UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
"ICPD 94"
April 1994
Number 14
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development
Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
NGO REPRESENTATIVES SPEAK OUT FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Forcefully condemning "threats to women's reproductive health and
rights", 10 women representing a diverse group of international
NGOs organized a 6 April press conference to coincide with
PrepCom III. In a series of moving, sometimes personal
statements, the women described their struggles against
"religious fundamentalism" of various kinds and other obstacles
to women's empowerment in reproductive matters. At issue was not
religion, several stressed, but political power.
"We view with alarm current attempts to weaken references
[in the ICPD draft Programme of Action] to contraception,
sterilization and abortion, and to undermine women's rights both
as individuals and as members and heads of households," read a
statement signed by all the participants. This was issued one day
after the representative of the Roman Catholic Church attacked
the draft Programme as lacking "a coherent moral vision".
The first speaker was Dr. Pamela Maraldo, president of the
Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She stated that the
inability to control their lives shackles women to a lesser
status than men; there can be no advancement in the world if the
status of women is not improved.
Mona Zulficar, of the Women's Health Improvement Centre in
Cairo reported on a January 1994 meeting in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in which 227 women from 79 countries adopted a strong
statement on reproductive rights.
Women in Bangladesh must struggle not only against a
deprived economy and cultural restrictions, but also a recent
rise in religious fundamentalism that has targeted women,
reported Sandra Kabir, executive director of the Bangladesh
Women's Health Coalition.
Frances Kissling, president of Catholics For a Free Choice,
said that neither Governments nor religion can substitute for
each individual woman's judgement regarding her reproductive
life. "Culture" cannot justify discrimination against women, she
emphasized.
Sonia Correa, representing the Brazilian NGO IBASE, said
that despite the separation of state and church in Brazil, the
Roman Catholic Church asserts a strong influence on the
governmental decision-making process in matters of reproductive
health.
In Nigeria, one consequence of the lack of reproductive
health information and services is the widespread occurrence of
vesico vaginal fistula, a disabling condition linked to early
child bearing, explained Rakiya Sani Ahmed, leader of a campaign
on this issue in the predominantly Muslim state of Kano.
In Romania -- as in other Eastern European countries --
women use abortion as a means of family planning because they
lack family planning services or information, reported Irina
Dinca, founder of the Youth-for-Youth Foundation which provides
sex education for adolescents. She told of girls as young as 14
resorting to abortion.
Maria Consuelo Mejia, representing Mexico's Information
Group on Reproductive Choice, made a strong appeal for respecting
cultural diversity and human rights. No group has the right to
impose its views on the world and to monopolize ethics, she said.
Luz Alvarez Martinez, co-founder and director of the
National Latina Health Organization in the United States, told of
her feelings when, after giving birth to twins, her Roman
Catholic priest told her she must not practise family planning.
Finally, Margaret Thuo, programme director of the Family
Planning Association of Kenya, said that no one has the right to
force women to have children or not to have children, to tell
women what family planning method they should use, or to withhold
information on choices.
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For printed or electronic copies of the "ICPD 94" newsletter, in
English, French or Spanish, or further information, please contact:
ICPD Secretariat 220 E. 42nd Street, 22nd floor
New York, N.Y. 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 297-5244/5245
Media contact: (212) 297-5023/5030 or 5279
Fax: (212) 297-5250
E-mail: ryanw@unfpa.org or icpd@igc.apc.org
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