‘Is Gender Equality a Dream?’

Manila 2011

Noting that:

• Although progress have been made towards achieving equality between women and men, the adopted measures of governments and states in the last years have not been able to increase the gender equalities and mainstreaming policies.
• Discrimination against women is still widespread.
• Violence against women remains a global phenomenon.
• Women’s equal access to resources is still restricted and opportunities for higher education and training are limited for several reasons.
• Women’s access to business, government and politics still means a tremendous effort for them.
• Women still form the majority of people living in poverty and illiteracy.
• Decisions that affect women continue to be made largely by men.
• Liberal International whose activities are inspired by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention of Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women/CEDAW.

Calls on all stakeholders for:

• Participation of women in decision-making and peace processes at all levels.
• No loss of achieved women’s rights.
• Incentives to keep girls at school.
• Primary and secondary schools, training centres and universities to be gender sensitive.
• Adequate gender sensitive health programs.
• Decent work, which means equal pay for equal work.
• Equal legal property, inheritance and marriage rights for women and men.
• Avoiding all forms of violence, which infringe on international humanitarian law.
• Working on solutions to prevent deep poverty.
• Promotion of equal sharing of family responsibilities to enable women’s employment.
• Countries and governments to give more visibility to the inputs of NGO’s, who work on these subjects.
• Consider the possibility of paternity leave in addition to the maternity leave regulations that are already in place.