Last week I read in the Solomon Star newspaper that the Minister for the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA), Freda Rangirei said there was more work needed to be done to ensure women’s protection, development and empowerment in Solomon Islands.
Minister Rangirei was reported to have made her claims during a Poverty Reduction virtual China-Solomon Islands dialogue held last Wednesday.
Quoting from the newspaper article.
Ms Rangirei said Solomon Islands over the years, had celebrated some significant progresses in the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
She explained one of these progressaes is an increased gender mainstreaming efforts across different sectors, both in the public sector and private sector.
“Despite these key progresses, there still remains a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure women’s protection, development and empowerment in the Solomon Islands,” Ms Rangirei said.
However, she said the priority for the Solomon Islands Government is to continue to address but not limited to the following:
- Continue its efforts to address the low representation and participation of women in positions of influence, decision making and governance both in politics and other sectors;
- Ending violence of women and girls particularly seeking to address the critical gap in our provision of services which is the need for safe accommodation for victim and survivors of violence in all provinces;
-And continue to drive our women peace and security agenda; and in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, provide increased attention to women’s economic empowerment which includes providing financial inclusion and entrepreneurship training opportunities, addressing income generating project needs women, addressing income generating project needs of women, addressing Honiara;
-Working closely with our productive sectors to ensure women are part of natural resources management etc.
She added this tasks ahead would not be easy as there are ongoing and existing challenges of how to effectively reach and impact the lives of local women especially women and girls with disabilities and the elderly in the rural and remote areas of Solomon Islands.
However, she said with the recent relationship with China women, they will continue to hold friendly exchanges through lessons; support and cooperation towards a common goal of ensuring our women both in Solomon Islands and China are safe and protected, are empowered and are made integral to all development efforts.
End of quote.
In another newspaper, I recall Ms Rangriei saying something about the MWYCFA having the biggest mandate of any of the government’s Ministries but with the smallest staff, I think she mentioned having only six personnel.
Given what the Minister outlined as the responsibilities she faced, then, if true, having just six personnel seems wholly inadequate for the tasks at hand.
It also struck me, and particularly in her reference to her virtual dialogue with China, that the MWYCA is duplicating locally the work of the United Nations Women Organisation that has worked closely with the PRC Government in China since about 1998 and in several other countries in Africa, in Asia and even in the Pacific.
I will explain, quoting where necessary from the UN Women Organisation website and news releases.
“Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality.”
“Work and priorities
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:
· Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
· Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
· All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence
· Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action
UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.
Status of women
Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes.
Over many decades, the United Nations has made significant progress in advancing gender equality, including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Working for the empowerment and rights of women and girls globally, UN Women’s main roles are:
· To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
· To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
· To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
Historical perspective
For many years, the United Nations faced serious challenges in its efforts to promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single recognized driver to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to address such challenges. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:
· Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
· International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
· Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
· United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
About China
“Climate change and environmental degradation, existing inequalities, limited access to resources, restricted rights, and the lack of women’s voices in decision-making increases women’s vulnerability. Poor women are especially exposed because of their dependence on natural resources for their livelihoods. Furthermore, during natural disasters they face discrimination in accessing shelter and medical care, and are more susceptible to disease because of their traditional role in caring for the sick.
UN WOMEN IN CHINA
Since 1998 UN Women has worked to support the government, the civil society, and development partners to empower women and advance gender equality. A core focus of programmes has been to increase women’s participation in all aspects of life. Efforts have included: Strengthening women’s economic security by expanding opportunities, eliminating gender disparities in employment and reinforcing women’s right to property and inheritance under China Gender Facility programme UN Women has worked with the Gerontology Centre of Tsinghua University to establish gender-responsive social security for the elderly, especially for widows; with the China Employment Promotion Association to engender the 2008 China Employment Promotion Law ensuring equal employment for men and women; with the Beijing Legal Aid Center to develop a standard labour contract for all the domestic workers in Beijing to protect their rights; and with the Yangzhou Party School to ensure female migrant workers are included in the social security system in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; and with the Guangdong Women’s Development Center which conducted research on the gender gaps in employment; with ACWF, UN Women advocate policy and legislation on protection of domestic workers’ rights. Supporting gender-responsive governance by promoting women’s participation in decision-making – UN Women has focused on technical assistance and capacity-building for legislators and government staff on gender mainstreaming and implementing CEDAW. UN Women worked within the Party school system — to hold training sessions on gender equality for government officials at the Kunming Munici.”
