What does a woman really want?

Mar 08, 2022

On March 8, we will be celebrating International Women's Day with the theme "Changing climates: Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow." What is this “sustainable tomorrow” of which we speak?

In January 2015, the United Nations articulated 17 goals for sustainable development, the result of several international meetings over the decades.

These goals are related to the eradication of poverty, prevention of ecological degradation and the promotion of peace and prosperity, without which no development can be sustained.

It all started with the Earth Summit (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) and the Millennium Summit (New York, 2000). Several international meetings later, these 17 goals were formulated and committed to by various member states.

Not that they have been uniformly observed, though. As is often the case, we have laws aplenty but very irregular implementation.

The present agenda looks forward to transforming our world by 2030, and thus the theme of International Women’s Day 2022 implicitly recognizes the contribution of women around the world.

The agenda seeks to realize the human rights of all, especially to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

Ultimately, this is what women want, social and political equality, and what flows from it — respect and opportunity. 

These values are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.

For make no mistake, the most significant social change in the world today is related to the status and contribution of women.

If climate change and its consequences are the most worrying issue of our times, it is women like Greta Thunberg, Vandana Shiva and Jacinda Ardern who have committed themselves to change human behavior “for a sustainable tomorrow.”

In many ways, gender relationships are the last frontier of oppression and control. Most societies practice freedom in matters of politics, economics and social identity but adamantly control sexual behavior and gender identities.

In this respect, South Asia — Afghanistan, Pakistan and India — are among the worst places in the world.

For example, in India we need to criminalize marital rape which demands that wives submit to sex "against their will" from their husbands or his relatives — rape, in other words (Indian Penal Code, #375). But our legislators, most of them men, continue to drag their feet.

We need to implement laws and policies to prevent all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence. This includes online violence and abuse, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

The 17 sustainable development goals and their targets demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal agenda. They seek to build upon the millennium development goals and complete what was not achieved.

We are determined to end poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions. We are determined to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality, and in a healthy environment.

This has special reference to the girl child, so often the victim of infanticide and malnutrition, so often deprived of all education.

We are determined to protect the planet from rapid degradation.

This can be done through sustainable consumption and production, through managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change so that our Earth can support the needs of the present and future generations.

In all this, a key role is played by women. What does a woman want? Freud asked this question a century ago and found no answers. Today, however, we do. By making these answers work, we will secure a sustainable future for ourselves and for our planet.--ucanews.com