“Arab Women in the Sustainable Development Agenda 2015 - 2030”
29 November – 1 December 2015
Marriott Zamalek Hotel, Cairo, Egypt
I.
Background
The post-2015 international development agenda is set to deal with the unfinished business of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to address the unacceptable and unsustainable levels of
injustice and exploitation. Under the moto of “the road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty,
transforming all lives and protecting the planet”1, the SDGs will be especially relevant for a region
that has witnessed tremendous progress but has suffered from drawback in the past few years as a
result of increasing violence and conflict. New research has emphasized the grievances and
difficulties women pass though in times of hardship, especially since the Arab women continue to be
the main caretaker of the children and families. In acknowledgement of women’s status globally,
their historic contribution to their societies, and the structural issues of the system that continue to
affect their lives and expectation, a stand-alone goal (Goal 5) aiming to “achieve gender equality and
empower all women and girls” was agreed upon in addition to a growing a consensus of
mainstreaming gender equality into the set of seventeen goals to be endorsed in a few months’
time.
The process of designing the post-2015 development agenda have been exceptionally inclusive and
participatory. The “World We Want” platform was unique in its approach, and it was supported by
continuous efforts at the regional and national levels. In the Arab region, numerous consultation
meetings have been conducted to voice the priorities of the individual countries and the region as a
whole. In February 2014, the representatives of the Arab countries participated in a high-level
meeting by the League of Arab States in Cairo, to discuss the status of implementing the MDGs with
a focus on the status of women, girls and the strive for gender equality and women empowerment
in the Arab region. The outcome of the “Cairo Declaration” highlighted the consensus and solidarity
around this pressing issue, and country representatives joined their peers in the call for a standalone goal targeting this alongside gender mainstreaming in the post-2015 agenda.
1
“Synthesis report of the Secretary-General on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda” A/69/700
accessed on http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/700&Lang=E
MDGs at a glance
Almost fifteen years following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, the MDGs have
shaped a broad vision to advance human development. In the Arab region, a regional and national
dedication to move advance on all eight goals was reflected in unprecedented efforts to design
targeted policies and interventions and a commitment to produce the MDGs progress reports,
despite the inability of governments to do so in a frequent manner. Moreover, the participation of
civil society organizations in lobbying for the MDGs and that of the private sector in prioritizing
MDGs-related goals on top of their corporate social responsibility efforts are clear example proving
MDGs relevance to all the people.
The regional mobilization behind the MDGs has resulted in progress on many fronts, especially in
access to education and health services. This has directly and indirectly affected women’s
empowerment and the road to securing gender equality. Primary school enrolment and literacy
rates in the region have significantly increased over the last decades with universal access to primary
education almost achieved across the region, except for the Arab Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
In 2012, female primary school enrolment (% gross) reached 96.7 per cent compared to 104.3 per
cent for male2. Despite the progress, education attainment in conflict countries was subject to
severe deterioration. In terms of reducing child mortality (MDG4) and improving maternal health
(MDG5), the Arab region is slowly improving, with the Arab LDCs lagging behind, with a drop of only
15 per cent and 17 per cent in child mortality and maternal mortality, respectively.3
On another front, extreme poverty4 is comparatively low in the region and has actually declined
from 5.5 per cent in 1990 down to 4.2 in 2010. In the last couple of years, however, extreme poverty
is estimated to have increased levelling at 7.4 per cent in 2012 for the Arab region and 21.6 per cent
for the LDCs.5 The increase in extreme poverty is partly due to the fact that the daily income of many
people in the Arab region continue to range between US$1.25 and US$3, making them vulnerable to
exogenous shocks and political instability.
At the same time, the region failed to generate productive employment, especially for its youth,
leading to social and political unrest. Youth constitute the largest age group among the population of
the Arab states region. Youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years old represent nearly 20 percent
of the populations (or exceed that number) in several countries (i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen). Given their vast
numbers, youth are often exposed to the detrimental impacts of poverty and labour markets
eschewed by the impact of Globalisation (dramatically reflected in 10 million unemployed Arab
2
Gender Statistics, World Bank (database accessed in February 2015).
United Nations and League of Arab States (2013), “The Arab Millennium Development Goals Report: Facing
Challenges and looking beyond 2015” (Summary), ESCWA.
4
Measured at USD$1.25/day
5
Ibid.
3
youths, between the ages of 18 and 25), and unmet expectations, due in part to the evolving
dynamics of family structures and fanned by technology and the global media.6
The region as a whole needs to create 5 to 6 million new jobs a year for new job seekers in order to
stabilize unemployment rate, and the public sector cannot easily absorb new entrants. The region
has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world approaching 30 percent. In poor and conflictaffected countries, nearly 45 percent of young people are affected by unemployment. Young
females are particularly affected, facing the double burden of age and gender. Female
unemployment in 2013 reached 17.8 per cent compared to a male unemployment rate of 8.4 per
cent. 7Female youth unemployment (15-24) amounted to 33.1 per cent in 2012 compared to 21 per
cent for male of the same age group.8
Despite a slight increase in female participation in the labour market, women in the region continue
to face discrimination. Compared to 22.1% in 2000, female participation in the labour market
reached 24.3 per cent in 2012, which is only half of the global rate. Hence, despite large
improvement in education attainment, women’s participation in the labor force continues to be
limited.9
In terms of representation, measurable progress has been achieved since the 1995 Beijing Platform
for Action on women’s empowerment. The global average proportion of women in parliament has
nearly doubled, growing from 11 per cent in 1995 to 22 per cent in January 2015.10 Electoral quotas
in more than 120 countries have underpinned this success including in Jordan where a strengthened
quota system helped increase the number of women represented in both lower and upper houses.
