltes and the bass of provsons of humantaran assstance and protecton to womm and chldren as well as the measures proposed n the 1974 Declaraton on the Protecton of Women and Chldren n Emergency and Armed Conflct (General Assembly reso 1 ut on 3318 (XXX)), should be taken nto account by governments. n the context of women and chldren lvng under the regme of aparthed, the Document refers to the Programme of Acton of the World Conference to Combat Racsm and Racal Dscrmnaton (1978) whch provdes an overall framework for acton. ts objectves are to eradcate aparthed and to enable black Afrcan people n South Afrca - the most oppressed group amongst(whom are women and chldren - to enjoy ther full soveregn rghts

41 -41- n the country. The Strateges moreover urge governwents th t have not already done so to sgn and ratfy the nternatonal Conventlon on the Suppresson and Punshment of the Crme Bf Ararthed (1973). On the subject of the dffcult lvng condtons n c~mps and outsde, that Palestnan women and chldren have had to face for more than three decades, the Narob Strateges state that apart from the fadt that Palestnan people must recover ther rghts to self-determnaton and the rght to establsh an ndependent State, the specal and mmedate needs of Palestnan women and chldren should be dentfed and apprdprate provsons made. Ths ncludes the settng up of projects to hellp Palestnan women n the felds of health, educaton and vocatonal tra~ng. On a more general level the document stresses the mpo1tance of the role of all women and men as nformal educators n the p~ ocess of brngng up younger generatons n an atmosphere of compasson! ~oler~nce, mutual concern and trust, wth an awareness that all peo~e bj1ong ~o the same world communty. Any such acton, also to be taken at faml~ and negh~ourhood levels, as well as at natonal and nternatonal levels,! should an to acheve a peaceful socal envronment compatble wth human 9gnty.! V. AREAS OF SPECAL CONCERN n ths Chapter the Strateges turn to those wome.n wh~because of ther specal characterstcs experence not only the problems co ~ ~~on to all women, but also specfc dffcultes due to ther soco-eco~omc status, health, age, mnorty stuaton, or a combnaton of these fjctors. Wth regard to women n areas affected by drought the ~trateg es observe that the phenomenon of drought and desertfcaton h~s grown and developed ncessantly durng the Decade, no longer affectng 'merely some localtes n a sngle country, but several entre countres.! n vew of the partcularly mserable stuaton n these States, n wholh famne and a far reachng deteroraton of the envronment set n as a result of the desertfcaton process, steps should be taken by the nterna,tonal communty to ntensfy efforts for the fonnulaton and mplementaton of programmes amed at food securty and self-suffcency, n p~rtcular by the optmum control and explotaton of hydro-geologcal resources. Measures should also be taken to nvolve women mor~ closely n the desgn, 1 mplementaton and evaluaton of the programmes envsaged and ensure ample access for them to the means of producton, processng and preserva~on technques. On the subject of urban poor women the strateges note 1that t can generally be expected that by the year 2000 c 1 ose to ha 1 f the 1 number of women n the world w 11 be 1 v ng n urban areas, and that tl s envsaged that there could be a consderable ncrease n the number of poor women among them. To deal effectvely wth ths ssue, governments! should organse mult-sectoral programmes wth emphass on economc actvte s and the elmnaton of dscrmnaton. n ths context partcular at~enton should be devoted to the nfonnal sector, whch consttutes. a major_putlet for employment of a consderable number of urban poor women. '

