Gender, empowerment and communication: Retrospect and Prospect
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At this time is particularly suitable for the media to express and exchange opportunities of look back in 1995 the "Beijing Declaration of Action," because many of the same issues - as well as new issues - most
recently in November 2005 in Tunis concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS ) on again been reaffirmed. For me personally, once again reflect a very useful, as I learned from the 1994 Bangkok
Conference on Women and the media to the Toronto Conference in 1995, UNESCO has been involved in the case, I also participated in the Beijing World Conference on Women and the media (Sreberny, 1995). On the international political debate and development planning, the decade can be
said is that it can be said is not a long time, people may have reason to claim that communication problems related to gender and global issues in 2005 than in 1995, has been more attention. To promote "gender equality and empowerment" has become the Millennium Development Goals in the third, while the World Summit on the Information Society is also acknowledged to some extent - though still controversial - the importance of communication
problems. Indeed, gender issues in the process of the World Information
Summit is a frequently discussed topic (Sreberny, 2004).
I can not and do not want to recall the whole all the achievements of Beijing Summit, as well as its remaining shortcomings. But would like to share some thoughts on the following three areas:
In the conceptual framework for the continuation and change;
In terms of the debate has changed the world, the media and the general exchange of extensive development;
* As the World Information Summit, presented by the debate on
contemporary gender and communication for special attention.
Global issues from a gender perspective, will make people concerned about inequality and hidden, concerns empowerment and participation, public areas and private areas of blurred borders, concerned about the
experience, knowledge and women's development and the peace process needs to grasp. From the communication point of view of globalization, will reveal many of the contemporary global economic and financial processes
rely on the basis of technical facilities; reveal a series of public have access to media channels, these channels for domestic and cross-border
audiences nationwide coverage and international political cultural issues, they are more and more of the audience was able to secure a variety of
forms of communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones, the Internet and mobile phones allow the public to participate in the creation process of discourse. These two perspectives together will query the exchange of democratization, democracy, communication and the world of women's liberation.
4 R's Thoughts
Representative (Representation), right (Right), recognition (Recognition) and redistribution (Redistribution) may be as a democratization of the four aspects to consider each and every aspect has been used to support women around the world to participate in various forms of public the struggle of life.
The right to democracy is a central issue, especially in terms of liberal democracy; and rights are part of the process of global democratization. It is true that democracy not only by the official in charge of government and justice, free national elections to measure, but also by a set of civil and political rights and freedom of association
that is short of "civil society" to measure (Potter et al., 1997). These rights include the clear, especially as political rights, elections and run for public office, and more power sharing that is the right to freedom of expression, as well as establishment of an independent association of social rights (Dahl, 1989; Potter et al., 1997). Indeed, the participation and integration is increasingly being seen as part of an expanded sense of civic responsibility, which goes beyond the formal sense of civic
responsibility and national boundaries, but also includes many forms of activities, and to promote global solidarity (Falk, 1994; van Steenburgen, 1994 ).
Around the rights at the international level there is intense debate. They are universal, or Western-centrism it? They have great value in the
group do? Laws are increasingly seen as the company has the right to economic entities, rather than cultural groups, minority groups, languages and marginalized people? The right framework for international work? How
to stop the abuse of rights, in case of abuse of rights, how to punish? Recently established in The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the immediate discovery of global hegemony - the United States require some
sort of immunity, so that the rights and responsibilities can be avoided, rather than recognize them.
The debate on the rights of particular significance in two areas: the exchange of information society rights, and the recognition of gender rights - that has made significant progress. The right to exchange
information on the 2005 Tunis World Summit on the debate on the core issue. In the big countries and big business interests under the rule of the world's information meeting was filled with a kind of technological
determinism, such a decision on the development of information technology as a solution to the narrow Road; This is reminiscent of the 1950s, the debate on the role of the media and the the 1970s for a new world information and communication order in debate. Of civil society around the
"Exchange Rights" build up the struggle, the struggle not to information technology and media, separated, but to continue to combine a series of rights, these rights, including language rights, freedom of expression, intellectual property and concerned about the public domain issues. Many voters, including indigenous peoples, labor and sex organizations to become involved in this struggle. The exchange of information society, the exchange of rights organizations, the creation of a Charter of Rights and
commented on the exchange of rights outlined in the document (http://cris. Communica. Org). In the fifth Alegre World Social Forum held in Hong Kong recently, in January 2005 convened the first session of the world's information and communication conference (http://www. Ipsnews. Net / new_adv / cworldforum_prog. Asp), and developed Global Media Watch organization, the organization's corporate and government violations of public communication of events to track.