However, the Arab region in general lags far behind others on women’s representation. Despite
women’s strong participation in political demonstrations in some countries in transition, there have
been no successful efforts to systematically ensure a greater legislative representation of women.11
Women face particular challenges in the labour market in the Arab region. Female labour market
participation rates are lower than in any other region, reaching barely 25 per cent in North Africa
and not even 20 per cent in the Middle East.12
This brief overview indicates that the MDGs remain an unfinished business in the region despite
improvements in some areas such as education which empowers individuals to advance more
confidently. Needless to say, the political dynamics and socioeconomic implications re ever more
challenging and requires from everyone a full commitment to human development and human
security.
6
Arab Youth Strategising for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 2006
World Development Indicators, World Bank.
8
World Development Indicators, World Bank.
9
ILOSTAT, ILO.
10
United Nations. Millennium Development Goals Report, 2015.
11
United Nations. The Arab Millennium Development Goals Report, 2013.
12
Reaffirming and Promoting Rights During Transition, ILO 2014
7
Overview of the SDGs
Building on what has been achieved under the MDGs, the SDGs were designed in an inclusive and
consultative approach to widen the coverage and address some of the systemic and structural
barriers to sustainable development offering a balance between the three dimensions of sustainable
development – social, economic and environmental – and the institutional/governance aspects.
Each of the goals is exclusive in the area of coverage, yet gender as a cross cutting issue will be
mainstreamed throughout the goals. SDG5 focuses on promoting socio-political and economic
transformation at local, national, and global levels to provide a springboard for development policy
and practices to advance gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights. “Gendered inequalities are
the most pervasive of all inequalities, hence there are very strong interlinkages between this goal
and the other SDGs”.13
II.
Objectives
The Arab Women Organization in partnership with UNDP Regional Bureau of Arab States, UN
Women, and league of Arab States are convening a high level conference on the implementation of
the post 2015 SDGs with respect to the important issues of gender equality and women’s
empowerment. The purpose is to discuss the related post 2015 sustainable development goals with
a gender perspective in order to be gender inclusive and tackle the issue of Arab women
empowerment and equality as they have been one of the most vulnerable groups due to continuing
conflict and violence in the region. This conference will serve as a platform to facilitate thematic,
policy and technical discussions on the endorsed SDGs and how they impact the key areas of gender
equality and women’s empowerment.
The Conference aims at providing a set of recommendations that act as a reference/guidelines to
assist policymakers, national women machineries and other key actors in the development field in
the Member States to mainstream gender issues and advance the status of women in monitoring
their progress in achieving the 17 SGDs in the coming 15 years.
Expectations
The conference will stimulate discussion on the 17 thematic areas to provide countries in the Arab
Region with a roadmap to implement the SDGs while ensuring gender equality and women’s
empowerment are at the forefront of implementation and translated across national action plans.
For the purpose of systematic monitoring and provision of guidance, foundations for a roadmap for
implementation - including expected challenges and the way forward - will be drawn up to serve as a
regional network providing support and expertise on implementation of SDG’s. The roadmap will
also play an important role in setting the grounds for monitoring and tracking the progress made by
the countries on the 17 goals.
13
Review of Targets for the Sustainable Development Goals: The Science Perspective
A set of recommendations to support national governments, civil society organizations,
and women machineries to draw insights on how to mainstream gender throughout the
implementation of all the goals and to focus the efforts on achieving significant, and measurable
improvement’s in people lives with a particular focus on women.
The set of recommendations will be discussed in Bahrain conference.
Thematic Discussions
Each of the seventeen thematic discussions will reflect the Power, Process, & Priorities needed to
meet the targets of the new development agenda. Most of the world’s women are trying to break
the cycle of poverty, survive amidst conflict and cope with issues that exceedingly challenge them as
climate change, natural disasters, health and reproductive rights, trafficking and irregular migration.
Arab women hold less than 20 percent of paid jobs outside of the agriculture sector.14 A 2011 global
survey provided data only for Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, where 33.2 per cent, 20.6 per cent and 6.4
per cent60 of women, respectively, reported experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime.
Demographic health surveys in Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia and the Sudan reveal that the harmful
practice of female genital mutilation is widespread, with rates exceeding 90 per cent.15 The reports
of the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, based on official missions to the region, have
identified as vulnerable to trafficking women and girls in the sex industry and in domestic work.16
Bringing together a wide range of leaders and development experts from diverse backgrounds, the
level of participation will include ministers and directors, researchers, politicians and government
representatives, social entrepreneurs, international community and academics. The participants will
discuss, engage, explore and shape the HOW to implement gender equality and women’s
empowerment SDGs agenda in the Arab region in the interactive setting of the conference.
This conference will also involve and engage young men and women development professionals to
discuss the full range of issues that are vital to achieving gender equality including issues of
economic empowerment, and the role of women’s participation in all spheres of life.
The main outcome expected from this conference is an endorsement of concrete recommendations
on actions to guide institutions and key players implement the SDGs to support the women and
youth of this region, who have come a long way in educational attainment among other progress
made. The conference will also propose an agreement on monitoring and accountability systems
and tools as well as assess the statistical capacity of governments to report on their progress,
especially since Goal 17 highlights “data, monitoring and accountability”. The conference
recommendations are expected to be presented in the League of Arab States Ministerial Meeting on
December 6th-7th, 2015 in Bahrain.
14
The Arab Millennium Development Goals Report- Facing Challenges and Looking Beyond 2015
The Arab Millennium Development Goals Report- Facing Challenges and Looking Beyond 2015
16
ILO-Human Trafficking in the Middle-East
15