aizhamal

Thank you Chair!
My name is Aizhamal Bakashova from PA Shazet, a rural women organisation in Kyrgysztan. I speak on behalf of theAsia Pacific women’s major group. Structural and systemic discrimination continues to define the lives of majority of women and girls in the Asia Pacific region. These are the realities:

  • 2.5 billion women living on less than USD$10 per day, while 600 million who live on less than USD$1.25 per day.
  • Women constitute 70- 80% of agricultural workers, are disproportionally affected by lack of tenurial rights, climate change, land grabbing resulting in increased migration and rendering them vulnerable to trafficking and forced labour
  • Women in our region produce the world’s products at increasingly lower prices, working far below subsistence wages in unbearable and unsafe conditions.
  • Women represent the vast majority of migrant domestic workers, and are forced to migrate in search of decent work, economic opportunities.

Existing International human rights norms and standards are not being complied with by state parties. The MDGs have not adequately addressed gender inequality, empowerment and enforcement of women’s human rights. We believe that the new development framework must be firmly rooted in international women’s human rights obligations primarily the CEDAW convention and the International covenant on economic social cultural rights. It must be defined by the principles of non-regression, realization of Rio principles including common but differentiated responsibilities.

We associate with the statement read by our colleague earlier on behalf of the CSO Forum and endorse the framework of development justice, and this is what development justice means for women:

  • It means equitable distribution of rights to distribution of access,tenurial rights  and control over land, natural resources, housing and new technologies

 

  • It means acknowledging that the continuing violence against women and girls defaces humanity and defeats development efforts. States and development partners need to ensure all forms violence against women and girls in the household, communities, state and societies are eliminated.

 

  • Guarantee sexual and reproductive rights and universal access to comprehensive, integrated, quality sexual and reproductive health services, information and care in a non-discriminatory manner  including contraceptives, maternal health care, safe and legal abortion, prevention and treatment of STIs, HIV and reproductive cancers.
  • Ensure decent work and living wage for workers for life with dignity. This also includes expanding care services and redistributing paid and unpaid work to transform gender division of labor, including domestic migrant workers.

 

  • Ensure proper means of implementation which includes partnership, spaceand capacity building for women

 

  • Finally, good governance starts at home, when women able to make decision over their own body and their lives.  The genuine transformation needs to ensure women’s meaningful participation in economic, social, cultural and political institutions at all levels.

 

We call on the Asia Pacific region’s leaders  NOT to be conservative (in vision) nor stingy (in commitment). We urge for the member States in the region to be visionary and transformative and steer the world to a new pathway towards genuine sustainable development.  Anything less is  unacceptable.