Women and Religion: Advancing Gender Equity in a Globalized World -- Women's Rights are Human Rights

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Distinguished Representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be here today in Chiang Mai to deliver this statement on behalf of Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. It is indeed an honour to be here with all of you. I look forward to a fruitful exchange on this very important topic of Women and Religion: Advancing Gender Equality in a Globalized World.

The issues being addressed here today and in the coming days—women’s rights, religion, and globalization—are each interesting and stimulating on their own. We all know very well that these issues, when taken separately, can be the cause of heated debate. But I must say, when taken together, they could easily cause a revolution!

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has called for a social revolution to improve the status of women and girls around the world. In my opinion, this is an effort in which religion, and women, men and young people have a key role to play. It is an effort to promote compassion, tolerance, justice and love. These are values to which all religions subscribe.

At the United Nations, there has been much talk over the years about gender equality, and this discussion is guided by a few basic principles. These principles include the inherent dignity and worth of every human being, and the universal quest to be free from fear and free from want.

Yet today, we see that women and girls the world over are not free from fear or free from want. Many women and girls do not live lives of dignity. In all regions, women, to varying degrees, continue to be denied their basic rights.

And this is a shame. This is a crime because women are the backbone of families and societies.

Throughout history and across cultures, women have been honoured as the givers of life, nurturers of families, sustainers of communities and quiet builders of nations. But, all too often, they have also been dishonoured, regarded as mere property, cheated by gross inequity, burdened by overwork and battered by violence.

Ironically, in societies where women are seen only as wives and mothers, girls have fewer opportunities to continue their education and to perform other social and economic roles. Around the world, millions of women continue to be voiceless and vulnerable, due to legal inequality, harmful traditions, and deeply rooted discrimination. Many women still believe they are inferior to men and, sadly, practices reflect this.

In India, for instance, millions of girls are “missing” from society, due to a preference for boys. In El Salvador, a higher price is paid to a midwife for the delivery of a boy than for that of a girl. In Mexico, the theft of a cow is considered a more serious crime than the rape of a woman. And who among us will ever forget the human rights that were denied the women and girls of Afghanistan?

But, while discrimination and violence against women and girls remain widespread, we must also acknowledge that progress is being made. We are making progress when crimes committed against women are regularly reported in the media, and brought to trial, rather than shrouded in secrecy, silence and shame.

We are making progress when more than 14 million women have access to microcredit, and can build a better life for themselves and their children.

We are making progress when laws are being changed and adopted for the first time, granting women equality.

One of the greatest achievements of the past half-century has been the increasing ability of women to exercise their basic human rights. One of these rights is the right to choose the number, timing and spacing of one’s children.

Today, 65 per cent of couples in the developing world use family planning, compared to 10 per cent just 50 years ago. This is a tremendous achievement, a revolution really, that has literally changed the face of the earth. Because women are making their own choices about childbearing, families are smaller, and children are healthier and better educated.

And this constitutes a great achievement for women, for human rights, for the environment and for global health.

Family planning saves lives. Over the years, it has saved the lives of millions of mothers, babies and children. This is because having babies too close together, or too early or late in life, poses serious health risks. A woman’s ability to plan and space her births gives her a better chance of surviving pregnancy and having a healthy baby.

A recent study in Africa shows that spacing births by three years or more could reduce infant deaths by 50 per cent and family planning could reduce maternal deaths by 20 per cent.

Today, far too many babies and mothers die, during or shortly after childbirth, even though most of these deaths could be easily prevented.

Let us think about this for a minute. Because I want to tell you that each and every minute, one woman dies during pregnancy and childbirth, and 99 per cent of these deaths are among poor women in poor countries. In the wealthy nations, maternal mortality is practically unheard of. It is a thing of the past. But in developing countries, more than half a million women die every year while trying to bring new life into the world. And the reason they die, leaving millions of children orphaned, is because they do not have the health care they need to survive.

This is an issue of globalization because the resources, technology and expertise that are needed to save these women’s lives exist. And it is also a matter of social justice because, for too long, women have not been a priority. They have been on the bottom of the list when it comes to social services and investment, even though studies repeatedly show that investing in women is one of the best investments a country can make.

For the United Nations Population Fund, reducing maternal and infant mortality is a top priority. UNFPA's vision and strategy for maternal mortality reduction is based on three pillars: family planning, skilled attendance at all births and access to emergency obstetric care.

If you remember one thing from today, let it be this: Giving birth should never be a sentence of death. Let’s work together to save women’s lives and make pregnancy and childbirth healthy and safe.

I would also like to talk about the issue of violence against women and girls. It is no exaggeration to state that this violence has reached epidemic proportions. In some cases, it begins in the womb, as in India, where couples choose to eliminate female foetuses because girls are considered a burden while boys are viewed as a blessing, providing social security later in life.

