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How can we lobby governments of the world for the advancement of women and girls in relation to education (even simple literacy), health and gender equality when their agendas are dominated by financial crises, climate change and problems relating to failed states? This was the question that Marianne Haslegrave addressed when she met the local Winchester Association recently. Winchester President Liz Legg with BFWG President Marianne Haselgrave (R) A key issue such as reproductive health, Marianne’s special expertise, has to be approached from a human rights perspective and progress has been made since a major conference on this subject in 1994. Now, however, to get it discussed, one has to put it in terms of increasing population affecting climate change: the reason why women have so many children in most developing countries is because they have no access to contraception. It’s very important that the unmet needs of women for contraception are met, which leads to population stability, which in turn helps to prevent environmental degredation. Nationally and internationally we are, of course, also greatly concerned with literacy and this can be argued in connection with failed states, like Zimbabwe and Somalia and, increasingly worryingly, Pakistan is liable to join them. Here literacy rates can be put into context with women’s very low health status. A recent bomb attack in Islamabad was outside a women’s college, not a coincidence as the Taliban are very against women’s education. Marianne encouraged the Winchester members, as part of an international organisation and having privileges compared with most women of the world, to work hard to foster developments in higher education where they could. They could also research and monitor the local environment and follow the progress of the Beijing +15 Report, which is due out in January 2010. There is a review on the UK government’s last five years’ progress which could be worked on and responses made at the national and international level since IFUW has consultative status at the UN. In addition, UWE could feed it into the system via the Council of Ministers. As the tenth anniversary of the declaration of the eight Millennium Goals approaches, one can see that the fifth goal – on maternal health - is the one least likely to be met; this target aims to decrease the numbers of women dying in childbirth. Improving the lives of women worldwide is one of the Federation’s main aims and is one of the most important Millennium Goals too. At least 95% of the reasons for death of women in childbirth are preventable. There is so much that should and can be done and it is frustrating that women should be dying from the one thing that men cannot do! As for the Federation, Marianne declared that BFWG had been turned into a “lean and mean” organisation. Now despite the fall in investment income, we were not far off the break-even point; sound investment and strategic selling meant that we did not lose much over the last nine months. The flexible working of the Management Team means that we use people’s strengths. Also we are focusing on key areas: the programme (the House of Lords seminar is a sell-out); PR; and communication (we have the newly updated website and there will be more changes to News and the logo is being worked on). Other positive aspects are the security of owning our own premises, though we are hoping to rent out more, and having our own charities. The Scholarship Fund and FfWG fulfil a need that no other women’s organisation can, and we have also the Sybil Campbell Collection for research at Winchester. We must use these unique selling points to increase our membership Marianne said that we can put forward our concerns at national level via the WNC next spring, as well as via UWE and IFUW. However, most it is most important that we concentrate our attention where it can make most difference and this is in Brussels, where Europe speaks with a common voice. Perhaps next year’s November seminar should be in the Brussels Parliament, not the one in London! |
