'No gains' for African women
2004-10-07 10:55
Addis Ababa - African women have not made any tangible gains since the Beijing summit on women's affairs 10 years ago, according to an announcement on Wednesday at the start in Addis Ababa of the "African Women's NGO Forum on Beijing +10".
The two-forum forum, which was convened by the United Nations Economic commission for Africa (ECA) to assess the progress of African women's lives over the past decade, heard much remained to be done to improve the lot of African women.
Issues on the agenda include human rights, trafficking of women and children and the impact of HIV/Aids on women and families.
Delegates including Josephine Ouedraogo, director of the African Centre for Gender and Development (ACGD) at ECA, said women throughout Africa still faced discrimination in all spheres of life.
18 hours a day
More than 300 delegates from 50 African countries are attending the forum.
Delegates said women and children presently constitute at least 80% of the refugee population and internally displaced persons in the continent.
Africa has the highest maternal and infant mortality rate in the world and women account for less than 10% of parliamentarians there.
Women in rural Africa work up to 18 hours a day, mostly unpaid, according to Kafui Adjmagbo-Johnson of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF)-West Africa.
Other issues on the agenda include peace and security, mainstream gender concerns in policy-making and development achieving better internal governance and co-ordination. - dpa
- SAPA