42 -42- Under the headng ~lderly Women the Strateges refer to the nternatonal Plan of Acton on Agng adopted by the World Assembly on Agng n 1982, whch apart from recommendng actons applcable to both men and women, recognses a number of specfc areas of concern for elderly women. Ther longer lfe expectancy, for example, frequently means an old age aggravated by economc.need, partcularly for those women whose lfetmes were spent n unpad and unrecognsed work n the home wth lttle or no access to a penson. For ths reason long-tenn polces are needed, drected towards provdng socal nsurance for women n ther own rght. Govern~ ments should explore the possbltes of employng elderly women n productve and creatve ways and encourage ther partcpaton n socal actvtes. Research should also be drected towards the slowng down of premature agng, due to a lfetme of stress, excessve work-load, malnutrton and repeated pregnancy. Wth respect to young women ntatves begun for the 1985 nternaton a 1 Youth Year should be expanded so that young \\ )J, en are protected from abuse and explotaton and asssted to develop ther full potental. Access to the educatonal and vocatonal tranng of young women n all felds of occupaton should be mproved and assstance to young women and grls should be gven. Specal retranng programmes for teenage mothers and grls who have dropped out of school should be developed and the problems of sexual harassment and explotaton n employment should be gven partcular attenton. On the subject of abused women the Strateges note that gender-specfc volence s ncreasng and that governments should affrm the dgnty of women as a prorty acton. n addton to mmedate assstance to women vctms of volence, governments should undertake to ncrease publc awareness of volence aganst women as a socetal problem, and should take measures to elmnate such volence, n partcular by suppress-ng degradng mages and representatons of women n socety. To counte.r the ncrease n the numbers of desttute women n the developng and developed countres the Strateges urge governments to ensure that the specal needs of these women are gven prorty n both the Narob Forward-lookng Strateges as well as the Development Strategy for the Thrd Unted Natons Development Decade. Wth regard to women vctms of traffckng.aad.nvaluntary,~rost1tut9n the Document recommends that urgent consderaton should be gven o the mprovement of nternatonal measures to combat traffckng n women for the purposes of prosttuton. Governments should also endeavour to co-operate wth non-governmental organsatons to create wder employment possbltes for women. ln addton strct enforcement provsons must be taken to stem the rsng tde of volence, drug abuse and crme related to prost.tuton. n relaton to women deprved of ther tradtonal means of lvelhood - often as the result of excessve and napproprate explotaton of land - the Narob Strateges reterate the need for the establshment of measures to draw up nat onal conservaton strateges amed at ncorporatng women s development programmes, wth 'an emphass on ssues such as rrgaton and tree plantng and also O rentaton n the area of agrculture. The Strateges observe that the number of women who are the sole orters of ther famles s on the ncrease. Owng to the partcular 1cu 1es soc1a, economc and legal) whch they face, many such women

43 -43- are among the poorest people concentrated n urban nformal labour markets and consttute large numbers of the rural unemployed and marlnally employed. The assumptons that underle polces and legsaton that onfne the role of supporter, or head of household, to men, should be dent ed and elmnated. Specal measures such as the provson of accessble qualty chldcare should be taken to assst those women n ther double r~le and to enable them to take part n educaton, tranng programmes a~d employment. On the subject of women wth physcal and mental dsabltes the Strateges recommend that governments should adopt the Decl~raton on the Rghts of Dsabled Persons (1975) and the World Programme of Acton concernng Dsabled Persons (1982) whch provde an overall framework for acton and also refer to problems specfc to women. Communty-based occupatonal and socal rehabltaton measures, support ser~ces to help them wth ther domestc responsbl~tes, as well as op~ort~ntes for such \tto!ten to take part n all aspects of lfe should be provdedj Wth reference to women n detenton and subject to pemal law the Strateges state that the number of women n detenton has lcreased over the Decade and s expected to contnue dong so. Women deprved of freedom are exposed to varous forms of physcal volence, sexual and moral harassment. The condtons of ther detenton are often below acceptablelhygenc standards and ther chldren are deprved of maternal care. fgovernments should act on the recommendatons of the Sxth Unted Naton Congress on the Preventon of Crme and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Caracas n 1980, bearng n mnd the specal reference n the Caracas Declaraton to the 11 far and equal treatment of women 11! Under the headng Refugee and dsplaced women and chl~ren the Strateges dscuss the plght of refugees and d1splaced women, who n many cases are exposed to a varety of dffcult stuatons affectng ther pbyscal and legal protecton as well as ther psychologcaland materal ~11-beng. Problems of physcal deblty, physcal safety,jemotonal stress and soco-psychologcal effects of separaton or death n the famly, as well as changes n women's roles, together wth lmtatons often! found n the new envronment ncludng lack of adequate food, shelter, te~lth care and socal servces, call for s~calse d and enlarged assstance. The Document states that the potental and capactes of refugee~and dsplaced women should be recognsed and enhanced?nd the nternatona communty, n an expresson of nternatonal soldarty and burden-sharng., should contnue to provde relef assstance and also launch specal relef programmes takng nto account the specfc needs of refugee women and chldren n countres of frst asylum.' Smlarly relef assstance and specal rebef programmes should also contnue to be provded to returnees and dsplac~d women and chldren. Legal, educatonal, socal, humantaran and mora~ assstance should be offered as well as.opportuntes for ther.voluntary repatraton, return or resettlement.! Wth regard to mgrant women the Document observes tha~ the Decade has wtnessed the ncreasng nvolvement of women n all fo~s of mgraton, ncludng rural-rural, rural-urban and nternatonal movemen~s of a temporary, seasonal or permanent nature. n addton to ther lack of adequate educaton, sklls and resources, mgrant women may also facel severe adjustment problems due to dfferences n relgon, language, natbnalty and socalsaton, as well as separaton from ther orgnal fam~les. Such.problems are often accentuated for nternatonal mgrants as a result of the openly expressed prejudces and hostltes, ncludng vola~on of human

