July 2, 1995 - Episode 338 - Women of Achievement and Herstory
          
Continued from June 30, Point Five in WOA's continuing presentation of The
Platform for Action: 12 Critical Areas of Concern, a blueprint for women's
advancement in countries around the world, which will be the main 
document to be adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women to be held 
in Beijing, China, September 4-15, 1995. 
        
5. EFFECTS OF ARMED OR OTHER KINDS OF CONFLICT ON WOMEN
          
Since the end of the Cold War, armed conflict has not decreased; in fact,
ethnic and religious conflicts are an on-going reality in nearly every
region. Women and girls suffer the consequences of armed conflict and
militarism in special ways due to their status in society and their sex.
The impact of violence is experienced by women of all ages who are
subjected to acts of terrorism, torture, disappearance, rape and
displacement: 80% of the world's 25 million refugees are women and
children. 
          
New approaches to peace and security are urgently needed. The draft
Platform argues that while women have been under-represented,if not
altogether absent, at the highest levels of decision-making, in matters of
security and peace,the time has come to include them. It states "The
perspectives of women could provide a more constructive approach to the
use of power and to the resolution of conflict. If given the opportunity,
women have shown an ability to resolve conflicts, at both national and
international levels." 
           
Women often are also victims of torture, disappearance, and systematic
rape as a weapon of war.  Women and their dependents constitute 80 percent
of the world's 23 million refugees.  More than 20,000 women were reported
to have been raped in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first months of the war
there.  ACTIONS PROPOSED BY PFA INCLUDE: By Governments:  Strengthen the
role of women in peace and security activities;  Hasten the conversion of
military resources and related industries to (development) purposes; 
Undertake new ways of generating financial resources, through reduction of
military expenditure, to provide more funds for social and economic
development;  Consider ratifying international treaties on protection of
women and children in armed conflicts. Take steps to ensure safety and
physical integrity of refugee women; Condemn the systematic practice of
rape and other degrading treatment as a deliberate instrument of war and
ethnic cleansing. 
          
<< To Be Continued July 3 With Part 6. Inequality in Women's Access to and
Participation in Economic Structures and Policies. >>
     
07-02 Anniversaries ...........................................
          
     B. July 2, 1891, Mabel Newcomer, head of economics department of Vassar
     College, expert economist who served with US delegations on monetary 
     affair with world leaders.

          E.  July 2, 1960, Dr. Barbara Moore arrives in Los Angeles after 
     walking the 3,027 miles in 86 days from New York.

          E.  July 2, 1962, after 25 ballots, the city council of Richmond, 
     Virginia, compromises and elects Eleanor P. Sheppard the city's 
     first woman mayor. 

          Event July 2, 1964: President Lyndon Johnson signs the 
     far-reaching racial Civil Rights Act of 1964. #It included in Title 
     VII a prohibition against discrimination in employment on the basis 
     of sex as a result of action by Congresswoman Martha Griffiths (D-MI) 
     and in an attempt by Southern members of Congress to block 
     its passage.#{Chronicles}

          Event July 2, 1979, the Susan B. Anthony $1 coin was introduced.  
     So close to the size of a quarter, it can't be used with confidence.  Who 
     believes that was accidental?  

          Event July 2, 1989, in an unprecedented move, the new Japanese 
     Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu named two women to his cabinet.  His 
     successor had been forced out of office by women's pressures after 
     an illicit affair with a geisha woman was revealed.  When he was 
     re-elected in 1990, he promptly removed the two women from office.

     Quotes du jour ................................................

          "An earthyly kingdom cannot exist without inequality of persons.  
     Some must be free, some serfs, some rulers, some subjects.
               --Martin Luther; _Werke_, Vol xviii, p327
     
          "Inequality of rights and power proceeds from the very Author of
     nature, from whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named."
               --Pope Leo XIII; _Quod Apostolici Muneria_, 1878

          .................................................

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