It is our duty to take a stand against discrimination and violence against women and girls, in all its various forms. All human beings are created equal and deserve to live free of cruel and degrading punishment or treatment. All human beings should be encouraged to reach their full potential, and boys should learn, at a young age, to treat girls with dignity and respect. At the same time, girls should be taught that they are just as valuable as boys and they should be fully educated.

I would like to stress that it is the young generation that can bring about gender equality because they are open to change. So, we must focus our messages of equality on parents and young people so they can live these ideals and make them real in their own lives and in their families.

Now, I would like to focus on another issue that is here in Thailand, right here in Chiang Mai, and in other regions. It is an issue of grave concern, and that is the trafficking of girls.

Today, globally, there are between 700,000 and 4 million girls and women who are being trafficked each and every year. This heinous crime has become one of the fastest growing and most profitable trades in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This buying and selling of girls is an evil that must be stopped. It is an issue of globalization, of supply and demand, and it is an issue of human rights.

The sexual objectification and wholesale purchase of another human being is a modern form of slavery that degrades both victim and offender.

And one of the causes of this terrible problem is poverty. Girls and women who fall prey to traffickers are often from poor villages, where there are few opportunities to earn an income. Many are lured into thinking they will find employment, only to find themselves thrown into brothels, robbed of their childhood. They find their spirits and dreams crushed, their pillows wet with tears—their lives confiscated, and often destroyed by HIV/AIDS.

All of us have a role to play in assisting the victims of trafficking to start new lives. These girls and women need training and health care, housing and education, so that they can succeed.

I would also like to discuss the issue of HIV/AIDS. As you all know, this is not just a disease of certain high-risk groups. It is a disease that could affect us all. And it is a disease that is spread by stigma, fear and discrimination. Religious leaders have a key role to play in reducing this stigma and discrimination.

I once heard someone say: it is not enough to save souls, we must also save lives. And I think this is true when it comes to HIV/AIDS. Half of all new infections occur in young people, and young women are especially vulnerable. Today women, for the first time, constitute half of all people infected. It is a sad reality that the first instance where women have been able to achieve equality with men is among those infected with HIV/AIDS.

A recent survey by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, found that up to 50 per cent of young women in high-prevalence countries did not know even the basic facts about HIV/AIDS. And in many cases, what they do know is nothing more than myth.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have to work together to prevent HIV infection and to help those who are infected to receive care and treatment. AIDS is a global emergency that demands an urgent global response. Today, there are about 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS and 25 million people have already died from the disease. There are 14 million AIDS orphans.

AIDS is more than a threat to public health; it is a threat to humanity. And we must respond with global solidarity.

UNFPA is one of the co-sponsors of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). And we know what works because we have seen progress in countries such as Uganda, Senegal, Cambodia, and right here in Thailand. We know that we have to build up health systems and expand access to life-saving drugs. We know that we have to break the silence, stigma and discrimination that help this disease spread. And, perhaps most importantly, if we want to stop this epidemic, we know we have to spread effective prevention strategies faster than the spread of the AIDS virus itself.

For UNFPA, the prevention of HIV/AIDS is a top priority.

Over the past two years, I have often recalled that the real struggle is for everyone to enjoy freedom from fear and freedom from want. It is the quest for human dignity. And I have found that women and girls in many countries need increased support to live lives of dignity, where their human rights are respected and their human needs are met.

The work we support in about 150 countries around the world is about human rights, and, very often, about life and death.

• Each and every minute, one woman dies because she did not get the health care she needed during pregnancy and the birth of her child.
• Every minute, 156 underage girls are married, which often robs them of a full education, and the opportunities education brings.
• Every minute, 40 teenage girls become pregnant before their bodies and minds are fully mature.
• Every minute, 5 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are newly infected with HIV/AIDS, the majority of them young women.

I think we can all agree that, although the issues of reproductive health and women's rights can be debated, the realities speak for themselves and demand an urgent response.

For three decades, UNFPA has been there with a sensitive response that respects local cultures and respects international human rights.

The services we promote, which many of us take for granted, include voluntary family planning, care during pregnancy and birth to ensure safe motherhood and healthy babies, the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and the prevention of violence against women.

In essence, we help countries formulate population policies that will support the choices people make and promote sustainable development. We support the right of individuals to make their own decisions regarding the number, timing and spacing of their children. We support the rights of women and men as equal members of the human family. And we acknowledge that we all share the same planet and that we are all interconnected. We must remember that we do not inherit the earth from our parents, but we borrow it from our children and grandchildren.

So, let us join hands and work together to ensure that our children and grandchildren face a future filled with hope and opportunity, a future where they enjoy health and education, and can actively contribute to their societies.

Let us all ensure that compassion, tolerance, justice and love—the cornerstones of all religions—are extended to those who are disadvantaged, isolated and excluded. Let us work together to ensure that girls and women are empowered and can enjoy equality with the men and boys in their families and in the world at large.

Thank you.