44 -44- rghts n host countres. Thus the stuaton of mgrant women- who are subject to double dscrmnaton as women and as mgrants - should be gven specal attenton by the governments of host countres, partcularly wth respect to protecton an: mantenance of famly unty, employment opportuntes and equal pay, equal condtons of work, health care, benefts to be provded n accordance wth the exstng socal securty rghts n the host country, and racal and other forms of dscrmnaton. Partcular attenton should also be gven to the second generaton of mgrant women, especally wth regard to educaton and professonal tranng, to allow 'them to ntegrate themselves n ther countres of adopton and to work accordng to ther educaton and sklls. As concerns mnorty and.. ndgenous.. women the Narob Strateges note that some women are oppressed as a result of belongng to mnorty groups or populatons whch have hstorcally been subjected to domnaton and suffered dspossesson and dspersal. These women suffer the full burden of dscrmnaton based. on race, colour, desce, t~ ethnc and natonal orgn and the majorty experence serous economc deprvaton. Governments n countres n whch there are ndgenous and mnorty populatons should ensure respect for the economc, socal and cultural rghts of these women and assst them n the fulfllment of ther famly and parental responsbltes and n ther efforts to fnd employment or to partcpate n ncome-generatng actvtes and projects. As far as possble, governments should ensure that these women have access to all servces n ther own 1 anguages. V. NTERNATONAL AND REGONAL CO-OPERATON n the last Chapter of the Document the Strateges deal not so much wth the specfc actons relatng to areas n Whch the stuaton of women needs to be mproved by natonal governments, as wth the progress that could be acheved for the advancement of women f co-operaton on both nternatonal and regonal levels was to be mproved and made more effectve. The Document says that durng the Decade nsuffcent attenton has been devoted to the goals and objectves of the Decade at the nternatonal level, largely as a result of nternatonal tensons whch have caused the scope and ablty for nternatonal and regon.al co-operaton to be dverted to other, more negatve purposes. Measures to counter ths unfavourable stuaton concern the mprovement n nternatonal montorng systems; techncal co-operaton, tranng and advsory servce; nsttutonal co-ordnaton; research and polcy analyss, women n decson-makng at nternatonal and regonal levels, and nformaton dssemnaton. The Strateges consder that nternatonal montorng should be based on the revews made at regonal, subregonal and natonal levels, of acton taken and progress acheved n the context of the objectves of the Decade and of the Forward-lookng Strateges durng the perod 1986 to the year The natonal revews should be made on regular requests from the Unted Natons. Secretarat and should be n accordance wth statstcal reporttnsvformulas developed by the Statstcal Commsson, n consultaton wth the Comm,sson on the status of women. The acton taken and progress

45 -45- acheved at natonal level should reflect consultaton wth on-governmental organsatons and ntegraton of ther concerns at all levels of government plannng, mplementaton and evaluaton. All ths nformat9n should enable the Commsson on the Status of Women to carry out comprehensve and crtcal revews of progress acheved world-wde n mplementng the provsons of the Plans, Programmes and Strateges resultngjfrom the Decade. To enable the Commsson to carry out ts mportant montorng. tasks, hgh-level expertse and representaton on the Comms on should be gven prorty, ncludng offcals wth substantve polcy ~esponsbltes for the advancement of women. :! The document states that more mpetus s needed wth r~gard to. measures of techncal co-operaton, tranng and advsory se~vces drected towards mprovng women's status at the nternatonal, nterryegonal and regonal levels, ncludng co-operaton among developng countres. Techncal c.o-operaton should be approached wth a new concept t~at wll break the cycle of dependency, emphasse local needs and US! local!resources. nnovatve demonstraton projects, partcularly wth respect to the ntegraton of women n non-tradtonal sector actvtes, should be an essental element n such co-operaton actvtes. Techncal co-operaton among developng countres should be strengthened, partcula~ly by promotng the exchange of experence, expertse, technology and know-h9w, and the need for relevant, transferable and approprate nformaton ~hould be a prorty of regonal co-operaton. 1 Agences whch do not have specfc gudelnes or proj~ct procedures relatng to women n development lnked wth the other ams df the perod up to the year 2000, should ensure that they are developed. dlsuch gudelnes and and procedures should apply to all aspects of the project cy le and each project document should contan a strategy to ensure that th~ project has a postve mpact on the stuaton of women. Substantve st~ff tranng s needed to enhance the ablty of staff to recognse and deal wth the centralty of women's role n developnent, and adequate resoyrces must be made avalable for ths purpose. The Document adds that mpl1ementaton of polces concernng women s the responsblty of the partcular organsaton as a whole and that responsblty s not merely a mat~er of personal persuason. Therefore adequate systems allocatng responsb~lty and accountablty should be developed. 1 The Unted Natons system and ad agences should provde assstance for programmes whch strengthen women's autonomy, so that w~en are better able to defne and defend ther own nterests and needs. n~ernatonal nongovernmental organsatons, ncludng trade unons, should b~ encouraged to nvolve women n ther day-to-day work, and ther capacty to reach women and women's groups should receve greater recognton and surport and should be fully. utlsed by nternatonal and governmental agences nvolved n development co-operaton. : The Narob Strateges recommend that there.should be do-ordnaton and revews throughout the system, of all relevant Unted Na~ons actvtes n the feld of women's ssues. The Unted Natons system s~ould also explore ways and means of developng further collaboraton b~tween ts or.gansators (ncludng the regonal commssons, the nternatonal Research and Tranng nsttute for the Advancement of Womendand the Unted 1 Nator.s Fl:(nd for.wgmen). n partcular as regards the holdng of Unted Natons World Conferences on women on a regular bass. The,ocument here