Here to focus attention on the gender issues involved in the debate, I have this issue with the emphasis on women's rights long struggle together. Even the liberal democracies, in the treatment of women to demand full civil rights are not compromised, leading analysts believe
that a "sovereign democratic nation-state has nothing to do with women"
(Dickenson, 1997, p. 107). Women "in the nation-state level of the
democratic rights of the deficit" (Dickenson, 1997, p. 111) has been the emphasis on two aspects, first, changed the liberal democratic global
feminist solidarity networks, first under the nation-state level of grass-
roots organization "the destiny of community" and that the pressure in the opposite direction (Dickenson, 1997, p. 111). At the local, national,
regional and international meetings of women carried out by the long and difficult struggle, leading to the final in Vienna in 1993, recognition of gender-specific rights are human rights part of it. Women in the decades of shared political and policy practice, the global community's
recognition of gender equality is essential for the development process (Steans, 2002). Meeting in Cairo in 1994 established the right of everyone to access to basic education and reduce maternal mortality targets; Development Summit in Copenhagen in 1995, added on the basic health and nutrition goals, WSSD 5 (Johannesburg, 2000) reiterated the 2015 boys girls and equal enjoyment of universal primary education development goals. In 2003, 171 countries signed the United Nations, "Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination against Women" (CE-DAW), the Convention
requires the Government to take action to promote and protect women's rights. The Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 adopted a Declaration for Action, the Declaration identified 12 areas (including the media) that require action to achieve gender equality; many aspects of the subsequent five meetings in Beijing has been re-emphasized. Launched a
global campaign against trafficking in women and children (www. hrw. Org /
about / projects / traffcamp / intro. Html), and some movement is opposed to all forms of violence against women (www. unifem. Undp. Org / trustfund).
On "human development" concept in the development of a simple amendment to the past is equivalent to the idea of economic development, emphasizing human development. Later, further fine-tuning, including the
gender development index (GDI) and gender empowerment measure (GEM) - the
latter also includes women's participation in economic and political cost
of living index (hdr. undp. Org).
In this way, through the different levels of the United Nations Conference reiterated that the Action Plan, through the Government's commitment to achieve these goals, at least in the formal level, gender
equality and women's human rights issue of up to a certain degree of "global consensus" (UNIFEM, 2000). All global issues, including economic development, democratization, and cultural production, include gender issues, does not recognize gender inequality, it is impossible to
understand globalization.
The second R, which represents the problem, always with the political process and the media has two meanings. Discussed above clearly contains the political struggle to a global women civil rights, in Parliament to
increase the proportion of women elected to remove pairs of women's political development with limited restrictions on such measures as invisible. Sometimes, a better functioning democracy is also a need to adjust the formal mechanisms of political participation in order to
improve representation. UNIFEM (2000) for "the advancement of women in the world," the analysis shows that women occupy seats depends on the amount of the increase in special measures such as quotas, etc., with a country's
relative wealth has nothing to do.
Speaking on behalf of the media, global media concentration poses a clear threat to cultural diversity and political empowerment. In many countries, being the mainstream media to demonize, discrimination against women, gender relations and sexual expression of distorted descriptions of attack. Another strategy is the development of alternative media to represent ourselves, and the use of communication technology as a tool for democratization and promote the mainstream employment mechanism and
hindered by the diversity of political institutions and participation. Expressed in the text and images of our own to find a voice, to provide women with the confidence needed to run for public office, expression, and
support, so that we can improve political representation.
