WORLDS APART: Reproductive health and rights in an age of inequality _ johnnybility

WORLDS APART: Reproductive health and rights in an age of inequality

In today’s world, gaps in wealth have grown shockingly wide. Billions of people linger at the bottom, denied their human rights and prospects for a better life. At the top, resources and privileges accrue at explosive rates, pushing the world ever further from the vision of equality embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Inequality is often understood in terms of income or wealth—the dividing line between the rich and poor. But, in reality, economic disparities are only one part of the inequality story. Many other social, racial, political and institutional dimensions feed on each other, and together block hope for progress among people on the margins.

Two critical dimensions are gender inequality, and inequalities in realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights; the latter, in particular, still receives inadequate attention. Neither explains the totality of inequality in the world today, but both are essential pieces that demand much more action. Without such action, many women and girls will remain caught in a vicious cycle of poverty, diminished capabilities, unfulfilled human rights and unrealized potential—especially in developing countries, where gaps are widest.

No country today—even those considered the wealthiest and most developed—can claim to be fully inclusive, where all people have equal opportunities and protections, and fully enjoy their human rights.

Sexual and reproductive health is a universal right
Having the information, power and means to decide whether, when and how often one becomes pregnant is a universal human right. That is what 179 governments agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994.

A universal right is one that applies to everyone, everywhere, regardless of income, ethnicity, place of residence or any other characteristic. But the reality is that today, across the developing world, that right is far from universally realized, with hundreds of millions of women still struggling to obtain information, services and supplies to prevent a pregnancy or to give birth safely.

Whether a woman is able to exercise her reproductive rights depends in part on whether she lives in a city or a rural area, how much education she has and whether she is affluent or poor.

Economic inequality correlates with inequalities in sexual and reproductive health Within most developing countries, women in the poorest 20 percent of the population have, for example, the least access to sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, while women at the top of the wealth scale generally have access to a fuller range of high-quality services.

The unmet demand for family planning in developing countries is generally greatest among women at the bottom of the wealth scale. Without access to contraception, poor women, particularly those who are less educated and live in rural areas, are at heightened risk of unintended pregnancy. This results in greater health risks and lifelong economic repercussions for herself and her children

Whether a woman is able to exercise her reproductive rights can influence whether she will realize her full potential and will be able to seize opportunities in education or compete for a job. Her options in life may be curtailed by limited options in sexual and reproductive health. 

An unequal labour forceAs fertility has declined worldwide, labour-force participation of women has increased in most regions. Where women participate in the labour force at high rates, the resulting trends have been towards lower fertility, due in part to the struggles of balancing educational and career aspirations with having and caring for children. In high-fertility countries, particularly the least developed countries, women’s enrolment in the labour force as wage and salaried employees remains low. 

For women everywhere, pregnancy and child-rearing can mean exclusion from the labour force or lower earnings. The challenges are even greater for women who lack the means to decide whether, when or how often they become pregnant.

Gender inequality is pervasive worldwide, with negative or discriminatory attitudes, norms, policies and laws preventing women and girls from developing their capacities, seizing opportunities, entering the labour force, realizing their full potential and claiming their human rights.

Gender-unequal norms not only influence whether a woman enters the labour force but can also dictate which types of jobs she may pursue, determine how much she will be paid and hinder her advancement in the workplace. Countries with norms that prioritize employment for men over women have greater gender inequality in labour-force participation.

Social institutions that put women and girls at a disadvantage in key spheres of their lives also put them at a disadvantage in entering the labour force. 

Laws can exclude women
Laws can reflect or reinforce discriminatory norms and attitudes that block women’s access to the labour force or drag down their earnings relative to those of men. In 18 countries, men can legally prevent their wives from working outside the home, according to the World Bank. Laws in some countries limit women’s access to banking and credit, which can limit their earnings potential.

Laws—or their absence or inadequate enforcement—can affect the health and well-being of women, and thus influence women’s labour-force participation and their ability to earn an income. Forty-six of 173 countries examined in a World Bank report had no domestic violence laws, and 41 had no laws pertaining to sexual harassment. The World Bank also found laws protecting against “economic violence” are rare. Economic violence occurs when a woman is deprived of the economic means to leave an abusive relationship, because her partner either controls the economic resources or prevents the woman from having or keeping a job.

Pervasive gender inequality in categories of work
Statistics on overall labour-force participation rates mask substantial inequalities in the types of work that women and men are undertaking and the economic risks that some categories of workers face.

Once women are in the labour force, they account for a larger share of work in household enterprises and a smaller share of waged or salaried employees than their male counterparts. etc.

Source: unfpa