Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

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Chapter 4 Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights Achieving Goal 3 requires guaranteeing women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights. 1 Currently, their reproductive health status is poor, and their sexual and reproductive rights are not fully realized in many countries. Maternal mortality rates are high, and women’s chances of dying of pregnancy-related complications are almost 50 times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. Women’s unmet need for contraception is also high. One-fifth of married women in the Middle East and North Africa and one-quarter in Sub-Saharan Africa are unable to access the contraception they need. Women are also more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, particularly HIV/AIDS. Today, women and girls make up almost half the infected population ages 15–49 worldwide, and in Sub-Saharan Africa the rate is close to 60 percent. Adolescent girls are particularly disadvantaged in all of these aspects of sexual and reproductive health. Adolescent fertility rates remain high, and young women have higher chances of suffering from complications at birth. They also have a higher unmet need for contraception and higher HIV infection rates, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Necessary actions to address these problems are ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services through the primary healthcare system, providing women and girls with full access to sexual and reproductive health information, and fulfilling all the commitments in the Cairo Programme of Action of the UN International Conference on Population and Development of 1994. Interventions are needed within and outside the health system. At a minimum national public health systems must provide quality family planning, emergency obstetric services, safe abortions (where legal), postabortion care, interventions to reduce malnutrition and anemia, and programs to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections, including
54 Chapter 4 Sexual and reproductive health and rights are important for gender equality in education and access to economic resources, as well as for women’s empowerment HIV. Outside the health system sexuality education programs are needed to lay the foundation for improved sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Ultimately, these interventions must be supported by an enabling policy and political environment that guarantees women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights. Current threats to those rights must be opposed if Goal 3 is to be achieved. Why guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health and rights is a strategic priority Goal 4 on child mortality, Goal 5 on maternal mortality, and Goal 6 on HIV/ AIDS cover only limited aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Yet, a large body of evidence shows that sexual and reproductive health and rights are central to women’s ability to build their capabilities, take advantage of economic and political opportunities, and control their destinies. 2 For this reason, the task force has identified guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health and rights as a strategic priority for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. Today, these rights are threatened by actions to limit and withdraw funding from effective reproductive health programs, censor or distort information and research on comprehensive health interventions and issues, and renege on previous international agreements on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Such actions threaten the progress of the last 10 years in improving women’s reproductive health and may worsen the reproductive health status of poor women around the world. Links between reproductive health and other domains of gender equality Sexual and reproductive health and rights are important for gender equality in education and access to economic resources, as well as for women’s empowerment. Education. The links between secondary education and reproductive health are discussed in chapter 3. Note, too, that early marriage reduces girls’ access to education and that anticipation of an early marriage often precludes secondary education for girls (Huq and Amin 2001). Economic resources. Access to reproductive health is often a precondition for access to economic assets and resources and opportunities to employ them productively. For example, access to family planning allows women to balance the size of their family and timing of their children with their need and desire to earn income, as many studies have shown. The ability to control their fertility also allows women to seek additional education or training, prepares them for better employment, and permits them to take part in other desirable activities such as community affairs (Family Health International 1998). For
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The UN Millennium Project is an ind
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Task Force on Hunger Halving hunger
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Foreword The world has an unprecede
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Contents Foreword iii Task force me
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Contents vii Chapter 12 Making it h
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Contents ix 4.1 HIV prevalence rate
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Task force members Task force coord
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Preface At the Millennium Summit in
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Acknowledgments The authors would l
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Abbreviations AGI CEDAW CRC DALY DD
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Millennium Development Goals xix
Page 25 and 26: 2 Executive summary Achieving Goal
Page 27 and 28: 4 Executive summary Gender inequali
Page 29 and 30: 6 Executive summary Sexual and repr
Page 31 and 32: 8 Executive summary The time spent
Page 33 and 34: 10 Executive summary Several types
Page 35 and 36: 12 Executive summary Employmentenha
Page 37 and 38: 14 Executive summary Gender quotas
Page 39 and 40: 16 Executive summary Infrastructure
Page 41 and 42: 18 Executive summary Box 1 Proposed
Page 43 and 44: 20 Executive summary A transformati
Page 45 and 46: 22 Executive summary Women’s orga
Page 47 and 48: 24 Executive summary The internatio
Page 49 and 50: 26 Executive summary The next 10 ye
Page 51 and 52: 28 Chapter 1 Genuine equality means
Page 53 and 54: Chapter 2 Task force perspective on
Page 55 and 56: 32 Chapter 2 Box 2.2 Achieving the
Page 57 and 58: 34 Chapter 2 The task force believe
Page 59 and 60: Chapter 3 Strengthen opportunities
Page 61 and 62: 38 Chapter 3 Higher levels of educa
Page 63 and 64: 40 Chapter 3 Female education can r
Page 65 and 66: 42 Chapter 3 All regions except Sou
Page 67 and 68: 44 Chapter 3 Table 3.4 Primary scho
Page 69 and 70: 46 Chapter 3 Table 3.7 Enrollment r
Page 71 and 72: 48 Chapter 3 Scholarship programs h
Page 73 and 74: 50 Chapter 3 Decreasing the distanc
Page 75: 52 Chapter 3 Support to literacy pr
Page 79 and 80: 56 Chapter 4 At the end of 2004 abo
Page 81 and 82: 58 Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Rates of ea