46 -46- recommends that "at least one World Conference be held durng the perod between 1985 and the year 2000, takng nto accouttt that the General Assembly wll take the decson on the holdng of the Conference n each case wthn exstng fnancal resources." Whle nternatonal and regonal ~rgansatons have been called upon durng the Decade to advance the po~ton of ther women staff, the results are consdered to have been hghly un.even, the stuaton havng actually worsened n some cases durng ths perod. n partcular women are. absent from the senor levels, whch serously lmts ther nfluence on decsonmakng. All Unted Natons bodes, as well as the regonal commssons and the specalsed agences should therefore take all measures necessary to acheve an equtable balance between women and men staff members at manageral and professonal levels n all substantve areas by the year These measures should nclude the preparaton and mplementaton of comprehensve affrmatve acton plans ncludng provsons for settng mmedate targets and for establshng and supportn~ ~pecal mechansms, for example, co-ordnators, to mprove the status of women staff. Progress on these measures should be reported to the General Assembly, the Economc and Socal Councl and the Commsson on the Status of Women on a regular bass. The Narob Document further suggests that a whole range of research actvtes should be undertaken by Unted Natons bodes, ncludng research on establshng effectve nsttutonal arrangements at the natonal level for the formulaton of polces on women, ncludng gudelnes and summares of natonal case studes. Research should also be undertaken on the postve and negatve effects of legslatve change, the persstance of de facto dscrmnaton and conflcts between customary and statutory laws. n the context of the Thrd Unted Natons Development Decade the mplcaton for women of nternatonal decsons on nternatonal trade and fnance, agrculture and technology transfer should be assessed by the Unted Natons system. Generally the actvtes of the nternatonal Research and Tranng nsttute for the Advancement of Women should be supported and strengthened n ts work for the mprovement of the status of women. The Narob Strateges also stpulate that nternatonal programmes should be desgned and resources allocated to support natonal campagns to mprove publc conscousness of the need for equalty between women and men and for elmnatng dscrmnatory practces. Studes must be carred out by the UN system so that adequate steps can be taken to promote the elmnaton or reducton of sex stereotypng n the meda. The mass meda, ncludng Unted Natons rado and televson, should be used to dssemnate nformaton on progress n achevng the goals of the Decade and on mplementng the Forward-lookng Strateges. The Document ends by urgng governments and the organsatons of the Unted Natons, ncludng the regonal commssons and the specalsed agences, to gve the Forward-lookng Strateges the wdest publcty possble and to ensure that ther content s translated and dssemnated n c>rder to make authortes and the publc n general, especally women's

47 grass-root organsatons, aware of the objectves of the Doaument and of the recommendatons contaned theren.!! X X X After the consensus approval of the Strateg1es oy theconference the Document was submtted to the 40th regular sesson of the Unted Natons General Assembly whch was held n New York n Dece~ber Two mportant ponts n the resoluton on the mplementato%' of the Narob Forward-lookng Strateges for the Advancement of Women ad pted by the General Assembly, were that t 1) adopted the Forward-look g Strateges, 1 and 2) nvted all governments to take measures for ther early and effectve mplementaton.! f Ths means that the Document s now part of offcal Wnted Natons polcy. to be mplemented wthn the Unted Natons system tself and n all UN Member States world -wde. ; =o0o=-

