Next Monday, October 31, will be a red letter day in the world. It is on this day, according to projections by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), that the world’s seven billionth citizen will be born. There is no way of projecting where this significant event will take place, so every woman who gives birth on Monday can be assumed to have helped make the seven billion mark.
The UNFPA’s ‘State of the World Population 2011’ report launched yesterday noted that it is the peoples of the world’s response to this milestone that will “determine whether we have a healthy, sustainable and prosperous future or one that is marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks”.
How will the world respond? No one should hold out any hope that there will be any sweeping earth-shattering changes come November 1. But clearly since there is no sign that the world’s population will peak or decline any time soon, there needs to be more of an accommodation than is visible at present, with significant consideration being given to women who make up a little over half of the population.
It stands to reason that if the rights of the majority of women in the world are continually trampled on or ignored, then the challenges we face today will never go away.
It was incessant injustice that saw the rise of the Arab Spring earlier this year. The weight of being second-class citizens grew so burdensome that all it took was a single spark and practically the entire Arab world was set on fire. And despite their standing, or lack of it, in Arab society, women also played a huge role in these uprisings.
A similar situation is being played out in developed countries with the ‘Occupy’ movement. It started on Wall Street as the average citizen’s response to corporate greed and has swept through all major cities in the developed world. Perhaps the outcome will not be as drastic as in the Arab uprisings, but the point is being made that John and Jane Public will no longer stand aside and wring their hands in despair as they lose their jobs and homes while the rich-getting-richer syndrome prevails.
These are all signs that the world is changing; its population is increasing as is access to information. Indeed, there are infrastructural issues as well that need to be addressed in the light of a growing population. Leaders must begin to look more seriously at dwindling water resources and whether there will be enough food; famines and droughts particularly in Africa have caused endless devastation. There is need for planning which must involve all of the world’s peoples.
Adjustments are being made to the status quo in the two instances cited and so must they be made with regard to women’s issues. The protection of women and girls and the promotion of their rights must be made paramount in every country on every continent.
Patriarchy is no longer the name of the game; equality is. Women’s voices need to be heard more, and while women can forcefully make this happen (imagine the effect on the world if all the women and girls just sat on their hands for 24 hours), there really is no need for this. An accommodation is what is needed so that every citizen of the world, man or woman is allowed to make his or her contribution. It really is that simple.
