Åpningen av First Women Council

7. mars 2004 i Istanbul

Minister Laila Dåvøy, Ministry of Children and Family Affairs

Greetings

I am very glad to be here and feel honoured to participate in this meeting and to celebrate the 8 ^th> of March tomorrow and women’s international day with you. It is an important day to all of us. It is the day when women all over the world focus on sisters and themselves. Some celebrates the day with joy, others with anger.

Since the beginning of last century when the day was marked for the first time (in the USA in 1908, and in Copenhagen in 1910) the focus was on women’s right to vote and to become an equal partners in our democracies. In Norway we celebrated the day for the first time in 1915, and we at that time made it a day for the demand of peace and security. We achieved women’s right to vote in 1913 .

Today, the issues of peace and security are still high on the agenda, both being questions of great concern to women worldwide. I am satisfied that the Commission on the status of women (CSW) of the UN in this year’s session, put this theme on the agenda.

Women still find themselves outside the major centres of power, at national as well as international level, and are under-represented at almost all national decision-making levels. This affects the democracies and how the national interests and security are defined. As a matter of course, it also affects relations between states. Although international relations are said to be “gender-neutral”, the implicit role of men in shaping state behaviour , politics and the international system as a whole, is evident. Women’s absence from the field – both in sufficient numbers and high decision-making posts – de facto leaves them out of world politics. We have to ask: How can that be ? What are the causes behind this prevalence ?

At the same time as women have little access to peace negotiations and their contributions to peacemaking and peace-building are not utilised, the gender perspective in peace and security issues is easy to identify. We need to follow up the important Resolution 1325 from the Security Council in The United Nations (UN) much more eagerly – together, across the world !

The impact of armed conflict on women and girls are similar to those of men and boys. They suffer the same traumas and difficulties. But there are important differences. Women and girls have become prime targets of armed conflict, and suffer particularly as gender based and sexual violence has become weapons of warfare. Women and children also constitute the majority of the world’s refugees and displaced persons.

I am convinced that women can play critical roles and contribute with important perspectives and solutions. And define alternative leadership styles for promoting more justice and equality, for the whole population, not only half of it. If we want to move towards democracy world-wide, we must strengthen the role of women in decision-making and politics.

The situation is in many ways quite different in our two countries. In my country women have for some decades become an integrated part of our political systems. But we also see that men dominate the positions of power in important areas. Mighty positions in fields like the economy, the army, the church, police-force and judicial system, are still the domain of men.

I want to congratulate you on the New Turkish Civil Code passed by the National Assembly in 2001. I am impressed! This Civil Code have drastically improved the legal status of women in the family.

Celebrating the international women’s day, we must emphasis the most obvious demand: women’s voices must be heard, in all areas. Women must be able to influence all aspects of society. Our participation is vital. Only then can we lay down social, economic and political subsoil rich and deep enough for real democracy and freedom to take root.