48 -~- Chapter FVE THE RESOLUTONS The Conference receved proposals for 105 resolutons whch were mostly drafted by partcpants n Narob tself. The draft resolutons were dstrbuted between the two man commttees for dscusson and approval and n ths they were asssted by varous nformal and formal workng groups whch revewed and - whenever feasble - combned the resolutons. n spte of ther frantc efforts the Commttees dd not manage to dscuss all the draft resolutons by the tme they had to wnd up. The Plenary smlarly ran out of tme and at the 20th (closng) plenary meetng t was agreed that snce, owng to the lack,~ tme, the Conference had been unable to take acton on any of the draft resolutons submtted by delegatons, they should all, whatever ther fate had been n the relevant commttee, be appended to the report of the Conference n ther orgnal, amended or amalgamated form. The Communty proposed two resolutons to the Conference. One of these was a broad text on future perspectves and equal opportuntes; the other was devoted more specfcally to women's educaton, tranng and job promoton. The frst, whch was accepted by the man Commttee responsble was drafted n Communty co-ordnaton at the ntatve of Madame Yvette Roudy, French Mnster of Women's Rghts, and the second, whch was not adopted n the commttee for tactcal reasons, had orgnally been drafted by the Dansh delegaton but was afterwards taken up and tabled by all the Member States on behalf of the European Communty. The resoluton on future ~erspectves and equal opportuntes stresses not only the need foregslatve measures to ensure equal treatment between men and women, but also the mportance of counteractng de facto nequaltes. The resoluton also calls for actons amed at - promotng the dversfcaton of vocatonal choces and the desegregaton of employment. On the theme of women and development the resoluton underlnes the need for mprovement to access by women n developng countres to all aspects of tranng, to credt and to co-operatve organsatons as well as to approprate technology amed at allevatng the ard uous nature of ther tasks. The resoluton on women and educaton. tranng and job promoton lnks female unemployment as well as the fact that women are largely stll occuped n the lowest pad, monotonous and automaton-threatened jobs, wth the dfferent levels of educaton between men and women and the lack of approprate and specalsed qualfcatons of women, whch are the result of stll exstng tradtonal vews on sex roles. The above resolutons (whch are reprnted n full at the end of the Chapter) reflect ssues that have long been an area of man concern n the Communtyspolces. t s clearly mpossble to dscuss all 105 resolutons proposed to the Commttees and therefore only those especally relevant to Communty nterests wll be touched on. They concern unemployment, educaton, new technologes, the mprovement of condtons of work and lfe, mgrant women, as well as dsabled women.

49 1-49- unj.plo~nt, n the frst resoluton mentoned here, concernng (co-sponsored by Greece and Span) governments and other ap~roprate bodes are asked to take acton aganst a further deteroraton of 1workng condtons real wages and socal benefts, whch has resulted from the ;scarc1ty of jobs. t also calls for job creaton programmes n ndustres, for the elmnaton of segregated employment markets, and for the reducton of workng hours wthout the reducton of wages. The resoluton enttled 'women and educaton: ers ecdves for the year 2000' (whch was co-sponsore y e g1um 1n many waysjcovers the same ground as the resoluton on educaton tabled by the Commun y. t furthermore draws attenton to the hgh rates of llteracy and sc~ool drop-outs among grls and the necessty to remedy ths stuaton by aqoptng measures on adult lteracy tranng and by supportng schemes to fac:ltate a more flexble entry and re-entry to educaton. The resoluton on women and new technologes (cc ~~on~ored by Belgum, Germany and taly) ponts out that whle the current technologcal and scentfc revoluton can be a great opportunty for progre~s, ths can only be the case for \\Omen f they are able to control the process of change and to partcpate n t. Governments are therefore called on to nvolve women equally wth men n the assessment, choce, acquston andladaptaton of technology and to pursue measures amng at an equal access lfor men and women to tranng n technologcal and scentfc subjects. Other tems on whch acton must be taken nclude postve actons to overdome occupatonal segregaton and to mprove career prospects, and the need fdr governments to stmulate educaton and tranng for women and grls so tha~ they can enter the appled and decson-makng feld n the new technology!area- ths n order to effect an ncrease n the female work-force n thelnew occupatons. The resoluton on mprovnt the condtons of work and lfe orgnally conssted of four dfferent reso utons but was eventually ~rged nto the present one. t was co-sponsored by Belgum, France, Greec~, taly, the Netherland's and Span. The frst part s concerned wth famly responsbltes and ponts to the fact that women contnue to bear the majot responsblty for the care of the famly and are therefore hampered n th~r partcpaton n the labour market. Recommendatons range from measures flor job re-entry schemes after an.absence from work due to lookng after the famly, to the establshment of chld-care facltes and support servces~ as well as arrangements for flexble workng tme and the progressve ~educton of workng tme.. The secton on parental leave demands measures to nstute leave for parents to enable them to share the carng of ther chldre~ durng the frst perod of ther lves, on the grounds that men and women must be enabled to partcpate on an equal footng n all spheres of socal, e onomc and poltcal lfe. The secton on egual pay calls for governments to ensjre the prncples of equal pay for equal work performed by men and women, andlfor effectve machnery to mplement ths prncple, ncludng facltes 1to advse and support workers wth complants n the feld of equal remune~ aton. The last secton whch covers far employment practces stresses the 1need for the elmnaton of all employment polces and practces that dscrmnate aganst women, n areas such as recrutment, career prospects, socal securty schemes, pensons, and so on. Ths would also nvolve the regulatory of all patterns of work (ncludn g casual, part-tme, home-based, and domestc work areas n whch many women are employed.) ' '

