Glenda Simms

Approximately 50 per cent of the world's human population has the privilege of celebrating one day of the year rooted in the recognition of the struggles of the working women in 19th century USA. This search for dignity for women who worked outside of the home was dramatically and tragically brought to the attention of the world by the 'infamous Triangle Fire' in which over 140 women perished because the owners of the New York sweat shop in which they worked had locked the doors to restrict their ability to leave the building.

The majority of these women were between the age of 13 and 25, and were new immigrants to New York - classic case of child labour and the exploitation of the immigrant population.

This landmark historical event in women's struggle for freedom provided the catalyst for the establishment of an international discourse to forge a path to equality between women and men. Indeed, it can be argued that the tenacity, foresight and energies of remarkable women warriors in all castes, classes, races, religions, sexual orientations and geographical regions galvanised a soci-political movement that is on par with all other great movements for change in the human condition.

It is also important to note that this movement impacted profoundly on the politics of the United Nations and on all the Nation States that are members of this important body. Resulting from this impact we now have a wide ranging women's human rights treaty - The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. To date, 182 state parties have ratified this treaty. Jamaica is one of these.

Also, according to Hilkka Pietila, the author of The Unfinished Story of Women and The United Nations, "development issues became increasingly prominent on the UN's agenda". Issues such as the world food situation and population growth forced the UN system to realise that "women were the key factor in the solutions" of these threats to development and peace.

The synergy between the tenacious women's movement in the industrialised sectors of the globe and the changing consciousness of the United Nations saw the establishment of the Decade for Women (1976-1985) as the decade for development.

Moving beyond talk and declaration to a strategy for implementation of women's human rights resulted in International Women's Day, observed on March 8 each year. This is a day which, in most countries of the modern world, resonates with women who realise that theirs is an unfinished story.

Take a stand

March 8 must continue to remind us of a time in the not too distant past when working poor women took a stand against their exploitation by the owners of capital at the turn of the century; when middle-class white women decided that they were no longer interested in being 'barefoot and pregnant' in their kitchens; when black women decided that they also wanted to escape from the white woman's kitchen and, most important, they refused to continue being the 'slaves of the slave'.

In the midst of this ideological shift which created what has come to be defined as the 'Second Wave of Feminism and Women's Liberation', women in every corner of the world began to reinvent themselves in spite of the overwhelming constraints of the patriarchal values, attitudes and power base.

This global awareness of the need for women's activism and struggle against oppression and marginalisation has resulted in International Women's Day being observed as a public holiday in 22 countries in different parts of the world. In the Caribbean and Latin America, Cuba is the only Nation State that observes March 8 as a public holiday.

Additionally, the UN has been activated to focus on the role of women globally. This specific focus has resulted in the four world conferences held between 1975 and 1995. In 1975, 133 nation states and over 6,,000 delegates representing governments and non-govern-mental organisations met in the summer in Mexico City.

Five years later, in 1980, 45 state parties and approximately 10,000 delegates gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss the status of women.

In 1985, the city of Nairobi in Kenya hosted 157 state parties and over 20,000 delegates. This gathering was not only historic in bringing serious attention to the plight of the majority of African women to the world stage; it also produced the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women. Sadly, many of the strategies have not been applied in the majority of nation states, including Jamaica.

The year 1995 saw the final of the world gathering of women and their leaders. Beijing, China, hosted 189 state parties and over 50,000 delegates. This gathering produced the Beijing Platform for Action for Equality, Development and Peace. It is this outcome document which clearly stated that Women's Rights are Human Rights.

Since these historic moments, many Jamaican women have been privileged to experience and benefit from the energies that propelled the local, regional and international women's movement.

Portia Simpson Miller, who headed the Jamaican delegation to Beijing, rose to serve at the highest level of decision making in this society. Currently, the four top jobs in the Jamaican justice system are occupied by women.

In tertiary institutions, girls and women have been making use of their access to higher education and several distinguished women are at all levels of the society.

Human rights restriction

In spite of these gains, women continue to be battered, beaten and bruised physically, sexually, psychologically and economically. Teenage pregnancies, the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the impact of poverty, the overwhelming consequences of violence in the Jamaican society and the threat to the physical environment continue to restrict the human rights, dignity and life chances of women and girls.

March 8 comes around each year to remind women to consolidate our gains and to be always conscious of the unfinished story of our courageous struggle to overcome.

This struggle must continue. We must not be lulled into complacency, nor must we retreat in the face of a hostile backlash climate.

Dr Glenda Simms is a gender expert and consultant.