Emancipation. Women’s organisations as catalysts for change
In 1995, during the International Women’s Conference of the United Nations in Beijing, concrete targets were agreed with respect to the position of women: reduce the vulnerability and increase the independence and empowerment of women. Since then, however, the process of emancipation has come to a standstill in many countries. If the tide is to be turned, support for women’s organisations in developing countries is urgently needed.
Inspired by the women’s conference in Beijing, many countries changed their policies and laws for women’s rights. Yet in recent years the practical side has been very slow. The women’s movement will have to display renewed vigour, innovation and creativity to make sure that its cause remains on the agenda and to implement the new policies and laws.
Women’s organisations are indispensable when it comes to addressing sensitive issues such as the right to abortion and self determination for body and mind, but also for continual attention for such difficult issues as violence toward women, inheritance and ownership rights and proportional representation in politics, business and the media. Other movements that advocate human rights, gays and lesbians are also needed in order to safeguard women’s rights.
Hivos supports women’s organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as closer to home, in Europe and the Netherlands. Modern women’s organisations often serve as a link between everyday practice in living communities and the national decision-making and legislative processes. They know how to translate women’s needs for those in power and to compare the implementation of laws with the actual situation.
Women’s organisations are the breeding ground for female leadership. Women in positions of leadership can lend an extra boost to the process of emancipation. For example, women in politics are an important factor in ensuring that equal rights and women’s issues remain current and in structurally improving the position of women.
Hivos and its partner organisations devote special attention to ‘vulnerable’ groups such as young women, women in rural areas and women from ethnic and social minorities.
The Hivos approach:
- Hivos advocates the importance of emancipation;
- Hivos insists on implementation of emancipation policies, at both the national and the international levels;
- Hivos encourages cross-border campaigning;
- Hivos increases women’s empowerment;
- Hivos encourages use of modern communications and media in its education and awareness campaigns;
- Hivos supports the development of female leadership;
- Hivos reinforces the capabilities of women’s organisations to train new leaders;
- Hivos offers support to newly emerging organisations representing groups that are hard to reach: people outside major cities, poor people and minorities;
- Hivos promotes cooperation with other organisations that fight for economic independence or better incomes for women.
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