Reports From : Africa And Middle East - women's rights

WIN News, Autumn, 2000

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

Each woman, man and child, to realize their full human potential, must be made aware of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms (UN General Assembly resolution 52/127).

It is now widely recognized that in order for development to be sustainable it must be people-centred and built on a foundation of good governance and the rule of law. One important aspect of developing effective policies which lead to social and economic progress is taking into account the ways in which men and women are affected differently by policies and programmes and how their priorities and needs differ. Another is making human rights enjoyment and the gender dimension cross-cutting issues in all phases of policy planning and implementation. Development is a process, which in its ultimate stage brings about the complete realization of all human rights.

Human rights education can play an important role in sensitizing people about the rights to which they are entitled from birth. Young people in particular can be made aware of how to effect positive change, work towards social justice and the inclusion of all people in development and strive for peace and tolerance.

Human rights education may be defined as training, dissemination and information efforts aimed at building a universal culture of human rights by imparting knowledge and skills and moulding attitudes, which are directed towards, inter alia, the promotion of understanding, tolerance, gender equality and friendship among all groups. It enables all persons to participate effectively in a free society.

CEDAW - Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women is unique in that it requires States parties to eliminate discrimination in private lives of people as well as in the public sphere, and this emphasis was brought about through the work of the Commission on the Status of Women...THE PLATFORM OF ACTION, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) spelt out specific ways in which the priority needs of women could be addressed..."

AFRICA: RAPE WIDESPREAD - A MAJOR CAUSE OF AIDS EPIDEMIC

UN WIRE (June 28,2000): http://www.unfoundation.org

"One in four South African men surveyed in a study on sexual violence said they had committed rape by the age of 18, the South Africa Sunday Times reports. The survey questioned more than 27,000 men and women over three years in Johannesburg, Soweto and a number of informal settlements.

Among the young men questioned, 80% said women were responsible for causing sexual violence; 30% said they thought women who were raped 'asked for it'; 20% thought women enjoyed being raped; and 10% said they thought gang rapes were 'cool.' The survey, was conducted by Johannesburg's Southern Metropolitan Local Council and the nongovernmental organization CIETafrica, also found that about 60% of rapists knew their victim. . .South Africa's AIDS epidemic, which affects more than 4 million people, 'adds a frightening dimension to the country's rampant levels of rape,' Reuters reports. Kenya is gripped by a 'toothless' justice system when it comes to rape crimes, according to a commentary in the Nairobi Daily Nation. Police officers sometimes ask whether a rape crime was consensual sex; convicted rapists get away with light sentences and cases take too long to settle. The attorney general should come up with stiffer penalties for rapists, the police chief should look at the way officers handle rape cases and the judiciary should prioritize rape cases. Initiatives against rape should be the whole society's responsibility."