Global efforts to "make poverty history" will fail unless world leaders act now to end gender discrimination, warns "The State of World Population 2005" released recently by the United Nations Population Fund. Sahar El-Bahr reviews the new report "I am here today to say that world leaders will not make poverty history until we stop violence against women and girls. We cannot make poverty history until women enjoy their full social, cultural, economic and political rights," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) during the launch of the report. The report, entitled The promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals comes shortly after the 2005 World Summit in New York, where world leaders pledged to reduce extreme poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Additionally, the report coincides with the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Charter that enshrined the equal rights of women and men. The report asserts that investing in women and girls makes sound economic and social sense. Failure to do so is likely to entrench poverty for generations to come given that discrimination leads to lower productivity, higher education costs and higher death rates among mothers and children. The report also drew attention to the fact that the global community has failed to fulfill its pledges to the world's most impoverished and marginalised peoples. Despite new laws and programmes to improve the condition of the world's most impoverished women, the pace of change is far too slow. While many countries are working to close gender gaps in education and improve health-care access for women, adolescents and other marginalised populations, statistics continue to tell a troubling tale. The UNPFA report revealed some of these horrible statistics: worldwide reproductive health problems -- including HIV/AIDS -- constitute the leading cause of death and illness among women between the ages of 15 and 44. The report further explains that poverty, discrimination and violence make women and girls particularly vulnerable to HIV transmission. When HIV/AIDS first emerged as a public health concern in the 1980s, the majority of those infected were men. Today, approximately half of the estimated 40 million people living with HIV are women, with the greatest increases occurring in young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Perhaps one of the most crucial issues emphasised is that of violence against women. Gender-based violence takes many forms -- both psychological and physical -- and includes domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation, as well as "honor" and dowry-related cases. According to the report, violence continues to terrorise millions of women and girls regardless of geography, race or socio-economic status. In far too many cases, survivors are offered little in the way of recourse, justice or help. Worldwide, one in three women has been beaten, coerced into unwanted sexual relations or abused. The costs to countries -- in increased healthcare expenditures, legal fees, policing and losses in educational achievement and productivity -- are commensurately high. As for women's economic rights, the report stressed that much of the women's work is unrecognised, invisible and unpaid. Even though women are entering the paid workforce in increasing numbers, they risk dismissal should they become pregnant and generally enjoy less overall income and job security than men. In developing countries, rural women are responsible for 60 to 80 per cent of food production, but many governments still prohibit a woman from acquiring or disposing of land without her husband's permission. The UNFPA report shows that World Bank research in some sub-Saharan African countries found that output could increase by up to 20 per cent if more women had equal access and control over farm income, agricultural services and land. Addressing inequitable economic opportunities can lift families and communities out of poverty. Evidence clearly shows that the education of girls, and -- in particular -- secondary education, is critical to poverty reduction and development, yet the world has failed to meet the MDGs target to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005. Research shows that for women and girls, secondary education is associated with improved economic prospects, better reproductive health, improved HIV awareness and altered attitudes towards harmful practices such as female genital mutilation. Their children also benefit: every year of a mother's education corresponds to five to 10 per cent lower mortality rates in children under the age of five. Regarding women's political rights; globally, women hold only 16 per cent of parliamentary seats -- an increase of only four per cent since 1990. Nevertheless, some of the greatest strides are being made in developing countries. Rwanda, for example, has now surpassed Sweden with the highest proportion of women holding parliamentary seats in the world. Regarding the Arab region in particular, the report calls for investments targeted at adolescents and youth. Today, young people constitute almost 40 per cent of the Arab populations. The report emphasised that investments in their well-being will echo for decades to come. Reproductive health problem including HIV/ AIDS, in the Arab region, constitute the leading cause of maternal death and illnesses among women between the ages of 15 and 49. While varying from one country to another, the rate of maternal mortality and morbidity remains elevated. These deaths and illnesses are preventable if access to RH (??) services and modem contraceptives are more widely available in urban and rural areas, as well as conflict zones. The report estimates the rate of illiteracy in the Arab world to be around 40 per cent. Though women's access to education has tripled since 1970, this rate is much higher among women and girls. Women in political life occupy 16 per cent of parliament's seats worldwide. In Arab parliaments women occupy less than five per cent. The UNFPA report suggests that reaching the gender equality goal in Arab states systems will require men's involvement. UNFPA's work in the field shows that male leaders, when presented with evidence-based data, have become valuable allies in addressing reproductive health issues, ranging from maternal mortality to violence against women. Many UNFPA programmes seek to increase men's understanding and participatory role in promoting gender equity, equality and women's empowerment. Obaid concluded her speech by saying that "Many leaders call for free trade to spur economic growth. It is time to call for action to free women of the discrimination, violence and poor health they face in their daily lives." She added, "I can assure you those women all over the world are tired of promises, promise, promises... the time has come, we have the means; we have the commitment; now we need action." Finally the report delivered a simple message but a powerful one: gender equality reduces poverty and saves and improves lives. The time to act is now.
