TrustLaw live blog

Lots of interesting things going on today.

Really good films launched - including the 007 film - what did everyone think of it?

Make Women Matter also launch 5 films called 5 voices for MDG5. These feature people from Marie Stopes International, Royal College of Midwives, YouAct and White Ribbon Alliance - they are all available on their site. www.makewomenmatter.org/watch

On behalf of the Make Women Matter campaign, I'd love to know what you think of the issues raised in these films.

@Lindsay - that is such good news. Over here documentary makers seemed very concerned about waves of feminism and how women from different waves relate to each other. Or don't. It seems very divide-and-conquer to me. And quite beside the point. I'll check out the article.

To Mollins, et al: But we do need a fourth wave to make the movement relevant for younger women -- I am waiting for THEM to do it .

Why tackling climate change without women's voices won't work www.dw-world.de

Thanks for sharing the « 10 myths about women » by Care. Particularly heartening to see that the report is shattering the myth that "women can't lead" and “women's empowerment comes at the expense of men ». Why do such myths persist when rigorous studies are consistently demonstrating the positive correlation between women’s leadership at all levels of society, in business and politics, and enhanced business performance and enhanced GDP?

@Aida - I think we are in the fourth wave and many younger women are doing it themselves. But may i still say ... the waves analogy still bugs me!

The UN has published an interesting report on the importance of increasing the number of women peacekeepers because 'women and men experience conflict differently and therefore understand peace differently' - an observation that is relevant to wider discussion of women in the workplace? www.un.org

@Poonam Singh et al Oh that is sad! if it seems to younger women that "feminist" means non inclusive. See myths, below. And I agree @Aida that who needs waves? Do we have 'waves' of democracy? The very word implies that feminism is thing that comes and passes...

@Maria, well said but decision-making at corporate and parliamentary levels, and the degree of inclusion of women in this decision-making, is shaping the societies we live in and influencing women's human rights for better or for worse...

With reference to boardroom discussion, we had a couple of posts on our 100 Years of International Women's Day blog "Lack of women's voices on FTSE boards unacceptable" by Alison Steed and www.trust.org and "Women in the boardroom" by Nicola Mendelsohn www.foundation.reuters.com

@Lindsey, HWW facilitates The Art of Honoring Leadership Mentoring Program for first generation, female, college students of color. Students work with professional female organizational leaders of color to learn and develop professional skills, expand their leadership capabilities, and gain support, contacts, and strategies to seek and develop an inspiring career and succeed in business and politics. Contact nancy@honoringwomenworldwide.org for information about sposoring a student or becoming a mentor!

@Nancy, thank you! You're doing wonderful work! I've seen the life-changing benefits of student sponsorship programmes. Indeed, I'm just back from the Philippines for Enfants d'Asie, www.enfantsdasie.com a humanitarian organization I work for which runs education sponsorship programme for girls from city slums.

@Tracey @Lindsay Agreed! Guardian article nails it. Re 'telling our own story' though I think women's history can't be in a box all its own: our stories must be included in history, so much of what is truly happening in the world exists in the relationships btw woman and men. (Novelist speaking...)

From ActionAid Chief Executive Joanna Kerr:

Hour follows hour and 13,000 women, many arriving in Bhopal after three days of travel, come together on the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day to ask for equality and freedom. This rally (Dharna) is a public protest against the apathetic attitude of the state towards the poorest women and a demand for rights over land as well and freedom from violence.

Yet while awe-inspiring, these women still have so much to fight for, and most change does not come without its obstacles. The protesters were met by yet another oppression: the local police force. Police declared their protest “illegal” and many were arrested, including six of my own colleagues.

Read Joanna's full blog on
ActionAid International: act.ai
ActionAid UK: act.ai

@Katherine and Tracy, agreed but men, by definition, have a vital a vital role to play alongside women in protecting women’s rights and improving the global status of women. I recommend the article “what about the guys” by Katrin Benhold in the Female Factor.

From Riet Groenen, Gender Advisor, Pacific Sub-Regional Office, UNFPA

Every year, more than half a million women and girls die from the complications of pregnancy or childbirth. More than 80 per cent of maternal deaths worldwide are due to five causes: haemorrhage, sepsis, unsafe abortion, obstructed labour and hypertensive disease during pregnancy. While these are the direct causes of maternal death, unavailable, inaccessible, unacceptable, or poor quality health care is fundamentally responsible. Research has shown that about four out of five maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to essential maternity and basic health-care services. Of all health indicators, maternal mortality ratios show one of the greatest gaps between rich and poor countries. The lifetime risk of a woman dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth in Niger is about 1 in 7, compared to 1 in 48,000 in Ireland. In Millennium Development Goal 5, the international community committed to reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Yet figures released in a recent UN report show only limited progress in making motherhood safer, especially in the poorest countries.

With trained health-care staff, properly equipped primary health-care and emergency facilities, and adequate medicines and supplies, most maternal mortality and morbidity could be prevented. But deeper, underlying causes keep the goal of safe motherhood out of reach for many developing countries. Most of these causes stem from the subordinate position of women. Many are unable to negotiate contraceptive use with their husbands or partners; nor do they demand the right to share in decision-making that affects their lives. This lack of power may be magnified in the face of domestic violence. Furthermore, the meager budgets allotted for sexual and reproductive health care are rarely challenged. Poverty, gender discrimination, social exclusion and political insecurity all serve to deepen and solidify the direct and underlying causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. They are further exacerbated by a lack of global commitment to respond to women’s needs and to improve their status.

Ultimately, reducing the toll of maternal mortality and morbidity on women, girls and their families requires a human rights-based approach, with gender equality and cultural sensitivity at its core. An enabling environment for women’s and children’s rights is free from violence. This requires not just protection from abuse, exploitation, discrimination and violence, but also implies a decent standard of living, quality education, equal participation in the home, community and political life, and greater involvement of men in the care of women and children. Women who are empowered, in both their productive and reproductive roles, tend to have a positive impact on their families, including their children. This empowerment can have a ripple effect across generations. In the context of maternal mortality, empowered women are more likely to claim their right to quality health care and education, and to understand the warning signs during pregnancy. In early 2008 the UNFPA launched the Maternal Health Thematic Fund (MHTF). This effort — UNFPA’s contribution to boost maternal and newborn health — aims to provide support to countries with a high maternal mortality burden to scale up proven interventions needed to save mothers and infants.

Related Publications: unfpa.org

Related Video: video.unfpa.org