The article discusses “Copenhagen Conference 1980. UN Second Women Conference. World Conference on women 1980. Copenhagen Conference 1980.”
Copenhagen Conference 1980
To review achievements of past five years work and set new goals for the development and advancement of women, representatives of 145 UN member states met at Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980 for Second International Women Conference.
Mexico City Women’s Conference 1975
Copenhagen Women’s Conference 1980 Important Points
Some of the main points of Copenhagen conference are given below.
Adoption Of The Bill Of Rights For Women – CEDAW
In December 1979, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted one of the most important and powerful instruments, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) commonly known as the bill of rights for women. The convention aims at achieving women’s equality in every sphere of life.
Set Areas Of Action: The conference raised concerns on women’s ability to freely exercise their rights. To address this problem the conference reaffirmed focus on three areas where specific, highly focused action was essential for achieving the broad goals of equality, development and peace identified by the Mexico City Conference. The three areas pointed out by the conference included
Nairobi Women’s Conference 1985
- Equal access to education
- Employment opportunities and
- Adequate health care services
Factors Responsible Women’s Inability To Exercise Their Rights: The conference pointed out the following factors responsible for women’s inability to exercise their rights.
- Men’s insufficient role in improving women’s participation in society
- Lack of political will
- No or less recognition of women’s work value
- Over passing of women’s need in planning
- Shortage of women in decision making position
- Insufficient services to support women’s role in national life
- Insufficiency of financial resources
- Women’s ignorance of their opportunities
Program Of Action: To address the above mentioned concerns, the conference adopted a Program of Action that aimed at
- Ensuring women’s ownership and control of property
- Right to inheritance
- Child custody
End To Stereotype Attitude: Members of the Conference also agreed to put an end to stereotype attitude towards women.
Conclusion
Copenhagen Conference 1980 was the sequel of First International Women’s Conference Mexico City 1975. The conference was held to review achievements of past five years and set new goals.
