Women’s rights: Significant progress made, but still slow

MANILA, Philippines - While there have been “remarkable advances” in promoting the human rights of women and girls and their full participation in society in the past 20 years, the overall progress has been “unacceptably slow” and gender discrimination still persists across the globe, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“More girls are going to school, more women have joined the labor force and more women have access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning,” UNFPA executive director Babatunde Osotimehin said yesterday in time for the celebration of International Women’s Day today.

More women are also in national parliaments and playing a role in advancing peace and security.

Maternal death has been cut in half and there is increased action to protect the health and rights of adolescent girls, a long overlooked population.

Global campaigns against female genital mutilation and child marriage are also gaining momentum, while the global movement to end gender-based violence is growing and more men are promoting gender equality.

“Yet, while these trends hold great promise, overall progress has been unacceptably slow, with stagnation and even regression in some contexts,” Osotimehin lamented.

He noted that 20 years after the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, “no country in the world has achieved gender equality, and discrimination in the law persists in many countries.”

“Women’s rising educational attainment and workforce participation have not been matched with equal prospects for advancement and equal pay,” he added.

In the Philippines, women political prisoners are still locked up in jail. Human rights activists led by the group Karapatan are asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release them as part of the efforts to empower women and in time for the International Women’s Day.

“Among the 491 political prisoners, 43 of these are women who face criminal trumped up charges. We call on the Department of Justice to dismiss their cases and immediately release them,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of Karapatan.

“This includes Andrea Rosal and Miradel Torres who are jailed in Taguig City Jail. Rosal and Torres are mothers who were pregnant during their arrests. Rosal gave birth to a girl only to lose her two days after. Torres had to fight to keep her son after birth and nurse him in jail,” Palabay lamented.

Karapatan said women peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines Wilma Austria-Tiamzon and Loida Magpatoc are also incarcerated. “These women who exercise their right to take part in political affairs are contained in jails because they are unjustly seen as threat to the government.”

Karapatan also reported that of the 224 victims of unexplained killings under the Aquino administration, 18 are women and three girls were raped. But none of these cases were resolved in court, nor its perpetrators put in jail.

“Taking the lives of our sisters such as Cristina Jose, a leader of typhoon survivors, and many young girls in communities struggling for land is an unforgiveable offense,” Palabay stressed.

Free train rides for women

Meanwhile, the Light Rail Transit 1, LRT 2 and the Metro Rail Transit 3 offer free rides to all women today as part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day. With Rhodina Villanueva, Robertzon Ramirez