Page 83 and 84: 60 Chapter 4 Interventions to impro
Page 85 and 86: 62 Chapter 4 A critical priority is
Page 87 and 88: 64 Chapter 4 Schools can provide li
Page 89 and 90: Chapter 5 Invest in infrastructure
Page 91 and 92: 68 Chapter 5 Figure 5.2 Women are t
Page 93 and 94: 70 Chapter 5 Taking women’s perce
Page 95 and 96: 72 Chapter 5 Cost is often a constr
Page 97 and 98: 74 Chapter 5 and Elson 1995). If us
Page 99 and 100: 76 Chapter 6 Effective land rights
Page 101 and 102: 78 Chapter 6 Gathering systematic e
Page 103 and 104: 80 Chapter 6 In Sub-Saharan Africa
Page 105 and 106: 82 Chapter 6 Land markets have been
Page 107 and 108: 84 Chapter 6 and recording women’
Page 109 and 110: 86 Chapter 6 At the international l
Page 111 and 112: Chapter 7 Reduce gender inequality
Page 113 and 114: 90 Chapter 7 In only 17 of 110 coun
Page 115 and 116: 92 Chapter 7 Table 7.3 Female share
Page 117 and 118: 94 Chapter 7 Gender gaps in earning
Page 119 and 120: 96 Chapter 7 An important strategy
Page 121 and 122: 98 Chapter 7 For poor women, public
Page 123 and 124: 100 Chapter 7 Many developed and de
Page 125 and 126: 102 Chapter 7 Decent, productive wo
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Chapter 8 Increase women’s repres
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106 Chapter 8 Only 14 countries hav
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108 Chapter 8 Experience offers fou
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Chapter 9 Combat violence against w
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112 Chapter 9 Surveys often find th
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114 Chapter 9 The economic, social,
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116 Chapter 9 Interventions for com
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118 Chapter 9 Communities play an i
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120 Chapter 9 Box 9.1 Mainstreaming
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Chapter 10 Data and indicators for
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124 Chapter 10 Box 10.1 Proposed in
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126 Chapter 10 The task force recom
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128 Chapter 10 Improving countries
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Chapter 11 The financial costs of i
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132 Chapter 11 A gender needs asses
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134 Chapter 11 empower women. For e
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136 Chapter 11 costs of setting up
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Chapter 12 Making it happen Althoug
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140 Chapter 12 Gender analysis invo
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142 Chapter 12 Through legislation,
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144 Chapter 12 The reporting obliga
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146 Chapter 12 Box 12.2 Cambodia: t
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148 Chapter 12 Box 12.3 Chile: the
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150 Chapter 12 Box 12.5 South Afric
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152 Chapter 12 Poverty reduction st
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154 Chapter 12 The next 10 years pr
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156 Appendix 1 illiterate, while th
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158 Appendix 1 Box A1.1 Regional cl
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160 Appendix 1 Table A1.3 Country p
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162 Appendix 1 are likely to fall b
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164 Appendix 1 Table A1.7 Female an
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174 Appendix 1 Table A1.10 Adult fe
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176 Appendix 1 Table A1.10 Adult fe
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Appendix 2 Reproductive health stat
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Appendix 3 Employment statistics Ta
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182 Appendix 3 Table A3.2 Maternity
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184 Appendix 3 Table A3.2 Maternity
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186 Appendix 3 Table A3.3 Women’s
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188 Appendix 3 Table A3.3 Women’s
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190 Appendix 4 Table A4.1 Share of
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192 Appendix 4 Table A4.3 Results o
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Appendix 6 Summary of e-discussion
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200 Appendix 6 caveats to be consid
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202 Appendix 6 political opportunit
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204 Appendix 6 investment in infras
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206 Appendix 6 does not lower women
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208 Appendix 6 • Conduct public a
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210 Appendix 6 women—hardly a gen
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212 Appendix 6 commented on gender-
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214 Appendix 6 clear is the extent
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216 Notes from many different count
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218 Notes 5. A condition of such ow
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220 Notes 14. The pension is paid o
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222 Notes Chapter 11 1. Using data
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References Aboim, M. 2002. “Brazi
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226 References Aromolaran, A. 2002.
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228 References Bid, P., R. Nanavaty
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230 References Case, A., and A. Dea
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232 References ———. 2001. Emp
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234 References Floro, M. 1995. “E
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236 References Harding, S. 1996.
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238 References ———. 2000. “
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240 References Kaufmann, D., A. Kra
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242 References son-Kuhn, and J. Haa
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244 References Mladjenvoic, L., and
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246 References Ostro, B. J., M. San
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248 References Rehn, E., and E. Joh
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250 References Global Technical Con
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252 References UNAIDS. 2003a. Acces
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254 References United Nations Secre
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256 References ———. 1999. “
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