The Sequence of Success: Helping Women & Girls Achieve Their Aspirations – A Proven Formula

A pro-family panel met to discuss the Sequence of Success, a life plan that has statistically proven to all-but guarantee that those women who follow it will not experience a lifetime of poverty.  Other similar issues were addressed as well, including the mutual influence of fathers and daughters on each other and the inequality of the gender ratio of births due to sex-based abortions and resulting in a world community that is predominantly male.

Sponsored by United Families International and The Leadership Foundation, the session The Sequence of Success: Helping Women & Girls Achieve Their Aspirations – A Proven Formula, focused on the three progressive stages (education, marriage, children) through which women should plan their lives. 

The first two speakers, Laura Bunker, President of United Families International Marcia Barlow, Vice-President for International Programs for United Families International provided both statistical and anecdotal evidence to demonstrate that female youth should be taught to first get an education, then get married, and finally have a baby.  It was argued that teaching girls to follow this path would result in lower rates of teenage pregnancy than sex education, contraceptive use, and abortion.  Bunker introduced and outlined the Sequence of Success while Barlow supported it with statistical evidence from the past decades.

Candice Merrill a student from Brigham Young University spoke on the need to provide equal opportunities for all girls, including from the time of conception.  As a result of increased technological capacity through ultrasounds and abortions, female infanticide has increased from 5% to its current range of 35-45%, resulting in the abortion of 160 females, which is equivalent of getting rid of all the women in the United States.  Merrill also discussed the phenomenon of “bare branches,” which results of a gender imbalance between adult men than available women.  Men who have no opportunities to create a family suffer negative repercussions, including low socio-economic status, lack of connection to their community, more violent tendencies, and the creation of a bachelor subculture.  Merrill also highlighted the link between abortions and breast cancer.  Full term pregnancies and breast-feeding substantially lowers women’s risk for breast cancer.  Merrill closed her presentation by stating that feminism should also support the belief in unborn sisters having a chance at life.

Tim Rarick, a Brigham Young University professor in Marriage and Family Studies and Child Development, presented during the last portion of the panel.  Focusing on the impact of fathers on daughters, Rarick referenced researchers, his own experiences as a father, and pop culture icons from Emma Watson to Katy Perry to Barack Obama.  Using both anecdotal and empirical evidence, Rarick argued that children in homes with their biological father have greater success in virtually every aspect of their lives, from school to future relationships.  The inverse is also true, in that children who grow up without their biological father, or any positive male role model, have greater chances of experiencing poverty, violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or crime.  Rarick concluded his presentation by citing David Popenoe, who argues to re-establish marriage as a priority in the policies of employers, social work, education, and government.

On March 10, 2015, Former US Secretary of State Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a keynote address at the CSW Side Event “Women's Empowerment Principles” organized by Global Compact.

Ms. Clinton started by emphasizing that the gathering came at a pivotal moment in the cause of gender equality: time to build on the progress of the past and seize the promise of the future. She stressed that women and men who understand that gender equality was not just morally right but was “the smart thing to do” were growing in number. Therefore, it is crucial that we keep making the same case over and over again.

Former US Secretary of State referenced the Fourth World Conference on Women of 1995 held in Beijing where representatives of 189 nations pledged to work for an ambitious goal – the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of society. That was the time when the message became clear and unified: human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all. Institutions, slowly but surely, focused on the untapped potential of women to drive economic growth and social progress. Now, 20 years later, it is our job to keep the ambition of Beijing alive and to keep marching forward.

According to Ms. Clinton, despite all the obstacles, there has never been a better time in history to be born female. A lot of progress has been made and laws implemented. However, Ms. Hilary noted that all the laws do not count for much if they are not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice, not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. They have to be made real in people’s lives. It is important to realize that deep-seated cultural holes and structural biases continue to hold back the full participation of women and girls and expose them to discrimination and abuse.

Ms. Clinton called the full participation of women and girls “the great unfinished business of the 21^st century.” She expressed her conviction that the only way to achieve broad-based growth and prosperity in a competitive and interdependent world was to build economies and societies that worked for everyone and included everyone. “We can’t afford to leave any talent on the sidelines,” noted the leader. Ms. Clinton called on all the relevant stakeholders to integrate gender equality throughout all of the goals of global sustainable development. If it is not there, there will be less of a force behind change.

