Changes in the last 25 years of the Beijing Conference on Women

Anush Shetty

8th September, 2020

Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland, in Helsinki (Source: Passblue)

It’s been 25 years since the United Nations hosted the largest gathering of women in its 50 years of history as reported by PassBlue. Around 17,000 people participated in this official gathering. Government delegates, representatives of accredited non-governmental organisations, international civil servants, and press members registered themselves to the fourth world conference on women in Beijing as reported by News Break.

In the conference, women of different races, cultures, religions, and countries came together on the common issues of male privilege. This conference was deliberately focused on addressing women’s problems and making sure that the Governments bring enough changes to make women’s lives more comfortable and safer.

Since the conference, there have been quite a few changes. Before, Sexual Harassment against women was not a punishable offence in a lot of countries. Today, most states have criminalised violence against women at both home and work. At several places, the police have trained professionals to fight against these evils. More and more people are opening up, and also more awareness is being spread, thanks to these initiatives.

Women’s health and well-being have improved drastically, since. The rate of maternal death as reported by PassBlue has reduced, as doctors keep working on finding ways to make it safer and ensure that emergency cases are appropriately taken care of. Many taboos have been busted, and progress regarding the same is being made every day.

The representation of women has increased in the political scenario. Politics has always seen male dominance and there has always been a polarisation of opinion about women’s participation in the arena. Even though the majority is still male, progress is being made with women’s representation increasing.

There is still so much to change and so much for the women to fight for. But every day many people are putting out their voices with protests and more people are becoming aware while forcing the governments to make amendments. Efforts are being made towards making society a better place for women to live in.

(Source: UN Women, News Break, PassBlue)

Edited by Swikruti Kar