Women’s Major Group Statement on Poverty Eradication at Second Session of the Open Working Group
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 6:17PM Following the strong statemement by Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) on behalf of the Women’s Major Group (WMG) at the first session on the Open Working Group (OWG), Shannon Kowalski of the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) spoke on behalf of the WMG at the second session.
In her presentation she emphasized that the SDGs must be grounded in the protection and promotion of the human rights of all, with specific attention to the human rights of women and girls.
She made a number of recommendations that could help address the structural causes of poverty, together with the institutionalized discrimination and asymmetric power dynamics that perpetuate gender inequalities and the feminization of poverty, namely:
- Guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights and universal access to quality, comprehensive, integrate sexual and reproductive health services to women and girls…
- Assuring women’s rights to and control over land, property, intellectual and productive resources, information and technology, and promoting fair asset distribution among different social groups and between women and men…
- Strengthening local and regional sustainable agriculture structures and policies to provide economic and livelihood opportunities at a community level and link rural and urban communities…
- Guaranteeing women’s economic rights including by ensuring that women have equal access to decent work…
She emphasized the intersection of poverty and violence against women (VAW), which is a structural driver of the feminization of poverty and a major contributor to intergenerational poverty for women.
In conclusion, she noted that climate change is one of the greatest threats to poverty eradication and sustainable development that has a devastating effect on women, their families and communities and their ability to move out of poverty. This should be acknowledged in a new framework.
The full statement is available to download here.