STATE OF WOMEN IN CITIES 2012-2013 - UN-Habitat

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Chapter 2.1 Gender, Quality Of Life And Prosperity Of Cities This chapter considers a range of factors that underpin ‘quality of life’ in cities in relation to gender and urban prosperity with a specific focus on housing, health and gender-based violence. In relation to the gender empowerment and urban prosperity nexus, the chapter highlights gender disparities in physical and financial capital and assets as well as the gaps in power and rights. It also emphasises that there remains considerable scope for reducing these gender inequalities and providing women with opportunities to access resources and opportunities in relation to their quality of life that can lead not only to wider urban prosperity but also to women’s empowerment. among those living in Rio de Janeiro with 70 per cent stating their city was not committed compared with only 22 per cent in Kingston and 23 per cent in Johannesburg (See Figure 2.1.1). Woman at hatcliffe extension evictions Zimbabwe. © UN-Habitat Attitudes towards women’s quality of life in cities The survey highlighted how urban residents felt that the policies for promoting quality of life in their cities were generally adequate although they needed significantly more attention. For instance, while one-quarter thought that they were ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’, more than one-third (34 per cent) felt that they were ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. The most positive were those living in Johannesburg where 45 per cent thought they were ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ with the most negative residing in Rio de Janeiro where 56 per cent felt they were ‘very poor’ or ‘poor’. This is further reflected in the fact that 40 per cent of people felt that their city was ‘not fully committed’ to promoting quality of life for women. This was very marked 26
GENDER AND THE PROSPERITY OF CITIES Figure 2.1.1 Perceptions of commitment of city policies to promote quality of life of women 50 Percentage of respondents 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Fully Committed Committed Somewhat Committed Not Making Enough Efforts Not Committed 0 Bangalore Johannesburg Kampala Kingston Rio de Janeiro Total Source: UN-Habitat Survey, 2012 Women, gender and housing Housing is widely regarded as an essential human need and right, as reflected in its incorporation into the Millennium Development Goals, with MDG 7, Target D being to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. This is actually one of the few MDG targets that has been reached a decade ahead of schedule, with 220 million people having moved out of slum conditions between 2000 and 2010 alone. 1 However, despite the fact that the original benchmark was arguably set too low (at only around one-tenth of slum dwellers worldwide), progress has been geographically varied. Moreover, although the proportion of urban residents living in slums has dropped in most developing regions, with China and India at the forefront, in absolute terms, the number of slum dwellers has continued to rise. 2 These trends are especially pertinent to women, not only because they often constitute a larger than average share of people in slums, but because of strong linkages between women and the ‘domestic domain’. 3 Housing is a key physical, economic and social asset for women. Not only do women rear children in their houses, but it is also their main site of social network creation and income generation. 4 Housing is also critical to the identity, dignity and sense of belonging of individuals, especially if their rights are upheld by law. Even when people start out in precarious shelter, housing can be a meaningful pathway out of poverty and in turn, a route to prosperity. 5 Women’s rights to land and housing Gender equality in rights to land and housing has been established in a number of international treaties and conventions, including Article 16 of CEDAW (Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women). 6 Subsequent developments include the reaffirmation in 2007 at the UN’s Human Rights Council in New York, of ‘the human right to adequate housing’ as ‘the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity’. In 2010, General Recommendation 27 was adopted by the CEDAW Committee, emphasising older women’s rights to adequate housing and protection against forced evictions and homelessness. The importance of housing for women also features in UN-Habitat’s Global Campaign for Secure Tenure, as well as in the World Urban Campaign. 7 Yet despite these provisions, gender continues to be a major axis of discrimination in land and property ownership. For example, UNICEF estimates for a range of Latin American countries that women are seldom more than 25 per cent of landowners, while the OECD estimates that for 82 countries with a population of over 1 million outside the OECD and EU, only 15 per cent of women own land. 8 In the survey, 64 per cent of people across all cities except Kampala (which was excluded) felt that more than half of all women had no access to secure housing. However, it also emerged that 28 per cent in all cities thought that existing efforts to attain gender equity in access to housing tenure were 27
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STATE OF WOMEN IN CITIES 2012-2013 - UN-Habitat

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