From The Independent (UK)
Hardliners defied as historic blueprint to tackle violence against girls and women is agreed at the United Nations
NEW YORK, LONDON | SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2013
A remarkable coalition of Conservative Muslim, Roman Catholic, and liberal Western countries have joined together to approve a historic United Nations blueprint to combat violence against women and girls. In doing so, they ignored strong objections from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood that it clashed with Islamic principles and sought to destroy the family.
But within hours of it being agreed came news of a crime which emphasises how badly action on violence against women is needed: the second gang rape of a woman in India, this time a Swiss tourist on a cycling trip. The country is still grappling with the legal and political aftermath of the gang rape and murder three months ago of a woman on a New Delhi bus. That outrage set off nationwide protests about India’s treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them.
The UN agreement should encourage changes of attitude and new laws in nations where women’s access to rights and freedom from institutional discrimination need substantial reform. It came after two weeks of tough and often contentious negotiations, but, in the end, on Friday night, 131 countries achieved consensus on a 17-page document. Michelle Bachelet, head of the UN women’s agency, called the document historic because it sets global standards for action to prevent and end “one of the gravest violations of human rights in the world, the violence that is committed against women and girls”. She added, to loud applause: “People worldwide expected action, and we didn’t fail them. We did it!”
The final text urges all countries “to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition and religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination.”
