May I first join other speakers in offering our thanks to our most generous hosts, the Government of the People's Republic of China, for their excellent hospitality and arrangements for this most important Conference.

This Conference will be the culmination of a long process of change for women. Twenty years ago, at the first World Conference for Women, my predecessor pointed out that equality for women was a development goal in itself. He also pointed to its close connection with population and development goals. Last year at the International Conference on Population and Development, this vision was emphatically endorsed by the whole community of nations. The ICPD will be remembered as the first international conference not devoted to women's issues and interests where they nevertheless were the main focus of attention.

This Conference therefore starts from the understanding that empowerment and autonomy for women is both a highly important end in itself, and a necessary step to help stabilize world population growth, to protect the environment and to eradicate poverty. I hope and trust that this Conference will also recognize that action towards securing women's reproductive health and rights is the starting point for empowerment and autonomy.

We must be clear about this. It is not acceptable for anyone who claims to support the process in which we are involved to pay lip-service to the importance of women's varied roles in the family and society, if they go on to ignore or downplay reproductive health and reproductive rights. Respect for women and support for their advancement must be expressed in real terms: the first mark of respect for women is support for their reproductive rights. Women must be empowered to perform this role as they see fit. No-one has the right to impose reproductive decisions on them. It is 20 years since it was enunciated that all couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children, and to have the information and the means to do so. Our generation has the power to make the right a reality.

The experience of many years has shown that successful action must engage not only the woman herself, but the community and society in which she lives. Her health and personal development are crucially dependent on the quality of services she is offered, and the choices available. But they also depend on how she is valued and supported from earliest childhood. For women to change, society must change.

Successful action for reproductive health opposes violence to women in all its forms. The ICPD was the first international conference squarely to oppose female genital mutilation, as a violation of basic human rights and a major risk to women's health. Any form of coercion is completely unacceptable, on practical as well as ethical grounds. Coercion is a violation of human rights. Although it is every country's sovereign right to determine its own policy, that right does not extend to coercive practices. The assumptions behind coercion--that women are inferior, incapable of independent decision-making, not to be trusted--are also those which undermine sustainable development.

Reproductive rights involve more than the right to reproduce. The involve support for women in activities other than reproduction: in fact liberating women from a system of values which insists that reproduction is their only function. In the past the status of women has been determined by their capacity to reproduce--and even that limited role is considered of secondary importance. That is the trap from which women must be freed.

Freedom to choose improves women's health, education and economic opportunities. It also helps to secure and stabilize the family. It is a key to sustainable social and economic development.

The concept of reproductive rights did not spring from one group or one country. It is neither neo-colonialist nor unethical. It is a universal concept, which reflects the experience of thousands of women and men in countries all over the world. Reproductive rights are human rights.

Moving to Action

The consensus on reproductive health and reproductive rights was reached after a long and very public process of discussion, consultation and negotiation, reflecting many years of experience. It includes the contributions of all faiths, all political points of view and all approaches to development. It has a coherent philosophy and a strong ethical basis. It is a firm foundation for action.

The task before us now is to move the consensus from paper into practice. We know very well what must be done. We have the necessary skills and technical resources at our disposal. We must become effective advocates for women and women's rights: we must be advocates for equality, not in a confrontational sense, but in the belief that partnership is the best path to progress. Men and women are not the same, but they can be equal. We must enlarge and nourish the alliance among government, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and the private sector and concerned individuals. We must pay special attention to women's groups, especially those which are just coming into existence, and ensure that they have support in their work.

We must be courageous in speaking out on the issues that concern us: we must not bend under the weight of spurious arguments invoking culture or traditional values. No value worth the name supports the oppression and enslavement of women. The function of culture and tradition is to provide a framework for human wellbeing. If they are used against us, we will reject them, and move on. We will not allow ourselves to be silenced.

We must look for universal support. All the issues with which we are concerned have been thoroughly discussed, and consensus has been won. Action will be based on the recommendations of this conference and those which preceded it. We must therefore ensure that the FWCW Platform of Action is in harmony with these agreements. We can go forward: but we must resolutely resist any attempts to go back.

This Conference will be a further step in women's progress towards empowerment and autonomy. The Platform of this Conference will be a call for firm, resolute and specific action on behalf of women. Let us build upon it. The last twenty years have been years of discussion and reconciliation. Our rights as women are now universally acknowledged. Let us dedicate ourselves now and for the future to the task of transforming rights into realities.

To flip through the pages of my BOS faster...

Title Page My Book of Shadows Bill of Rights What’s New The Library My Secret Grove Humor Favorite Writings Spell Workings Sabbats Webrings Goddesses Gods Current Quest The Soapbox Herbs Reader Contributions Stories for the Heart My Graphics COSW Gift Win My Award Find the Wands Runes Awards Fantasy Art Links Different Witches The Witch Speaks Erma Bombeck My Free Lessons Site Map HTML Help A Pagan Moment Recipes Under 18? Spirit Animals Letters to the Goddess Ancient History Oddz 'N' Endz