Gender Equality in the New Millennium: Goal or Gimmick?

Abstract

At Millennium Summit in September 2000 largest gathering of world leaders adopted UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations a new global partnership reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets, all with a deadline of 2015, that have become known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).2 In many ways, MDGs, eclipse goals and objectives of Beijing Platform of Action. Hence, I think of MDGs as Major Distraction Gimmicks - a distraction from much more important Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) with its 12 Priority Areas of Concern,3 which represent a much closer approximation of complexity of relationships between equality and women's empowerment (MDG Goal 3), and other MDGs and targets. In particular, these are: MDG 1: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, Universal primary education (MDG 2), Reducing child mortality (MDG 4), Improving maternal health (MDG 5), Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG 6), and Ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG 7 (including Target 10, Access safe water). Nevertheless, MDGs are now part of an international development framework which many countries in Caribbean have signed on to. Thus this analysis addresses question of how they be made work promote equality and empowerment in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region. The analysis here will not be limited gender equality and women's empowerment (MDG Goal 3). It will also highlight dimensions of some of other MDGs that are closely related women's equality and empowerment - as a means and as an outcome. Finally, analysis and suggestions in relation strategies to ensure that inequalities are identified and addressed in MDG monitoring process and in national policy responses from will focus on Caribbean realities, including my own experience of working in this field for over 30 years. Suggestions are made by drawing on findings and insights on linkages between global trends, development strategies (including macroeconomic policy framework of structural adjustment) and their impact on poor and ways in which we might now approach activist interventions toward goal of women's equality and empowerment. A General Critique of Millenium Development Goals First, what be said in favour of MDGs? As UNIFEM and many others point out, that MDGs be viewed within context of the new aid agenda. They provide a common framework agreed by all governments, complete with measurable targets and indicators of progress, around which governments, UN agencies, international finance institutions and civil society alike could rally. They provide a strategic talking point for assessing what barriers achievement of goals are, and provide a tool with which hold both donor agencies and governments accountable. (White, 2001, 2002, cited by Ramya Subrahmanian, 2002:3) Regarding goal on gender equality and empowerment of women, some would say it can be celebrated as symbolic of significant impact of feminist advocacy over years in making case for gender-aware development (Ramya Subrahmanian, 2002:1), despite fact that we know emptiness of rhetorical statements on 'gender.' On other hand, there is evidently widespread awareness of limitations of MDGs: * their inadequate targets and indicators; * their restriction indicators that are quantifiable when much of what is most important, such as women's equality and empowerment, is not easily quantifiable; * their omission of important goals and targets, such as violence against women and sexual and reproductive rights; * their silence on context and institutional environment in which they are be met. The Millenium Development Goals first came my attention in response exclusion of hard-won goal of women's sexual and reproductive rights from list of goals. …