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Strategic objective B.4.
Develop non-discriminatory education and training
Actions to be taken
83. By Governments, educational authorities and other educational and academic institutions:
o. Acknowledge and respect the artistic, spiritual and cultural activities of indigenous women;
p. Ensure that gender equality and cultural, religious and other diversity are respected in educational institutions;
q. Promote education, training and relevant information programmes for rural and farming women through the use of affordable and appropriate technologies and the mass media – for example, radio programmes, cassettes and mobile units;
r. Provide non-formal education, especially for rural women, in order to realize their potential with regard to health, micro-enterprise, agriculture and legal rights;
s. Remove all barriers to access to formal education for pregnant adolescents and young mothers, and support the provision of child care and other support services where necessary.
Beijing Declaration (1995)
The Indigenous in this set of stipulations continues. Also, the wider emphasis on the less monetary-driven goals of the international community in recognition of the human ‘spirit.’
The idea is art and culture. Some imply spiritual, but this, to me, seems mainly to apply to the non-supernatural or the edificative and instructional: tall tales of fantasy and magic to tell a story to children, not intended for but often believed by adults.
The notion of tales from ancient pre-science societies as indicative of the fundamental nature and processes of the world reflects more moral and coming-of-age stories and not facts about the world. True in the sense of cultural wisdom; false in the sense of natural fact.
But, of course, the purported wisdom of several stories from near pre-history take on a garb more akin to the factual than to the less scientific; science can redact the notion of even purported wisdom from all traditions. Skepticism is important.
The gender equality of the Indigenous women in the relevant abovementioned areas is crucial. The respect for particular cultural traditions comes from this, too. This can be enshrined in the educational institutions, as is happening.
Furthermore, the more vulnerable and less empowered populations of women become an additional emphasis in document-after-document, where women’s rights and fundamental equality are to be encouraged and implemented as per the stipulations and recommendations & within the force of the international community.
This includes the inclusion of the non-formal education that many women generally, but rural and Indigenous get more of in particular, for the flourishing of the individual women, who happen to be a part of more impoverished, statistically speaking, groups than others around the world.
Then the others, lastly, emphasized are the pregnant/expectant mothers or already mothers with dependents. The practical empowerment of this population would go a significant way in the improved relations of the health of not only women but families and communities as well.
The provisions listed are simply the bare minimum, which are childcare and social support services to improve the probability of the health and wellness of mother and child from pregnancy to post-birth for several years, minimum.
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- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
- Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
- Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
- The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
- Beijing Declaration(1995).
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
- The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
- Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.
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Photo by Mike Scheid on Unsplash