The
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is comprised
of 75 million Christians from 164
countries reaching from England to
Southern Africa, from Australia to
the Southern Cone, from the United
States to the Philippines. Many Anglicans,
mostly in Africa and the Middle East,
experience conflict affecting mainly
Women, Children and the Aged.
A
Theological Statement
As Christians we believe that all
humanity is made in the image of
God; as Anglicans we live in the
creative tension of differing experiences
and viewpoints; as Women we are
called to respond to the brokenness
of the world. This is at
the heart of our theology.
We firmly believe the two areas
of critical concern for this year
are important ones and pray that
this gathering can help give insight,
direction and inspiration to those
who daily face gender inequality
and conflict.
The
Role of Men and Boys in Gender Equality
We concur with the statement of
the Beijing Platform for Action,
Paragraph 41, which comments on
the Critical Areas of Concern stating
that, “the advancement of
women and the achievement of equality
between women and men are a matter
of human rights and a condition
for social justice and should not
be seen in isolation as a women’s
issue.”
The achievement
of gender equality is a responsibility
of the whole society and should
fully engage women, girls, men and
boys. At the root of our faith is
a commitment to justice and peace
in the world. Unequal power relations
and gender stereotypes in education
and socialization processes, in
health and HIV/AIDS, violence and
harassment pose serious challenges
to the achievement of gender equality.
We welcome the systematic evaluation
of the role of men and boys in achieving
gender equality at this 48th session
of the United Nations Commission
on the Status of Women and
we fully support the Millennium
Development Goals and their commitment
to promote gender equality and empower
women. For example we applaud
the efforts of our sisters in South
Africa as they initiate talks within
the church on gender equality.
We therefore call
upon this commission to:
a). support the work of the partnership
of government and the NGO community
in the implementation of policies
and programmes which will create
gender harmony;
b). urge United Nations agencies
to formulate programmes dealing
with education and re-socialization
of women and men for gender equity;
c). urge governments to apply gender
budgetary analysis to overseas development
aid, as recommended in the Financing
for Development consensus;
d). advocate for those marginalized
by gender injustice, and to work
in a collaborative way in order
to bring about changes in all institutions
including faith communities and
society; and,
e). encourage governments to promote
a better understanding of issues
around Gender Justice, recognizing
that the achievement of gender equality
is a responsibility of everyone
and that national policies should
fully engage women, girls, men and
boys.
Women
as Peacemakers and Conflict Reconcilers
We believe peace is possible on
a global scale. However, it will
take a new way of acting –
for too long national leaders have
led the human race into wars and
violence in the name of justice,
religion and revenge. In modern
day warfare, civilians are 90 per
cent of the casualties, and the
vast majority of the casualties
are women and children. We know
that when human rights and gender
equality reinforce each other, the
level of violence decreases, not
only within countries but globally
as well.
The Beijing Conference
in 1995 saw more than 180 governments
commit themselves to the goal of
equal participation of women and
men in decision making to provide
the necessary balance to strengthen
democracy. On average on a global
scale, only 14 per cent of the seats
in national parliaments are held
by women. Almost ten years later
women remain significantly under
represented in national and local
assemblies. We therefore encourage
the Commission to pursue the adoption
and implementation by all governments
of the General Assembly Third Committee
Resolution on Women and political
participation (Agenda 110 adopted
on November 6th 2003). Furthermore
we also urge the Commission to ensure
full implementation of the Security
Council Resolution 1325.
Women of The Episcopal
Church (the Anglican Communion in
the United States) are particularly
distressed that their country remains
one of the very few which has not
signed the Convention on the Elimination
of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women. The decision of the US government
leadership not to ratify this UN
convention underscores and helps
to explain the paucity of women
in decision-making roles. Because
CEDAW has not been ratified in the
US, women in that country have not
been able to record whether or not
gains have been made in the participation
of women in conflict management
and peace making. The Episcopal
Church, through its legislative
procedures, has expressed its commitment
to CEDAW by continuing to urge ratification.
The signing of the Convention would
enhance the authority of the United
States as an advocate for the seating
of women at the peace table.
In conflict and
post-conflict arenas women’s
exclusion is even more pronounced.
Despite their experiences as casualties
of war, women are rarely seen in
peacekeeping, peace-building, pre
and post-conflict prevention, post-conflict
resolution and reconstruction of
their societies. We are confident
this will change as around the world
women rise up to proclaim that violence
is never the answer, it only leads
to more violence. Circles of women
for peace are rising up across the
globe and in that context, special
attention should be given to identifying
and working with local women who
represent an influential voice for
peace.
We hear from our Anglican sisters
in other parts of the world of efforts
underway in peace movements. From
India comes “It is not enough
to talk about peace, one must believe
in it; it is not enough just to
believe, one must work at it.”
The church women are committed to
actions for peace-building in their
country. In Eastern Zimbabwe such
work takes the shape of sending
women to Capetown for training at
the Centre for Conflict Resolution.
In Nigeria, dismantling the barriers
of poverty and illiteracy are a
priority. As in many countries,
a male-oriented work culture and
a hostile police force restrain
women from taking their place in
public office and in conflict resolution.
Conclusion:
We commit ourselves to the areas
of concerns of this gathering -
the role of men and boys in achieving
gender equality and women's equal
participation in conflict prevention,
management and conflict resolution
and in post-conflict peace-building.
We present our 2004 statement remembering
with dismay that in 2003 the Commission
on the Status of Women was unable
to adopt a statement of Agreed Conclusions
condemning the epidemic of violence
against women. The delegation from
the Anglican Communion, committed
to respecting the dignity of every
human being, decries the ways in
which religion – and custom
and tradition – are used in
the oppression of women. We are
committed to listening to all points
of view on the issues, understanding
differing cultural and religious
contexts but speaking and working
particularly to identify when and
where faith empowers and enhances
women’s lives. As Christians,
Anglicans and Women, we are called
to be peacemakers. We yearn for
a new creation and the realization
of God’s promise to make all
things new.
A
Prayer for Gender Equality and Peace
We therefore wish to offer you the
following in words paraphrasing
a prayer written expressly for Beijing:
O God, Creator
of the heavens and the earth, we
pray for all who gather at the United
Nations to uncover the role of women
as peacemakers and participants
in conflict resolution as they also
address the role of men and boys
in achieving gender equality. Open
our ears to the cries of a suffering
world and to the healing melodies
of peace. Amen
