by
Diane Saarinen
Status of Women, the First International Helvi Sipalä Seminar 2006: Power in Her Hands was held on
March 2, 2006.
Director Carolyn Hannan, of the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, said regarding Helvi
Sipilä during opening remarks at the seminar: “She is a legend in the women’s movement and
symbolizes to many what women’s leadership should be, driven by a strong sense of justice and
courageously pushing for change, challenging norms and defending the interests of those involved in the
situation…she remains a role model and an inspiration for women in the United Nations today.” Ms.
Hannan added, “Helvi Sipalä courageously paved the way for others, including myself.”
Helvi Sipilä of Finland, as a longtime Commission member, was first appointed chairperson of the Status
of Women and Family Planning in the 1960s. As a lawyer, her main focus had been on family law. In
1975 -- designated International Women’s Year -- Ms. Sipilä (appointed the first female Assistant
Secretary General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs) was in charge of the first world
conference on the Status of Women held in Mexico City, whose themes were equality, development and
peace.
In 1979, the conference would spawn the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This would be entered into force in 1981. Currently, 179
countries have ratified the treaty. Ten countries, including the United States, have not ratified CEDAW as
of yet.
From this first world conference would also follow the well-known fourth world conference of women held
in Beijing, which brought forth the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. A dozen critical areas of
concerns were highlighted: one of which notably was “Women In Power and Decision-making.” It is this
category that most reflects the theme of this seminar, “Power in Her Hands.”
H.E. Ms. Tuula Haatainen, Minister of Social Affairs and Health of Finland, delivered her comments,
entitled “Centennial Story of Finland – A Global Forerunner?" The centennial she was speaking of was
the fact that Finland was the first European country to grant women the right to vote in 1906, as well as
the right to vote for a female candidate. Currently, Finland has a female president (elected in 2000, and re-
elected in 2006). Finland has a unicameral Parliament, and out of 200 Members of Parliament, the
women’s proportion is 38% Currently, of 18 Ministers in government, 44% are women.
Oddly, Ms. Haatainen explained, it was the temperance movement at the turn of the 20th century that
facilitated women obtaining voting rights. The temperance movement, she said, functioned as a broad-
based citizen’s movement which served to bring together both the social classes and the sexes. Ms.
Haatainen noted: “The history of women’s suffrage contains an interesting paradox: It seems that if the
battle was noisier, the results were smaller. Countries with the most militant suffragettism had to wait for
years, even decades, before they could enjoy the fruits of their struggle, while many small, peripheral
countries gave women full parliamentary representation at an early date without much noise.” New
Zealand, as the pioneer, accepted women’s right to vote in 1893, which was followed by Australia in 1902.
Regarding taking “Power in Her Hands”: “We started talking about women’s rights as human rights in
1995 in Beijing. If women are not part of the decision-making process these rights are not going to be
achieved.” Ms. Haatainen’s conclusion: “Women’s empowerment is not done, it still needs our attention.”
Speaking on the “Political Rights of Women in Rwanda” was H.E. Valerie Nyirahabineza, the Minister of
Gender and Family Promotion of Rwanda. Rwanda’s first female Prime Minister, Agathie
Uwilingiyimana, was tragically killed in the Hutu/Tutsi massacres and the genocide of 1994. What
followed after the genocide became, Ms. Nyirahabineza said, “a matter of national survival.” The 1995
Beijing Platform became a critical moment for women in Rwanda. Families were protected with rights,
such as inheritance rights that were applicable to both sexes, and the women joined together to adopt
many of the 95,000 children orphaned by the genocide.
Currently, Ms. Nyirahabineza explained, the political rights of women in Rwanda are protected by a
gender-sensitive constitution as well as a high political commitment for equality. “Lessons in women’s
political decision-making cannot be taken for granted,” she said. Due to their quota system which
requires gender parity, the Rwandan Parliament currently is 49 percent female, the highest in the world.
This progress has been made through outreach with educational institutions being utilized as well as
media, particularly radio. Women are volunteering in NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the
Ministry of Gender serves as “a conduit for the views and voices of women to be heard, to activate and
generalize women’s awareness.”
In terms of decision-making, women have high-level governmental appointments such as the Ministry of
Justice and the Ministry of Environment. The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion is working
closely, Ms. Nyirahabineza said, to monitor women’s issues, and to encourage women’s self-sufficiency.
Programs have also been created to mobilize women in all policy-making levels of the government, and
making the government aware of their rights. The programs also serve as a training ground for political
and leadership roles for the women. Perhaps most importantly, “Leaders question the absence of
women's leadership,” said Ms. Nyirahabineza. She admitted the gap between the two genders still
needed to close further. Obstacles included low levels of education, women never being socialized for
these new possibilities, and “traditional attitudes” – being affected by men with prejudices towards
women’s roles.
As Ms. Dorothy Meyer, Deputy Convener of Status of Women Committee, International Federation of
University Women took the floor to discuss women’s political rights in New Zealand, she pointed out a
popular misconception: “Due to the perception that because women hold the top three constitutional roles
in New Zealand – of Governor General, Prime Minister and Chief Justice, and until quite recently,
Attorney General – it is felt that gender equality has been won for New Zealand women – you know,
‘you’ve got it made.’” However, according to Ms. Meyer, a governmental survey revealed an under-
utilization of women’s skills and talents both the public and private sectors. “Only 16% of women are
directors of the boards in the private sector. There is a chronic lack of women in senior positions in legal
and academic professions.”
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs carried out a nationwide consultation with New Zealand women in 2003
and 2004, the result being the creation of an Action Plan. The plan, created in partnership with the
National Council of Women in New Zealand, the Māori Women’s Welfare League, and PACIFICA,
focuses on three key areas: improving the economic independence of women; achieving greater work/life
balance for families; and improving the well-being and quality of life of New Zealand women. In
economic independence, one of the goals is to increase women’s – particularly Māori women’s – success in
enterprise. “Now that the Action Plan is being implemented and the latest report from the Ministry of
Women’s Affairs indicate that it is on target for achieving its aims,” Ms. Meyer said.
Finland and New Zealand have more in common than being forerunners in securing the historic right to
vote for women. New Zealand currently ranks 15 among 187 member countries in the proportion of
women in Parliament at 33%, slightly behind Finland. In education, New Zealand is 11 and Finland is
10. Currently, it is in economic opportunity where New Zealand lags behind at 47, while Finland ranks at
17. Since economic independence is a key factor highlighted in the Action Plan for New Zealand Women,
it is hoped that successes gained will improve the lot for the women of this country.
The Geneva-based nonprofit Inter-Parliamentary Union just announced on February 27 that among 39
countries that held parliamentary elections in 2005, the ratio of women elected to hold public office increased
in 28 countries. By the years’ end in 2005, 16.3% of upper and lower house members were women. This is in
step with the progress made since 1995, when the proportion was just 11.3%
The study also makes note of African parliaments that are at least one-third women – Rwanda again at 49%
female – which include Mozambique, South Africa, Burundi and Tanzania.
Information regarding CEDAW, including which countries have and have not ratified the treaty, can be
obtained at www.womenstreaty.org
Quiet Mountain Essays was an interview with author Kate Laity in the August 2005 issue.