Women and girls with disabilities
It is estimated that one in five women live with a disability Women with disabilities experience various types of impairments—including physical, psychosocial, intellectual, and sensory conditions—that may or may not come with functional limitations. In addition, the diversity of women with disabilities includes those with multiple and intersecting identities across all contexts, such as ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds; their status as refugee, migrant, asylum-seeking, and internally displaced women;
As a result of substantively distinct life experiences based on these factors, women and girls with disabilities are often pushed to the extreme margins and experience profound discriminations. This can lead to lower economic and social status; increased risk of violence and abuse, including sexual violence; gender-based discriminatory practices; and limited access to education, health care (including sexual and reproductive health), information, services, justice, as well as civic and political participation.
These barriers hinder their full and effective participation across the humanitarian-development continuum, including during pandemic and in post-conflict and transition settings.
Organizations dedicated to the rights of women and persons with disabilities drive the work of achieving their full inclusion in society on an equal basis with others. However, gaps in alliances and a lack of access to funding often result in their needs being overlooked during the development and implementation of policies, programmes, and intergovernmental processes.
Our solutions
Recognizing that gender-neutral approaches to disability inclusion perpetuate discrimination and vulnerability, UN Women has made concerted efforts to promote disability inclusion and gender equality, including by establishing and strengthening partnerships and contributing to amplifying the voices of women and girls with disabilities. Active participation of and consultations with women with disabilities and their representative organizations have informed gender equality and disability–inclusive action at all levels. In 2017, to strengthen institutionalization of its work in this area, UN Women established an internal Global Task Team on Disability and Inclusion and a dedicated Disability Inclusion Community of Practice to support the development and implementation of UN Women’s corporate strategy on the issue.
To give voice to and enable equal representation of women with disabilities, UN Women strives to ensure their active participation in intergovernmental meetings and consultative processes. UN Women engages in several inter-agency and multi-stakeholder mechanisms to promote the inclusion of the rights of women and girls with disabilities and has contributed to the development of the UN system-wide policy and accountability framework on disability inclusion.
UN Women leads several inter-agency joint programmes on intersectionality, anti-discrimination, and disability-inclusive COVID-19 responses. These initiatives support, among others, UN Country Teams on the ground
Grants.
UN Women Moldova plans to award small grants to eligible Moldovan civil society organizations (CSOs), in the range of USD 5,000 to USD 10,000. The small grants are intended exclusively to support the institutional capacity development of CSOs from both banks of Nistru River to enable them to advocate for gender equality and women empowerment. The Small Grant Agreement will be implemented for a maximum period of 6 months, starting with June 2021. UN Women invites eligible applicants to submit small grants applications for eligible activities, as elaborated in this advertisement. UN Women will consider awarding several small grants.
UN Women Moldova plans to award small grants to eligible Moldovan civil society organizations (CSOs), in the range of USD 5,000 to USD 10,000. The small grants are intended exclusively to support the institutional capacity development of CSOs from both banks of Nistru River to enable them to advocate for gander equality and women empowerment. The Small Grant Agreement will be implemented for a maximum period of 6 months, starting with June 2021. UN Women invites eligible applicants to submit small grants applications for eligible activities, as elaborated in this advertisement. UN Women will consider awarding several small grants.
Prima facia it seems to me that the UN Women Organisation could be of assistance to the MWYCA, not only because of its assistance work in China but in other countries and Ms.Rangriei’s needs dovetail with the assistance programmes being given by the UN from where help might be offered.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
