Gender equality: Addressing women's concerns.

The Habitat Agenda treats gender systematically. Practically every topic addresses women's concerns, and gender equality itself is one of the five commitments made by Member States. Five years on, it is time to take stock of whether a document like this has really brought about changes in the world. And if it has, how? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ensured women's inclusion in the 1940s, in an era more comfortable with "the rights of man". Even so, half a century later, women's humanity still needed to be asserted, with women's rights proclaimed as human rights in the decade of the nineties, thus progress is slow even in recognizing women's rights.

The Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 and the Istanbul Habitat Agenda of 1996 were powerful landmark agreements on women's rights. Yet, the inequalities they addressed between men and women have roots in societal norms and values that do not change as a result of international agreements or even legislation.

Two specific inequalities-in ownership and control of I property and in personal safety--are central to the concerns of the Habitat Agenda and its two major themes: "Adequate Shelter for All" and "Sustainable Urban Development". Women's weaker position than men in obtaining ownership and control of property (land and housing), particularly through inheritance, impedes equal access to shelter, as well as disadvantaging women economically. There were provisions in both the Beijing Platform for Action and the Habitat Agenda for this to be addressed by Governments. Likewise, violence against women, a central concern of the Platform for Action, also figures in the Habitat Agenda. Subsequently, urban violence against women has been articulated as an aspect of urban governance, which is key to sustainable urban development.

Actions that can be taken regarding women's rights may be classified as legislative, programmatic or persuasive. The communities of actors involved in promoting and supporting change maybe governmental, intellectual or civic. At the international level, change is articulated though intergovernmental processes, with networks of intellectual discussion and advocacy interacting with these in a less structured but fluid way. This is the process that characterized the second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996 and has continued among Member States and Habitat partner groups. The fact that women do not inherit property to the same extent as men has been identified as a major obstacle to their economic empowerment and is claimed to be a cause of the "feminization of poverty". Since Habitat II, this has been addressed by new legislation in a number of countries, including Eritrea, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. The problem has been acute in East and Southern Africa , especially in post-conflict areas such as the Great Lakes. However, it has also been identified as an issue for women in South East Asia and Central America. Whereas research brought the South East Asian issues to international attention, grass-roots organizations working with women in a post-conflict situation brought Out the Central American issues. They are essentially the same.

Recent case studies on women's access to land and housing in China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam demonstrated how agrarian customs frequently prevail to deny women equal access. Urban housing, as well as agricultural land, tends to be handed down from fathers to sons, disenfranchising women in a money economy. The Women for Peace Network, operating with groups in Guatemala, is fighting to establish women's equal inheritance rights in the aftermath of a civil war. These and many African cases have been shared through the Habitat partner group on women's issues, the Huairou Commission, most notably at the parallel events to Beijing +5 in 2000.

This international discussion reveals that it takes more than legislation to bring about equality in women's property rights. Some specific urban housing projects have gained equal access for women, but it is only Uganda that has a systematic method of bringing about equality, through networks of locally trained and supported paralegals. And even in Uganda this system, involving collaboration between central and local Governments, community-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), only covers part of the country.

Violence against women is identified as a major problem worldwide, with public and private dimensions. Such violence in streets and other public places presents a specific challenge to urban planning and management. Domestic abuse of women compounds difficulties they face in lacking equal access to the secure tenure of housing.

The most significant action that has occurred since Habitat II has been on the programmatic and persuasive fronts, with the sharing of experience internationally. Intellectually, the debate has shifted from a focus on amelioration (battered women's refuges) to prevention. The main arenas of action for change have been the local authorities working in close collaboration with, or at the instigation of, community-based pressure groups. This has brought great improvements in women's safety in Cebu City in the Philippines, for example, an experience that has been widely shared.

In Canada, the idea of the safety audit emerged from the successful experience of women researchers and pressure groups influencing transport authorities in Toronto. The result was the introduction of the "Designated Waiting Area", giving extra security on subway stations, and the provision for women to get on and off buses between stops after dark. The safety audit has been used in Montreal and is now being adopted in countries such as South Africa and Tanzania. The specific solutions developed to make transport or public spaces safer may not apply, but what does is the method of getting women's groups and NGOs planning together with local authorities.

Local authority groups working for safer cities for women in South Africa and Tanzania are pioneering another method, namely the involvement of men. It has been recognized that involving women alone will never address the root cause of the problem however creative the ideas might be. Changing attitudes among men on how to treat women with respect and consideration, as equals, is the real key to positive change.

One recent example of persuasion as a method of bringing about change demonstrates how this can be used by local governments as effectively as by pressure groups. The City of Bogota in Colombia held official days when men first, then women, were banned from the streets and public places at night. The effect was a heightened awareness of women's role in public life and their right to be in public places.

Looking at the types of action that have been effective, it is immediately apparent that programmatic interventions work well. That is, systematic, planned action usually by local authorities or central governments, involving a lot of other actors, does bring about positive change. Whether it is the city of Montreal on the public safety of women, or the Government of Uganda on women's constitutional right to inherit property, having a policy, programme and activities to implement them works. However, despite the fact that such programmes are effective, they need sustained political and financial support. The Uganda example is only a tentative start in addressing the large and widespread problem of women's property rights.

The Habitat Agenda itself cannot be credited with causing all positive change, where it does occur, but it certainly helps, especially where it can be brought to wider attention through events and dissemination of various kinds, including popularization. This quick overview also reveals that persuasion is the key to many changes and often the precursor to programmatic action. It is usually the province of civic groups, and their role must be supported and enhanced. But Governments, both central and local, have been involved in persuading their citizens to accept, and to bring about, greater gender equality.

Diana Lee-Smith is Coordinator for Gender Policy of the Urban Secretariat at UNCHS (Habitat), based in Nairobi, Kenya.