Finally, the speaker underlined that we can be gratified that we have stuck together as a world and have continued to make the case. “The momentum for change is here but now we have to decide how we are going to respond. Bringing women and girls off the margins and into the mainstream has to be our mission now. The progress of the past 20 years was not an accident. It took commitment, accountability, and unity. So let’s keep working until we can finally say that the unfinished business of the 21^st century is done,” concluded Ms. Clinton.

Photo Exhibit "Women in Conflict"

On March 9, 2015, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations introduced a photo exhibition entitled “Women in Conflict.” The exhibit was delivered from Ukraine by the Ukrainian delegation in order to show the conflict in Ukraine through a different lens – the eyes of the state’s most vulnerable population.

However, the women featured on the photos do not look or behave as such. They stand up for the independence and integrity of their country as strongly as men do. This is the message that was the uniting theme of all the statements made at the opening by the Ukrainian officials:  Ambassador of Ukraine to the UN Yuriy Sergeyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhij Kyslytsya, as well as members of the Ukrainian Parliament Iryna Herashchenko, Iryna Lustenko and Mariya Ionova.

The approach undertaken in the preparation of the exhibit is not so typical for the Ukrainian community. The customary path, namely the depiction of men participating in anti-terrorist operations, has been significantly expanded. It allows for the realistic depiction of the impact of the conflict on communities, namely its influence of all the population groups. The attendees were able to see women-heroes, fighters, brides, activists, as well as the ones who were deprived of everything by the war.

The members of the delegation emphasized that the war would be reflected on the society even after the military actions are over. All the individuals have been seriously touched by the military actions unfolding in front of them. The trauma will be transmitted among all until the psychological challenges are addressed. The latter will only be possible if specialized psychological assistance is provided by the experts in the field. Therefore, it is crucial that the impact of war is recognized and not suppressed. 

The well-being of future generations depends on the ways the population faces the above challenges. In this process, women are truly the moving force of recovery.  The exhibit is another strong proof of their potential to cause change.

Voice of America on Photo Exhibit "Women in Conflict"

Every Woman, Every Child

On March 10, 2015, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon participated in the CSW side event entitled “Every Woman, Every Child” in order to launch a Progress Report on his Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.

Vera Brezhneva, UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, joined the Secretary General at this high level meeting to discuss progress that has been made in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV. Ms. Brezhneva expressed her satisfaction with the fact that in the era of globalization she, as a global citizen, had an opportunity to have a public voice and to influence the future. She encouraged the audience not to stop until we have achieved fairness, dignity and equality for all women and girls. The Goodwill Ambassador noted that we should not stop our efforts until no child anywhere is HIV positive.

She referenced Secretary General’s Global Plan which has led to considerable progress in this regard. UNAIDS has mobilized leaders, partners, mothers and fathers in order to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV. According to Ms. Brezhneva, the Global Plan has allowed to save over 800 thousand infants from HIV. Today, everything is being done to keep their mothers alive. The global campaign titled “Believe It, Do It” has made a contribution to achieving this goal as well. The statistics is, nevertheless, still striking: in 2013, 240 thousand infants worldwide were still born with HIV AIDS. By the end of the year 2015 this number is supposed to be close to zero.

However, we are still not reaching every mother and child. The UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador noted that she was “shoked” by the fact that HIV was still the leading cause of death worldwide for women of reproductive age and that over 60 per cent of all new HIV infections globally were among adolescent girls.

Ms. Brezhneva drew a parallel between HIV AIDS and violence. She emphasized that violence against women and girls increased their vulnerability to infection. Therefore, as Ms. Brezhneva noted, it is particularly important to help those that have difficult living conditions. Having met inspiring women and girls living with HIV in Armenia, Russia and Ukraine, Ms. Brezhneva realized that they did not need our statistical data or good intentions. What they wanted was respect, practical assistance and support.

The UN AIDS Goodwill Ambassador concluded by calling on the audience to "do something to change the situation." “Only if we do something together and do our utmost can we really change the world. I am confident that through our joint efforts we can help every woman and every child,” noted Ms. Brezhneva.

NGO Forum Parallel Event: Women’s Right to Peace and Security in Ukraine

On March 10, 2015, the UN Church Center hosted a panel discussion “Women’s Right to Peace and Security in Ukraine.” The panel moderated by Katerina Levchenko, President of International Women Rights Center La Strada, consisted of Olena Suslova, founder of Women’s Information Consultative Center in Ukraine; Lyudmyla Porokhnyak-Ganovska, Chairwoman of the National Council of Women in Ukraine; Irina Lutsenko, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine; Sergiy Ustimenko, Deputy Minister of Social Policy on European Integration, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.

