A key principle of the Programme of Action chalked out at the International Conference on Population and Development (IPCD), at Cairo in 1994, is promoting gender equality, equity and empowerment of women, eliminating violence against women, and making sure that women have control over their fertility.
The main agenda of the resent ICPD+5, at the Hague, was to review the implementation of the Cairo consensus. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which organised the five-day conference, produced a background document with a five-year review of ICPD, highlighting the experiences of some countries in meeting these goals.
- The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Namibia and Uganda are among the countries that developed comprehensive national policies on women or gender following the ICPD in 1994.
- In Thailand, the government prepared a comprehensive 20-year plan to ensure adoption of a gender perspective in the planning process, addressing concerns in the judicial system, research, and data collection systems in the health sector.
- Ecuador and Paraguay adopted five-year plans for the promotion of equal opportunities for women.
- In Venezuela, the reforms in the education and health sectors incorporated a gender perspective.
- Zimbabwe established a reproductive health task force to ensure that gender concerns are reflected in reproductive health policies and services, and passed an inheritance law to protect widows.
- Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Panama passed laws making violence against women a serious crime.
- China, the Philippines and Vietnam adopted specific legislative changes to protect women from sexual harassment and violence.
- In Africa, the 14 South African Development Community (SADC) member-countries all pledged to pass laws against gender-based violence.
- In Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Philippines and Thailand, governments nominated women to high-level policy bodies.
- In Ecuador, the government approved a law to promote political participation of women with 20 per cent parliamentary seats reserved for women candidates. In Costa Rica, the quota was 40 per cent.
- In the United Republic of Tanzania, the government established day classes for girls in secondary schools in communities where their education was adversely affected.
- Costa Rica has undertaken a national study on masculinity, sexuality and responsible fatherhood to investigate attitudes of men, their sexual practices and fatherhood roles.