Presbyterian United Nations Office
hosts seminar on Gender Justice
Follow-up to Beijing conference cites some progress
in women's equality
by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service
NEW YORK CITY -- 24-October-2000 -- A sell-out crowd
of Presbyterians gathered at the Presbyterian United Nations Office here
Oct. 5-8 for a seminar on women's human rights entitled Beyond Beijing:
The Struggle for Gender Justice.
The seminar was part of an ongoing response to a 1996
General Assembly action which called for follow-up study and action on
the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in
1995. The seminar was timed to coincide with the UN's five-year review
(known as "Beijing+5") of the original conference.
Preaching at opening worship on Jesus' words in Luke
4: 18 ("He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to set the
oppressed free and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor"),
Jennifer Butler, associate for global issues at the Presbyterian UN
Office encouraged participants to be bold in preaching the good news of
Jesus Christ.
"Those who are concerned about justice issues
have been too timid about evangelization," Butler said. "It is
not enough to act on Jesus' message -- we must also talk about why we do
it. People need to know it is Jesus who calls us to do these
things."
Speaking from her experience working with UN staff and
human rights groups, Butler said "The world is starving for
religious voices that speak in the name of justice and human
rights."
Speakers included United Nations staff and world
leaders from women's rights organizations.
One of the foremost women's human rights leaders in
the world today, Charlotte Bunch, spoke of the importance of values that
come from religious communities and urged participants to maintain and
protect that vision of justice that is at the core of religious
traditions everywhere.
Bunch is the founder and director of the Center for
Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University. She noted that both the
1995 Beijing Conference and the five-year review of that conference drew
the largest number of people of any UN conference or review session,
demonstrating, she said, the power of the global women's movement.
Dr. Nafis Sadik of Pakistan, world-renowned executive
director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP), talked about the
great strides the world has made in recent years towards addressing
women's rights.
However, she cautioned that still "nearly all
societies have some difficulty treating women and men equally, including
developed nations. Many women, particularly in the developing world, pay
the price with their lives."
Despite continued high rates of maternal mortality,
unequal access to education and lack of economic independence, said
Sadik, "we now see an increase in the numbers of women in countries
all over the world fighting against the system that makes them second
class citizens in their own societies. They are now pointing out that no
religion or culture or value system worth its name denies them
healthcare or education. They are demanding equality with men and
boys."
Demonstrating the growing awareness at the UN and
among non-governmental organizations (NGOs)of the need for involving men
in the struggle for gender equality, Sadik said, "Men can be
willing and enthusiastic partners in women's empowerment."
She lifted up examples of projects around the world
that were educating men about the benefits of gender equality for their
families and communities.
Panel presentations reflected some of the major areas
of concern raised at the Beijing+5 review session: violence against
women, sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, war crimes against women, religious
extremism, economic injustice and teaching men and boys about gender
justice.