50 -50- The resoluton on mfgrant women draws attenton to the fact that mgrant workers, and partcularly women, are stll.1ot enttled n many countres to exercse ther fundamental human rghts. t emphasses the need for nternatonal co-operaton on all aspects of labour mgraton, ncludng the stuaton of mgrant women as regards ther housng condtons, health status, access to socal servces and health care, educatonal needs as well as ther protecton under exstng labour legslaton. The fnal resoluton to be dscusses here - mprovements on the condton of women of all ages wth dsabltes and of women who have a person wth a dsablty n ther famly,- was co-sponsored by Belgum, ' France, Germany, taly and Span. Apart from recommendng measures concernng dsabled persons n general, t also nvtes states to adopt measures n ther natonal plannng for the provson of servces and structures for dsabled persons, to help people (often women) burdened wth the care of a. dsabled member of ther famly, to lead as normal a lfe as possble. X X X After the Conference realsed that there was no tme left to deal wth all 105 resolutons put to t, t was decded that they would be brought to th attenton of the next General Assembly for consderaton and acton as approprate. Ths, however, ended n the General Assembly merely notng the resolutons at ts 40th sesson n New York n December and thus no further acton concernng them was taken. Texts of the Two Resolutons Proposed by the European Communty 1. Future perspectves and equal opportuntes The World Conference to Revew and Aeprase the Achevements of the Unted Natons Decade for women: Equal1ty, Development and Peace, Recognsng the mportance of the Unted Natons Decade for Women and the stmulus t has provded for mprovng the status of women at natonal~ regonal and nternatonal levels, Bearn~ n mnd the efforts remanng to be accomplshed for mprovng t e status of women and for endng the dscrmnatons to whch they are exposed n numerous regons of the world and at varous levels of socety, Consder.llf that leg.s.latva pr.ov.sons.on equal tll'eatment' are not n themselves su fcent to elmnate de facto nequaltes exstng n socal structures and atttudes, f they are not accompaned by parallel and smultaneous actons, at all levels of socety, to counteract the de facto nequaltes affectng women,

51 -51- Conscous, moreover, of the necessty, n a perod of edonomc crss, to ntensfy actons for women at both natonal and nternatonal levels wth a vew to promotng the achevement of equal opportun1tes n practce, partcularly n respect of access to employment, :vocatonal tranng and workng condtons, Underlnng the mportance of supportng women n devel~png countres wth a vew to enhancng women's work, mprovng ther lvng condtons, expandng ther role and mprovng ther status n t~e producton and development process, 1 ; Bearng n mnd the resoluton on equal opportuntes aryd equal treatment for men and women n employment adopted by the nternatonal Labour Conference at ts seventy-frst sesson,! 1. Recommends that legslatve efforts to qua!~antee e~ualty n law be pursued and that approprate bodes wth suff~ent exp~rtse ensure that equal treatment between men and women s respected; 1 2. Decdes that postve acton amed at compensatng for de facto nequaltes lnked wth atttudes and stereotypes must be developed wth a vew to promotng equal opportuntes n practce; 3. Calls upon all partes concerned to develop actons amed at promotng dversfcaton of vocatonal choces and desegr,gaton of employment, n partcular by encouragng women's partcpaon n sectors and occupatons n whch they are under-represente and especally n emergng sectors lnked wth the ntroducton o, new technologes; 4. Encourages Governments to adopt the measures neces$ary to ensure that the economc stuaton has no dscrmnatory effects aganst women and that the prncple of the equal rght of men and womento economc ndependence s respected; 1 5. nvtes Governments, ntergovernmental organsatoms, nongovernmental organsatons and specalsed agences to paytlpartcular attenton to access by women n the developng countres t, all aspects of tranng, to more advanced technologes, to credt and o co-operatve organsatons, as well as to approprate technology amed at allevatng the arduous nature of ther tasks; ' 6. Requests that acton be taken at the natonal, reg,onal, subregonal and nternatonal levels to mplement the provsons contaned n the Forward-lookng Strateges of mplementaton forth' advancement of women and concrete measures to overcome obstacles to the achevement of the goals and objectves of the Unted Natons Decade f9r Women for the perod 1986 to the year 2000: Equalty, Development and Peace;! 7. Recommends that such acton be regularly assessed at all levels,!