The third R, admitted that the principal is the reciprocity - that is
a dialectical process, a person known by others recognize and know other people admit. We listen to each other, coexist coexist. Women, media,
development and use of information and communication technologies, its significance lies in the development of women where you can chat space, looking for aficionados, and talk to the think noble mutual recognition of, and in women in many societies outside of the political struggle to
support each other. As Honys (Honneth, 2001) said, "Each of the main dialectic between the recognition of the most important
requirements ... ... is a person as a special character, habits, character and characteristics of human existence. In short, a people to self-
understanding, they insisted to obtain other people's recognition. "
On the Recognition and redistribution discussion of the relationship between the more and more. It is based on an understanding: In order to
gain political and cultural rights, the struggle depends on the rights of certain substances. In the process of accelerated globalization, the richest and most the difference between the poor has never been so clearly, this was partly due to the acquisition and dissemination of
global information flow to make these differences more transparent. The United Nations Human Development Report reminds us: "In many new economic opportunities exist at the same time, there are 2.8 billion people still
rely on two U.S. dollars a day live. The world's richest 1% of the population is equivalent to the annual income of the poorest 57% of the the person's income. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, most poor people
live worse "(UNDP, 2002:2). Spent the war in Iraq, the number of 1 billion
pounds could have been spent on primary schools, clean water, basic sanitation, adequate food and prevention of diseases. Only 20 million pounds (about 36 billion U.S. dollars) could be to the world's starving people of food a year, just one billion pounds that could provide clean drinking water for 500,000 people. Media widely reported the status of the 2004 Asian tsunami stirred up in rich generosity is welcome, this led to begin to discuss development assistance, particularly the British
Government's proposal to public sympathy with the global economy on the basis of logic for Africa to launch a assistance activities.
Globalization, in theory, is to ignore gender issues (Moghadam, 2005; Peterson and Runyan, 1993), but in most societies, gender inequality is a deep structural problem, and this issue because of the globalization process and the change even more serious. With regard to income inequality and the number of possession of assets is very well-known problem,
sometimes concrete, has been a mystery and a (see Bridge, 2004 referred to in debate). If people living in very poor state of the majority of women who are not exaggerated; in many countries and sectors, women earn less than men in the labor market, high income, high honor for proportional
representation of women in sectors far from adequate. In the political field, in the 191 UN member states, less than 10% by women as heads of state, less than 10% of government ministers are women. In the social
sphere, with men, compared to the same age, more women are illiterate, more girls can not continue studying. In many countries, reducing infant, child and maternal mortality targets are ignored, more women infected with HIV (Human Development Report, 2001).
Identity politics is nothing new, it struggles for the redistribution of material are not contradictory. Improved social and economic life may contribute to political democracy. Member of a democracy should have access to social respect and recognition that this idea should be accepted
is to require the redistribution of foundation. December 2003 Geneva Summit on the Information Society, preparations for the debate on the Information Society, repeatedly will have the opportunity to participate as a prerequisite. If there is no rational allocation of global technical resources, arms, or redistribution, then the whole WSIS debate would be meaningless. As Wahrby (Walby, 2001, p. 129) put it, "recognized political redistribution is just politics maid."
In this way, the right, on behalf of recognition and redistribution can be seen as four aspects of democratization, women's activities around these four aspects stressed by a local, national and global space of political participation and the development of a complex network of
organizations. Women's media and communication activities in itself is an important organizational and cultural activities, but also that they can be further emphasized that the concerns of their space. Through this network to emphasize their concerns, no longer subject to the State to give women the space constraints, this space is not very often in favor of women. The new communication technology of analog links help to expand democratic space. Springing up of non-governmental organizations and civil
society organizations (Boulding, 1988) often active in the most basic level, the same time, coordinated action at the global level - they are
actually more "level" operating simultaneously. In this way, more space for feminist activities, disrupting the status of a simple order of these political areas: local-level activities is not always starting place; the global level, not just because the biggest and more important; sometimes achieved at the global level can be a profound impact on the local level;
sometimes it seems the most difficult to change the national level.
So, in terms of globalization on gender may have conflicting effects. On the one hand, greater openness and global standard for judging seemed to be more serious about gender issues, and some regulatory mechanisms, at least at the global level, touched on gender issues. On the other hand, different gender access to resources, opportunities for power and not the same, this situation even more serious because of globalization. In
September 2004 as a world leader by the consent of the Millennium Development Goals, which called for third countries, especially to promote gender equality, to women's rights; other goals were also many aspects of the meaning of gender.
