On March 8, persons around the globe observed International Women's
Day. On the occasion of this gala event, United Nations representatives
delivered numerous speeches and articles to mark the day.
On the surface, these statements purport to promote gender equality
and fairness. But further examination of statements from three U.N.
representatives becomes a case study in how the radical feminist agenda
can overtake logic, compassion, and fairness.
Noeleen Heyzer
On March 8, the Boston Globe ran an op-ed column entitled,
"Boosting
Women and the World".
In this essay, Ms. Heyzer cited a number of statistics that purported
to show that women are subject to a disproportionate share of suffering
and misery around the world.
For example, she noted that "Today, like any other day, hundreds of
women will lose their limbs on landmines." What she forgot to mention is
that the great majority of landmine victims are male. According to one
Red Cross report, 93% of victims of landmines in Afghanistan are men and
boys.
But her most defamatory statement went like this: "When women are
denied the democratic right to participate in decision-making, the
insecurities women face become invisible." The implication of this
sweeping generalization is that men are callous to the needs and welfare
of women.
Apparently, Ms. Heyzer did not consider the fact that husbands around
the world accept jobs that are dirty, dangerous, or tedious in order to
provide for their families. When men take on a second job, or accept
employment that removes them from their families for extended periods,
it's women and children who are the primary financial beneficiaries.
Noeleen Heyzer's column could be easily dismissed as the rant of a
low-level U.N. functionary. But Ms. Heyzer is the Executive Director of
the UN Development Fund for Women.
UNICEF
UNICEF, headed by Carol Bellamy, also issued a Women's Day statement.
The release made
the claim that more girls and women died from
complications of childbirth in developing countries than from any other
cause.
The factual basis of this statement is plain wrong. According to the
2001
World Health Report, the number of deaths from maternal and
perinatal conditions in both Africa and Southeast Asia is far lower than
deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases in those areas.
The UNICEF statement then went to claim that high maternal mortality
rates represent a "shameful" record of discrimination and apathy toward
women and their rights.
This explanation strains credibility. Complications of childbirth are
primarily caused by poverty, which gives rise to poor nutritional status
and unsanitary hygenic conditions. Poverty, of course, causes suffering
to men and women alike.
So the UNICEF assertion that maternal mortality is the result of
discrimination against women is simply absurd.
Louise Frechette
At an International Women's Day observance in New York, Louise
Frechette made this remarkable
statement: "all our work for development
-- from agriculture to health....must focus on the needs and priorities
of women".
Of course, it has been shown that in the area of health, it is men who
are disadvantaged and vulnerable. In almost every country, male life
expectancy lags behind the life span of women, in some cases, by
15
years. And
the Global Burden of Disease study predicted this disparity will
actually get worse in the next 20 years.
Like Ms. Heyzer, Ms. Frechette is also highly placed within the United
Nations bureaucracy. As Deputy Secretary-General, she reports directly
to Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the U.N. Security Council.
Message of Enlightenment?
Noeleen Heyzer's Boston Globe one-sided column makes slanderous
insinuations about men. Carol Bellamy's UNICEF makes false statements,
and then draws erroneous conclusions about gender discrimination. And
Louise Frechette's argument is simply illogical.
Many have claimed that promoting women to the highest echelons of
power will bring greater compassion and sensitivity into the political
realm. And there is no doubt that one day, women will infuse the
priority-setting process at the U.N. with a more caring perspective.
But that message of enlightenment is unlikely to heard from the
current crop of gender zealots at the U.N. who purport to speak for the
needs of women.