52 Recommends to the General Assembly that t adopt at ts forteth regular sess1on, n the lght of the results of the World Conference, the approprate measures to put nto effect the above-mentoned acton programme: 9. Recommends to the General Assembly that at ts forteth regular sesson, 1t 1nstruct the Commsson on the Status of Women to contnue ts ~ork n l~e wth the decsons.whch the General Assembly may take, part1cularly w1th regard to the per1odcty of ts sessons. 2. Women and educaton, tranng and job promoton The World Conference to Revew and Apprase t~e Achevements of the Untea Natons Decade for t:lomen:. l:.gualhyldeveropment and Peace, Notng that the number of women workers has nearly doubled durng the latest 25 years, Consderng that women to a great extent stll occupy the lowest pad, monotonous and automaton-threatened jobs, Concerned that the female unemployment rate s generally more serous that that of men,.e. women are more often and for longer perods rendered jobless, Aware that women s specal lack of job opportuntes s often the result of tradtonal and stereotyped vews on sex roles, resultng nter ala n dfferent levels of educaton between men and women, and n a lack of approprate and specalsed qualfcaton of women, Conscous that to some extent women s narrower choce of occupaton and dfferent level of aspratons plays a part n ther weaker poston at the labour market, 1. Calls upon specalsed agences, such as the LO and UNESCO, to promote the understandng of the mportance of women s equal admsson to the labour market and occupaton, on an equal footng wth men, at all levels, ncludng the top executve levels; 2. Appeals to NSTRAW (Unted Natons nsttute for Tranng and Research for the Advancement of Women) and other relevant natonal and nternatonal research nsttutons to study the obstacles to women s equal job opportuntes, and, f possble, to set forward acton-orented proposals amed at revertng the uneven stuaton; 3. Request~ research nsttutons to establsh research by, about and for women, makng more vsble women s contrbutons and vews; 4. Calls upon Governments, other authortes, nsttutons, parents and employers to pay specal attenton togrls school educaton at all levels and to openng grls mnds to new possbltes, wth a vew to:

53 -53- (a) Broadenng grls choce of courses and vocatonal educaton and encouragng grls enterng nto new felas of employ ent or felds prevously the doman of men; (b) At the same tme securng that the grls/women po~eers are not by themselves and thus n an solated stuaton, but Takng provsons for more grls/women to go together nto non-tradtonal felds and thus enablng them to support each other; 1.! (c) Changng negatve atttudes towards the capablt~s emp 1 oyees ; of female (d) Openng the eyes of authortes, socal partners, teachers and vocatonal gudes for the advantages of breakng downlthe gender monopoly n many occupatons; (e) Attachng specal consultants on equal y on the l~bour market to nsttutons responsble for assgnment of work and employment exchange; (f) Recognsng the use of postve acton, for nstante extra 1 job tranng, as a provsonal means to brngng about a more equal job dstrbuton between men and women; and 1 (g) f necessary, changng the contents of jobs and oc~upatons!~p~~!~~o~~~respond wth women s condtons, nterests, talues and

