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WHAT YOU CAN DODONATE NOWGET INVOLVEDREGULAR GIVING

 

I congratulate all the girls and women of PNG on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 2008.  You are making a difference in your own lives, the lives of your families and the communities you work with. Today is the day when we can celebrate your successes.

This day highlights the importance of investments required in the lives of girls and women for them to access equal rights and participation in all spheres of life, including social, political and economic processes.

Status of women

Before we start further discussions, let us consider the status of women worldwide:

• two-thirds of women throughout the world cannot read 
• nearly 70 percent of the world’s poorest are women
• women represent a growing proportion of those living with HIV and AIDS
• Only 16 countries can boast a more than 25% participation rate by women in their governments
• An estimated one-quarter to one-half of all women have suffered physical abuse
In PNG, the indicators for women’s development are even worse, even though there is a strong PNG Constitution that enforces the rights of women.  The Constitution states: "Everyone to be involved in our endeavours to achieve integral human development of the whole person and to seek fulfillment through his or her contribution to the common good.
 "We declare our goal to be for all citizens to have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the development of our country …  equal participation by women citizens in all political, economic, social and religious activities."

This guidance from the Constitution precipitated a number of national actions for women. These include:
• the appointment of a Woman's Adviser to the Prime Minster in 1974
• the creation of a Women's Unit in the Department of Decentralisation and subsequent appointment of a Women's Activity Officer in all provinces of PNG
• the establishment of the National Council of Women under an Act of Parliament in 1979
• the upgrading of the Women's Section to Divisional Status in 1983
• the establishment of the National Women's Development Programme in 1984
• the establishment of the National Women's Policy in 1990
• the ratification of CEDAW in 1994
• the Women's Division Five-Year Management Plan in 1995.

Despite these early initiatives, successive government policies have not been consistent enough to maintain the momentum. This has resulted in fewer achievements in the advancement of women with the consequential impact of a poorer quality of life for women in PNG.
The National Constitution provides for the equal rights of all citizens. Women have not been able to fully understand and exercise their rights. This has largely been due to ineffective government mechanisms advocating and promoting the rights of women.
Investing in girls is important because the discrimination that females experience lasts a lifetime. Historically and even today, the arrival a baby girl is a cause for disappointment. They are often unwanted or loved less by many families in PNG, especially fathers

Investing in girls

Investing in girls is important because the majority of PNG’s rural female population plays a very important role in economic activity in the rural-dominated agricultural sector.  Women provide up to 70 percent of agricultural labour by engaging in traditional gardening to produce cash crops, marketing surplus food, and rearing small livestock and poultry.

Employment ratios of both men and women in the public and private sector remain very much in favour of men. Few women occupy managerial positions. The majority of young women do not receive adequate training, either to participate in the formal sector or to function productively in their own village.

Investing in girls is important because the gender gap in PNG’s education sector is the highest in the Pacific region: for every 100 boys in primary school, there are 80 girls; for secondary schools the corresponding figure is just 65 girls to 100 boys.  Only about 50 percent of women in PNG are literate.  There are entrenched socio-cultural barriers to girls’ education.  There is a low level of family support to girls’ educational pursuits. This is compounded by the lack of any specific encouragement for girls to go to school.

Investing in girls is important because the health status of women is low. PNG has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. The life expectancy rate of women is lower than that of men and most women die of preventable diseases.
Investing in girls is important because close to 50 percent of all HIV and AIDS infected people in PNG are women.  The HIV/AIDS epidemic poses a serious threat to women.  Given the biological significance of women as child-bearers, the HIV/AIDS virus passed on through mother-to-child transmission raises serious concerns for PNG’s future human resource base. It adds to the existing maternal mortality rate which is consistently high, with an estimated eight maternal deaths per 1000 births overall, and up to 20 deaths per 1000 in some rural areas.
More orphans, without the guiding roles played by mothers in the formative years of their young lives, place a major strain on the socialisation process in PNG communities in subsequent years.  The HIV/AIDS epidemic, if unrestrained, will increase the existing gender disparities in education between boys and girls. More young girls will forego their education to stay at home to care for sick family members and assume household responsibilities.

Investing in girls is important because there is only one woman Member of Parliament in PNG.  The political landscape is dominated by men and there is only one voice for women in the entire parliament.  This biased form of politics, where inconsiderate "machos" hold power, reinforces the insensitivity towards the development of women. There is no hope of wholesale human progress and a vibrant, functioning democracy under such a system, as women are either invisible actors or mere statistics in the country’s development equation. This is a residue of the leadership style of many traditional PNG societies where women rarely have a voice.  Equal participation of women in decision-making in public life is far from a reality.
Investing in girls is important because up to three-quarters of all women in PNG suffer from some form of violence.  Violence and sexual assault are all too common in PNG, as the laws to protect women and girls are not yet effective.  Women have limited choices in sexual relationships, contraception and access to sexual heath information, counseling and treatment. Many men are raised to think that doing what they want is their “culture-given right”, and is therefore not to be questioned.  Despite laws prohibiting violence and discrimination against women, there has been little practical application or commitment to them.

Reinforcing human rights for women

It’s time, now, for us to reinforce the human rights of women and girls, and the sharing of power and rights within the family

There are many working to bring about change.  Within the government, Dame Carol Kidu is doing an impressive job.  Within society, organisations -  people like Naomi and her team at Eastern Highlands Family Voice - are raising voices against violence against women and children. 

Save the Children in PNG is committed to the rights of children, especially girls.  Within the organisation, more than 50 percent of all staff are women.  Of all the regular volunteers Save the Children supports, more than 80 percent are women.  Our programmes positively discriminate towards girls and women to give them an equal footing with men.  This is demonstrated in all our programmes - health, HIV and AIDS, protection from violence, disability and education.

However, these voices are not enough.  Fifty percent of the population requires a much stronger voice for their rights.  We require voices that challenge political, economic, social, traditional and cultural ways of sharing power and making decisions.  We require a much larger investment in the lives of girls and women.

I convey Save the Children’s best wishes to all girls and women of PNG in that they have a stronger voice in 2008.

Thank you.

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