Last week the Commission on the Status of Women finished up a two-week review of how successful the world has been in implementing 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and where we need to improve as a global society in advancing women’s rights as called for in the Declaration. Known as Beijing +15 and taking place amid an international economic downturn that has generally seen women suffer more than men, it provided an interesting opportunity to evaluate the state of gender equality in the world.
However it is also interesting to see how others viewed the conference, both while it was going on and after. The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) blogged throughout the conference and posted a very useful round-up of press releases and thoughts by other women’s rights organizations.
Since these conferences only take place every five to ten years, it is important to take a moment and get some perspective about the world we live in.
