COMMUNICATION IS VITAL FOR WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Declaration to UNGASS of the NGO Caucus on Women and MediaNew York, June 7
2000

A mind-boggling revolution in communication is taking place across theworld.
Much has changed even in the five years since the adoption of theBeijing
Platform for Action.These changes have huge potential, both negative and
positive, forfurthering or impeding a more just and equitable gender order.
Dependingonhow they are deployed, they can become a key factor for
women'sempowerment,or they could drive an irreconcilable wedge between the
digitallypowerfuland the digitally deprived multitude of women and other
marginal groups.

Communication is fundamental for achieving the objectives in thePlatformfor
Action. How can women better the development of their communitiesorplay an
informed role in public life, without access to pluralisticinformation, the
means of public expression and sharing knowledge? Howcanwomen work towards a
new geo-political order governed by norms of peaceandmutual respect without
channels of communication for dialogue andexchangeof information?

Yet the booming communications industry --the fastest growing sector
oftheeconomy-- is becoming increasingly concentrated in national
andtransnational monopolies, which are driven overridingly by
profit.Information becomes a commodity and the function of media as a
publicservice is swept aside. Under the sway of the mass media, women
areportrayed to the public view in a highly selective and
disempoweringmanner,and a majority of the world's women are simply invisible.
Theirviewpointsand concerns are grossly underrepresented.

Meanwhile, international communications regulation and policy areconcentrated
in bodies such as the World Trade Organization andInternational
Telecommunications Union, which are dominated by businessinterests. Women's
access to the means of communication is notrepresentedin their decisions and
is given little weight.

As codified in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,allpeople have the right to "seek, receive and impart information and
ideasthrough any media regardless of frontier." This implies that it
isessential for women and marginalized groups to gain access to all
meansofcommunication and public expression, including the mass
media;noncommercialaccess to broadcasting spectrum and communications
technology; and a sayinthe direction of technology development.

To guarantee women the fundamental human right to communicate,
civilsocietymust be empowered to hold national and international media
accountable.Full, gender-balanced participation of civil society in
regulatorybodiesmust be ensured. Codes of ethics must be articulated that
respect thevitalnorms of pluralism, human rights and gender balance. Both
gendermainstreaming and special programs are required to create an
enablingenvironment that fosters women's equality in the media professions.

Any serious review of Section J (Women and Media) of the BeijingPlatformfor
Action has to address the emerging scenario at the global, regional,national,
and local level. It must recognize the strategic weakness ofSection J, which
failed to articulate the structural constraints andimpediments that women and
other marginal groups face due tocommercialization and globalization of media
and the concomitant declineofpublic broadcasting media in societies with
democratic and pluralistictraditions.

Not only has the Beijing Plus 5 review failed to meet this challenge,butthe
Outcomes document scarcely refers to media and communications atall.We call
upon the United Nations to create the conditions for a broad andinclusive
debate on communication issues and their implications fordemocracy and social
justice. We also call for a World Conference onCommunication with 50% female
participation -- in which women and othermarginalized citizens must have an
equal voice with governments and theprivate sector, as a fundamental
contribution to gender equality,development and peace.

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