Polis Perspective 12/06/2015 – It´s time to put girls and women at the top of your agenda

Stephanie Halksworth: ‘It´s time to put girls and women at the top of your agenda’

Polis Perspectives are weekly perspectives of our team on Polis-related topics. We also share our favourite articles and tweets. This week’s perspective is written by Stephanie Halksworth on Katja Iversen’s article ‘Dear G7, it’s time to put girls and women at the top of your agenda’ in The Guardian on 4/6/2015.

‘In times of crisis, women’s rights hang in the balance’ reports Katja Iversen in an article addressed ‘Dear G7, it’s time to put girls and women at the top of your agenda’. The Ebola outbreak served yet again as a disturbing revelation of the perils women face especially in times of crisis and instability. As gender-based violence and maternal deaths increased dramatically, the precarious nature of sexual and reproductive rights is all the more glaring. As Iversen highlights, even though G7 countries have had these issues on their agendas for a long time, there are still wider health gaps between men and women in all the world’s regions than a decade ago.

Last year’s G7 Summit the health and rights of girls and women were prioritised as 21^st and 40^th out of 43 points. Too often women’s rights are considered to be separate from other development goals, and this perspective on gender issues is the crux of the matter. A strong and central position of women within development challenges is essential to achieve a whole range of stated goals. This important role of women in most underlying social dynamics means that without their influence and leadership a whole range of non-gender objectives tend to fail. This year’s G7 Summit has made a move in the right direction and has listed women’s economic empowerment as a top priority. Now governments must follow suit; prioritising the wellbeing and rights of women lead to healthy women and girls, which is fundamental for healthy, thriving communities.