54 -54- Chapter SX THE FORUM '85 Held from 10-19th July 1985 at Narob, the Forum '85 was a nongovernmental World meetng for women, runnng parallel to the UN World Conference endng the Decade for Women held at governmental level. Open to anyone nterested, whether or not they represented non-governmental organsatons (NGOs), the For.um's man objectve was to gather people from the world over to one spot to meet and exchange deas, to understand and learn fron each other's experences and to fonnulate actons for mprovng the condton of women after Unlke prevous events n Mexco and Copenhagen Ds Forum was offcally ncorporated n UN organsatonal actvtes for the end of the Decade. Preparatons were co-ordnated by a large preparatory commttee consstng of those n charge of the dscusson of the man themes at the Forum, as well as the presdents of the NGO commttees on the Status of Women from New York, Geneva and Venna, and a number of ndvduals dealng wth the fnancal and publc relatons sde of the work n hand. Meanwhle, an organsatonal commttee n Kenya looked after the practcal preparatons for the Forum on the spot. The charperson of the NGO preparatory commttee was Dame Nta Barrow from Barbados, an nternatonal fgure, well known for her work n the felds of health, educaton and the stuaton of women, and the post of co-ordnator was flled by Vrgna Mazzard of the USA. The Forum was to deal both wth the themes and subthemes of the Decade, as well as wth the followng ssues: elderly women, young grls and young women, refugees/mgrants, desttute women and the meda. These subjects were to be studed n two plenary sessons as well as n round-table dscussons, workshops, workng groups and other meetngs, and any further events organsed by ndvdual groups or assocatons were welcomed by the plannng commttees and - where suffcent advance notce had been gven - ncorporated n the general preparatons. Thus numerous women's organsatons dd n fact put together seres of roundtable dscussons and semnars, devoted to the women's movement worldwde, to femnsm and to research on a new concepton of development. The NGO preparatory commttee was gven the permsson of the Kenyan Government to use the ffty or so lecture halls and rooms of the Unversty of Narob for the majorty of the Forum actvt~s, and the two plenary sessons held durng the ten days the Forum lasted took place n a bg lecturng theatres of the Unversty. The openng ceremony of the Forum '85 took place n the Kenyatta Conference Centre Plenary Hall on the mornng of July loth. The guest of honour, who also gave the openng address, was the Mnster for Culture and Socal Servces, Mr. K.S.N. Matba, M.P. The welcome was gven by Dame Nta Barrow, and speeches were also delvered by H.E. Margaret Kenyatta,

55 -55- the leader of the Kenyan Delegaton at the Government Confe~ence, Letca Shahan, Secretary General of the Conferance. 1 A spec a 1 newspaper - Forum '85 - was pub 1 shed da! ly by the NGO plannng commttee. t was staffed by an nternatonal team of ndependent journalsts and covered the events surroundng the NQO actvtes at the Forum '85, as well as the happenngs at the UN End o1 the Decade Conference. Ths was one way of keepng the partcpants f the two Conferences somewhat nformed about each others proceedngs as contact between the two events was lmted : Forum partcpants, unl,ess members of Conference delegatons, or members of NGOs accredted tolthe Conference had no access to the Conference, and those Conference delegates who were most nvolved n the Conference work had no tme to partcrate n the ~~. The choce of events on offer at the Forum was O"erwh~lmng. One flck through the fat volume consttutng the workshc~ prog~amme of the Forum s enough to gve an dea as to the bewlderng numbe~ of actvtes gong on : on a randomly pcked day, for example, July 17tH, forty odd dfferent meetngs were scheduled to take place smultaneously between 2 and 3.30 pm alone, not to menton any other - unplanned -!events gong on at that same tme, or the hundred or so actvtes takng place before and after ths perod on the same day. The Forum's vast range of events defes descrpton, but some examples wll be cted to gve an mpresson of the varety of happe~ngs. There were workshops dscussng subjects rangng from the mage o~ women n the meda, to food securty for poor households; consumer educaton; aborton rghts; male volence aganst women; famly plannng technologes; women and chldren n famne; prosttuton; populaton control po1tcs; dsarmament.; women and mgraton; relgon, law and women's rghts; lteracy programmes; motherhood and development; women, energy and envronment; female crcumcson; women and vocatonal choces chldcar~ facltes, etc to name but a few. Beyond the classroom actvtes the For4m also featured varous other tems. Thus there were feld trps organsedlby Kenyan women, to vllage projects undertaken by rural women. A 'Tech and Tools' programme, conssted of actvtes land projects on women's access to and uses of technologes warldwde. Ths was co ordnated by women's groups, approprate technology groups as well as sc:entfc assocatons, and partcular attenton was.gven to food processng, agrculture, health and santaton, remuneratve actvtes, communcatdns as well as energy. Here a tree-plantng programme was demonstrated bylthe Natonal Councl of Women of Kenya, whch encourages women to plan and care for tree nurseres n desgnated areas near ther vllages. En~ronmental lectures and dscussons were carred on n other tents, and nutrton demonstratons, amng at mprovng nutrtonal standards b~ smple means and tools were also held. 1 The 'Narob Flm Forum provded workshops for flm-jakers and flm users and showed a contnuous seres of flms and vdeos by land about women world wde. Cultural manfestatons ncluded coocerts, art:work by women, photographc exhbtons, street theatres, etc. The French!Cultural Centre held a number of workshops a.o. on poetry, storytellng/oral tradtons and folklore; The Grethe nsttute conducted martal arts classes as well as sessons n movement, dance and musc. Healng rtuals too~ place at a spot called"shrne for Everywoman", and the Karbu Centre prlovded a and