Just four weeks ago my eldest daughter delivered a healthy baby girl, and although four weeks early due to pregnancy complications, both are 'doing' very well. Due to COVID restrictions there was a five day wait before I could wrap my arms around my daughter, then as tears welled in my eyes, my daughter introduced me to her daughter, Evie. No words can fully describe the overwhelming love and instant attachment I felt at that moment.
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As I began to consider my developing sense of responsibility and protectiveness, it wasn't long before I was thinking about the person she would be and her future in this world. Some people would say I, my daughter and granddaughter are very fortunate - we have a comfortable standard of living, access to education and satisfactory health care services, 'opportunities' for work and leisure activities, surrounded and supported by family and friends, choices about how we wish to live our lives etc, and I agree we are 'fortunate', but whilst everyone deserves to feel fortunate - things are not always what they seem. The truth is, we continue to live in an unjust society as gender inequity and discrimination against women and girls remains deeply entrenched in our culture. Achieving, gender equity will mean all genders are 'fortunate'; all enjoy the same rights, opportunities, responsibilities, and protections as each other.
Violence against women, male dominated power structures in politics, board rooms and company management, ongoing hidden discrimination, misogyny and the systematic erasure of women's and girl's achievements continues. This means that everywhere, women are worse off than men, simply because they are women.
This discrimination is simply not acceptable; it harms us all. Gender equity is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. The UN says gender equity is, 'essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.' Women and girls make up half the population of the world, so they make up half the potential of society. Recognising the value of women and girls' contributions, skills and work allows us all to progress as a global community. The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antnio Guterres stated that achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the greatest human rights challenge in our world.
The reality is none of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, nor will our children, and most probably not our grandchildren either. The Global Gender Gap Report 2020 reveals gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. "Bloody hell" I say, why is this so hard to achieve and why should my granddaughter have to make her way through this?
Gender equity is the prerequisite for a better world for all. This is not a new idea, so why is so often characterised as a woman's issue? Women have been fighting for their rights for centuries and despite some critical and obvious advances, discrimination remains the norm, everywhere. Progress has slowed to a standstill and in some cases even been reversed, especially obvious during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. However 2020 was a milestone year for gender equality for many reasons. It marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), the most progressive blueprint on women's rights, unanimously adopted by 189 countries at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China.
What has been achieved? The BPfA 1995 identified 12 actionable areas that remain urgent today; ending violence against women, securing girls' and womens' rights, equal pay for work of equal value, women's participation in decision-making, and climate action. While there has been some advancement in some areas achieving full equality between men and women has not been reached.
There continues to be a strong and relentless pushback against women's rights. Violence against women, including femicide, is at epidemic levels. Legal protections against rape and domestic violence are being diluted or rolled back in some places. Rape within marriage continues to be legal in 34 countries. Women's sexual and reproductive rights are under threat from different sides of politics and religion.
I want a gender equal world for my granddaughter. When each of us decides that gender equity is good for all of us, significant improvements can be achieved. I've decided. I honestly believe the way we talk, think and act every day can create a ripple effect that benefits everyone.
My darling granddaughter I promise to encourage you to speak out and assert yourself. I will always listen and value your thoughts and desires. You are strong, capable and as deserving as the next person. I will praise you for your intelligence, cleverness, creativeness, athleticism and so much more as you grow. I aim to guide and support you to be inclusive, respectful of others and to protest against injustice. I will model and demonstrate what it is to call out sexism and harassment, and challenge any stereotypical notions of gender. I am determined to use language that breaks gender stereotypes, rejecting the binary currently restricting cultural perceptions of gender. I promise this and more, as I love you unconditionally.
The Illawarra Women's Health Centre vision is; "Women and girls are respected, safe and healthy and experience full participation and equity in their lives". No one can wait 99 years.
- Judy Daunt is chairwoman of the Illawarra Women's Health Centre
