UN declaration on ending violence against women reveals challenges

UN declarations are usually not the stuff of headlines amid the clamor of crises and elections. However, a simple declaration made earlier this week at the UN deserves some consideration.

The UN is headquartered in New York city ...

The basic story as reported by Radio Free Europe goes this way, "Muslim and Western countries have approved a new United Nations declaration aimed at combatting violence against women and girls. The nonbinding declaration, adopted by consensus by the UN Commission on the Status of Women, says that violence against females cannot be justified or ignored by any "custom, tradition, or religious consideration." The declaration also calls on countries to provide girls and women with sexual education and contraceptives. The declaration was approved on March 15 despite reservations from the Roman Catholic Church, Iran, Russia, and other states (including Syria no less! - Teatree)." The full text - it is quite the document - can be found here http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw57/CSW57_agreed_conclusions_advance_unedited_version_18_March_2013.pdf

The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was established in 1946, with the US' recently-bereaved First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, making a keynote speech. This year's 57th session was held March 4-15, with the chair and vice chair being women from Liberia and the Philippines. The commission is made up of 45 members among the larger UN body, with the intent of making the group geographically representative. See the UN CSW website for further details ... http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html#about

Marjon Kamara, from Liberia, is chair of the UN CSW's 56th and 57th Commissions.

The reactions and reservations, as well as the realities of women's rights around the world are worth examining. The Catholic Church was, of course, concerned over the twining of "contraceptives" and "religious consideration." Russia, as always, was concerned about any declaration not acknowledging the ultimate sovereignty of the state. Egypt's reaction was clearly the most over-the-top, as representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood condemned the declaration, as reported by the Guardian, UK, newspaper, "calling it a decadent and destructive document that undermined Islamic ethics by calling for women to work, travel and use contraception without their husbands' permission.

In a 10-point memorandum, the brotherhood also criticised the declaration for granting women sexual freedom, allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslims, granting equal rights to homosexual people, and allowing wives full legal rights to take their husbands to court for marital rape. "This declaration, if ratified, would lead to complete disintegration of society, and would certainly be the final step in the intellectual and cultural invasion of Muslim countries, eliminating the moral specificity that helps preserve cohesion of Islamic societies," the brotherhood 's statement claimed."

The reaction among brave Egyptian women was one of public outrage, which as we all have come to know, is a dangerous position to take in Egyptian society. Women here in Cairo protesting the Muslim Brotherhood for its statement

As one contemplates the issues of women's rights and quality of life, the realities are quite sobering.

As the recent rape/murder case in India illustrates, the subservient status of women in that country's varied cultures is a deadly one. Just this week, another woman tourist in India believed she had to jump out a third-story window to escape the advances of the hotel owner. On the other hand, Indian lawmakers have taken up the issue with some force - death penalty for rape if it severely injures, a 20-year upper limit instead of seven year sentence for any rape conviction, stalking and voyeurism addressed, and age of consent raised to 18 from 16. See article Indian parliament to debate bill allowing death penalty for rapists

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Indian women protest against recent case of violence against their gender.

Sex trafficking and virtual slavery in many countries, but often associated with South Asia and some eastern European nations; the myth of a cure for AIDs by sleeping with a virgin remains alive across Africa; genital mutilation in various cultures - all are the extreme negatives.

A billboard in South Africa tells a sorry story

And we've yet to address the positives - improving women's educational opportunities, independent decision making, programs that provide economic opportunities for raising families (the issuing of micro-loans has been a major advance). Schools and education seem to be key, and just this week, Malala Yousufzai, the young Pakistani woman who was shot by the Taliban for advocating for girls schools, has returned to classes (but in the UK ...), see USA today article here

Ms Yousufzai, happy to be a student, considering being able to learn "a gift."

Teatree believes this broad stream of issues truly is a newsworthy global concern.

Pakistan in crisis

The deliberate shooting a few days ago of a 14 year old Pakistani girl by a Taliban group has been well covered by the world's media. Besides the act itself, which shines the spotlight on Islamic extremists' archaic and violent view of women, education, and development, the shooting emphasizes the internal tensions of this nuclear armed country.

Malala Yousafzai

The story is straightforward as it is painful and sobering. Malala Yousafzai, a school student from Mingora, a town in the volatile Swat District of Pakistan, was known for her education and women’s rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban has at times banned girls from attending school. In early 2009, 11-year old Yousafzai emerged through a blog she wrote for the BBC detailing her life under the Taliban regime, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls. The following summer, a New York Times documentary was filmed about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region. Yousafzai began to rise in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and taking a position as chairperson of the District Child Assembly Swat. She has since been nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu, and has won Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize.

Mingora is one of the largest cities in the Swat valley, once a tourist attraction itself called "the Switzerland" of Pakistan.

On October 9, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. In the days following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, and today was flown to the UK for further treatment. Immediately after the shooting, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility, saying that the incident should serve as a warning to other children who participate in “secular-minded” activities. “She was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her idol,” Since then, the Taliban group has reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin.

Hakimullah Mehsud, one of the main leaders of this Taliban group that has claimed responsibility for shooting Yousafzai. Mehsud was reportedly killed in January 2012 from a US drone strike, but the Taliban deny the claim, and no concrete proof has been obtained by the US or Pakistan intelligence services

Perhaps the most welcome surprise out of this shooting was a visceral response from much of the country. A group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan have issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her, and there have been mass demonstrations against the extremists that threaten the increasingly fragile Pakistani institutions and government. The demonstrations are a reminder that there is still a sizable portion of the population that aspires for a responsible, tolerant and compassionate society.

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Schoolchildren in a Mingora school offer prayers for Yousafzai's recovery. Note that both boys and girls are in this class in contrast to Pakistan's Islamic madrassas

Children of all ages and beliefs are increasingly at risk from the extremists in the country

Young Pakistani girls in particular facing an uncertain and limited future if the nation does not address its strident Islamic factions

The size of the demonstrations, however, gives this observer hope that the country's majority could be sufficiently sobered regarding their future to demand a new approach.

Still, the larger questions, while bubbling closer to the surface after this shooting, remain.

Does Pakistani's military continue to cling to geopolitical positions such as striving for the high elevation land of Kashmir, thus diverting its assets from confronting lawless tribal areas.

Tribes embedded with or sympathetic to Islamic extremist Taliban or Al-qaeda groups control much of the western mountainous spine of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan

Will Pakistan's notorious intelligence services remain suspect as collaborators or sympathizers with the Taliban.

Pakistan’s ISI chief Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam

Will the Pakistan government crack down, or can it, on notorious madrassas - schools run by Islamic extremists that create an ever ready pool of young Islamic warriors.

Can moderate Islamic leaders successfully counter the increasingly strident and powerful extremist factions.

Lots of images of hardline clerics calling for protests and revenge, very difficult to find images of moderate Islamic leaders ...

And how close are Islamic extremists to accessing Pakistan's nuclear weapons.