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Today, 8 September 2007,
the Socialist International Women (SIW) gather here in Stuttgart
to celebrate its Centenary and to reconfirm the commitment of its
founding mothers to fight for and achieve equal rights for women
and men.
SIW has always been a
pioneering organisation in the field of gender equality. At a time
when women were not allowed to take part in political activities,
a group of 58 delegates including Clara Zetkin came together on
17 August 1907 at the first International Socialist Women's Conference
in Stuttgart, Germany, and founded what today is known as the Socialist
International Women. One hundred years later, Socialist International
Women is still at the forefront of gender equality and with 146
member organisations it is not only the largest, but also the oldest
women's political organisation worldwide.
From the very beginning,
SIW's main concern has been the participation of women in politics
and throughout the years SIW and in general, the Socialist family,
has had many successes to be proud of.
At their first conference,
the founders of SIW adopted a resolution demanding women's suffrage.
Nowadays, in most countries, women have the right to vote. The first
female member of a cabinet in 1924 was Nina Bang, a Danish social
democrat. The very few gender-balanced governments have been led
by socialist and social democratic parties. And among the small
number of women heads of states and prime ministers, most are socialist:
Golda Meir, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Benazir Bhutto, Mary Robinson
and at this present time, Helen Clark, Tarja Halonen, Lu’sa Dias
Diogo, Portia Simpson, Michelle Bachelet, and Micheline Calmy-Rey.
All these women are role models who encourage other women to speak
out and compete for leadership positions.
SIW has also led the
path in advocating for the use and implementation of a quota system
in all socialist and social democratic parties. The quota system
has proven to be the most effective and efficient tool to redress
the imbalance between women and men in politics.
SIW has also worked long
and hard in persuading governments to ratify the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),
and the Optional Protocol to the Convention, as these are vital
instruments in the protection of women's human rights.
A milestone in the advancement
of women was the fourth UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing
in 1995. Thanks to this conference the world has recognised that
gender equality is critical for the peace and development of every
nation, and as a result, a number of governments have put gender
equality on the political agenda.
On the whole, much progress
has been made since SIW began, but nevertheless gender equality
is still not a reality in many areas. One example is within the
family, another example is within the workplace, but most crucial
for SIW, in decision-making. According to the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) women's representation in national parliaments is only
a mere 17.3%, and in cabinet positions the percentage of women ministers
is even lower.
For this reason, the
SIW Centenary is not only a day of celebration, but also a day to
draw inspiration from past struggles and achievements in order to
face the challenges that lie ahead: eradication of poverty and hunger,
as well as violence against women, as this is the most extreme form
of inequality, are among the many challenges affecting women the
most. Further challenges include access to clean water, healthcare
and safe abortion, which are basic human rights; as well as access
to education, which is the key to the empowerment of women. Therefore
SIW stresses the importance of adopting laws to be implemented through
public policies starting with the United Nations' Millennium Development
Goals.
With globalisation and
the rapid advances in technology new challenges have emerged that
need to be addressed urgently: the migration of people; the effects
of climate change, the threats of fundamentalism and terrorism;
the fight against pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and malaria; and the
trafficking of human beings, in particular women and children.
Other areas that need
attention are: conflict prevention and resolution, as mainly women
and children are victims of wars and conflict; and peace-building,
as a lasting peace can only be established with the participation
of women.
One hundred years ago,
a group of 58 delegates had a vision of a world in which women and
men could be equal. They were courageous women - passionate about
their beliefs and they are an inspiration to us all. It is our duty,
and we owe it to them, to finish the work that they began and to
confront the new challenges ahead by working for peace and development.
For this reason, SIW member organisations present here in Stuttgart
today, reconfirm their strong commitment to fight for and achieve
equal rights for women and men.
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