“The number of women’s organizations that were strengthened and created after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was very exciting,” shares Gumbonzvanda. “The conference was an impetus for organizing and mobilizing.”
Organizing and funding for women’s rights
“The collective power of women became very visible at the Beijing conference,” she adds. “And out of that, came the strong sense that the women’s movement needs to find creative ways of self-resourcing and financing the feminist agenda.”
“Today, there is much more bureaucracy, limiting women’s participation.”
“Accountability everywhere is very important, but there needs to be space for self-organizing,” she explains. “Some of the strong community-based organizations continue to do their work but may not be getting the funding, because the thresholds for accessing funding have become very sophisticated, complex, and tech-based.”
According to the UN Secretary-General’s report, less than one per cent of development aid goes to organizations advocating for gender equality.
Traction for ending violence against women and women’s role in peace
An issue that received prominence at the conference was violence against women. “The following year, in 1996, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women,” shares Gumbonzvanda.
UN Women manages the UN Trust Fund, which has awarded USD 225 million to 670 initiatives to address and prevent violence against women and girls in different parts of the world. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action also led to a significant increase in laws to address domestic violence, enhanced services for survivors, and improved data collection on violence against women.
Gumbonzvanda reflects about the impact of the Beijing Platform for Action on women affected by conflict: “There was a big push for the issue at the conference, and the advocacy continued after. In the year 2000, the UN Security Council adopted the Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325), and that’s how we started seeing more women participating in peace processes and mediations.”
Women’s rights and the economy
When asked about where we need more traction, Gumbonzvanda turns to the economy. “We need to reshape the discourse around women and the economy. First, we need to clarify that GDP of a country does not translate to equal opportunities for all women in that country, nor does it mean that women are living a life free of violence in that country.”
“When the GDP of low and middle-income countries increase, the Official Development Assistance reduces. We need a model of international development that supports and sustains the work on gender equality in low and middle-income countries.”
Another big area of challenge that Gumbonzvanda points to is debt. “Countries are still borrowing at very high interest rates, while they are still paying off their previous debt.” This impacts their investment in and therefore progress on women’s rights, she explains.