In her intervention, Ms. Suslova stated that domination that is currently observed in Ukraine on multiple levels in unacceptable since nobody has the right to speak for women. Ukraine is the first country in the world to develop a national response plan during the conflict. This plan is being developed due to the need for security, an integral part of which should be gender parity and justice. 

The National Action Plan in line with the Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women. Peace. Security” aims to establish protection mechanisms for victims of conflict with special attention paid to the most vulnerable population groups – women and children. Such a gendered approach to decision-making and women’s participation in peace-building will be the foundation of Ukraine’s successful recovery from the consequences of the conflict.

Mr. Kyslytsya emphasized that despite considerable progress in regards to gender equality, Ukraine remains a very patriarchal society. The gap between men and women has been intensified by the conflict. Over 60 per cent of IDPs are women. Therefore, it is essential to maximize the satisfaction of their needs without waiting for the times of peace. Mr. Kyslytsya acknowledged the contribution of international organizations to the alleviation of issues in conflict-affected areas of Ukraine. Finally, he expressed his belief that with continued support from Ukraine’s international partners, the country will be able to tackle the existing challenges more efficiently.

Ms. Porokhnyak-Ganovska drew attention of the audience to the most vulnerable population groups in Ukraine and their concrete needs. She stressed the necessity of establishing aid centers that are crucial for the recovery of over 300 thousand women IDPs. According to Ms. Porokhnyak-Ganovska, special focus should be made on increasing the number of family doctors and psychologists that have gone through specialized training. The increase in the amount of medical professionals will allows for successful recovery from post-traumatic stress experienced by millions of Ukrainians.

Mr. Ustimenko noted that the protection of women’s rights is crucial on Ukraine’s path towards European integration. Therefore, gender issues have been solidly integrated into Ukrainian domestic policies. Deputy Minister noted that Ukraine strives to provide women and children with the special social support they are entitled to. Finally, the state acknowledges the importance of and will continue working towards promoting women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace-building.

 

Ms. Lutsenko encouraged the audience to not be indifferent and stand in solidarity with Ukraine. She drew a parallel between the current military conflict in the country and the Nazi regime. Ms. Lutsenko emphasized that the Nazi’s were defeated only through common effort. Therefore, it is important that we channel our efforts to protecting the most vulnerable. It is crucial that we all stand up for the European values that Ukraine is fighting for.

CSW General Debate

The 59^th CSW general debate took place on March 9, 2015. Member states delivered their statements on the progress of protecting women’s rights on the state and international levels. The statements aimed to present the successes and challenges in state efforts related to social protection of women. Officials acknowledged the civil society for its contribution to the preparation of the meeting and commanded UN Women for its relentless work in the realm of women empowerment.

State representatives emphasized the importance of strengthening the autonomy of women worldwide and re-affirmed their strong commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Delegates agreed that despite the improvements in this context, the progress has been too slow and uneven. In addition, violation of the rights of women and girls remained a too frequent occurrence.

Overall, the participants of the debate underlined that the full realization of women’s rights should be realized through a range of vital initiatives. They are, but not limited to, the support of productive labor markets, strengthening of peace and security, enabling women to be masters of their sexuality and reproductive health, guaranteeing inclusive economic growth, breaking the cycle of poverty in households, focusing on gender parity, and designing more targeted polices in all areas of development. The reform of policy and legal instruments gained a particular focus throughout the debate.

Importantly, member states agreed that cultural relativism could not be tolerated in the face of violence. In order to create a more socially just society, it is essential to combat the current mindset in cultures for the benefit of the marginalized population. The most vulnerable, disenfranchised and marginalized women should be recognized and protected. More affirmative action should be taken to make sure that women have greater access to all social benefits provided by states. Capacity building of women’s organizations is of great significance. All the SDGs should contain a gender perspective. Every single goal should have a meaningful gender indicator.

Finally, states underlined that investing in women and girls paid off. Therefore, as we are about to embark of the post-2015 development agenda, it is unacceptable that the dreams of equality continue to be mere aspirations for millions of women around the world. If we want to build the future we want, it is imperative that gender equality serves as a pre-requisite for socially just development. Strong political commitment and collaborative efforts are necessary for realizing this aspiration.