However, if the women themselves do not emphasize the gender
implications of global issues, very few men do so. Hz (Hertz, 2002) that the World Economic Forum and the World Trade Organization debate, almost no gender-related issues. For women to achieve gender equality for several
decades of struggle - if not hundreds of years of struggle to say. Women's cross-border movement is that many of the achievements of the United Nations agencies on the issue of gender equality and in the global attention to gender equality in items to build a global consensus and speech level.
From the grassroots-to-fiber: Women's Global Network
Sociologists recognize the significance of transnational women's movement, that it indicates that "network society", the arrival of
(Castells, 1996), shows a "globalization from below" (Falk, 1994), shows the "global civil society "The existence of (Sreberny, 1998), is" to promote a global network "of the main model (Keck and Sikkink, 1998). Despite the women's movement has a long history, but it is the "new"
social movements in a major case in point. In communications and information field, women's alternative networks for decades have been busy organizational development from the grassroots to the national and regional level organizations in order to create a "network of networks" (Sreberny-Mohammadi, 1998), the creation of "transnational feminist networks "(Moghadam, 2005), or" a network of the world, in this world, there are many leaders, but no one person or a group of everything and
"(Walker, 2002).
For network communication, expression, political action and other processes is essential. Contact media and information technology as tools and infrastructure, as the debate on the space and sound channel is important. There is room for media democracy voice in the above areas, there are on their mode of transmission.
Women have long recognized and applied the power of new technologies, including Internet, e-mail, fax, as well as some old-fashioned media, such
as printing, "snail mail" and telephone number. They use these to build around certain events and issues of solidarity networks, potentially the grass-roots women's organizations and decision-making centers linked, so
that ordinary people may not only participate in local and national public
and political, but also as a transnational social movement members are involved in global issues (Harcourt, 1999; Sreberny, 1998).
Women are active builders of transnational networks. In building the networks and the network in the process of developing a global feminism that grassroots, local, national, regional and global activities linked method. At this point, I have to note in passing that "women" is always represented too little and too much stuff, there is always a kind of
essentialism is too simple to exaggerate the similarity of women to transcend socio-economic, political and cultural limit the danger point.
To be absolutely sure to keep in mind, "the formation of gender identity and women's experience of humble means, and other core variables such as
race, class, age, generational, sexual orientation, history, culture and colonialism and other related, and affected" (Riano, 1994 , p. 35). Transnational processes on the world's resources and the rights of women,
differences in debate (in progress), while the differences between the rights of women as women and men, like the difference between the right to also be considered. Argued women's networks of communication is an important part of the internal democratization, countries of concern both
within and between countries, race and class, western privilege and cultural prejudices, these problems constitute a network of internal politics (Rai, 2003).
On behalf of yourself: the establishment of networks
Women's media and communication There are many reasons to become a substantial focus on women's networks. The gender of the mainstream media criticism, asked for more adequate representation, asking for more recognition of women's concerns and perspectives to require the
redistribution of decision-making roles, and ask for employment on the
implementation of greater gender equality and the exchange of rights (the previous version of the four exchanges ). Women have developed a number of alternative media, as a channel for the expression of women's voices and recognized way.
Communication is the focus of many organizations, is the practice of all organizations, so as to media organizations as the center for the general process of the network is very important. Many networks have a
particular focus of media attention, including the Trinidad and Tobago of the CAFRA (Caribbean Association of Feminist Research and Action), Barbados WAND (Women's Action for New Direction), Australia's SISTERLINK (sister co) Lebanon IWSAW (Arab Women's Institute), Kenya FEMNET (Women's Network). New York, International Women's Tribune Center and other organizations, a global women's activities in information exchange center. It publishes the "forum", operation "Women, Ink", which is a by the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (www. unifem. Undp. Org)-funded
marketing and distribution services. It has financed the Earth's northern sales of publications in the Global South. Isis in Santiago, Chile and the Philippines, Manila, the operation (www. isiswomen. Org), the non-
governmental organization founded in 1974, to provide women with information and communication services to support the "women's empowerment, and through the creation of the exchange of information networks and channels fully involved in the development process. " Isis has a global network, it is a resource center for women in the South has produced audio-visual works and publications; as many similar projects, it is to enter the Internet, to make its resources more widely shared by the
people.
New Delhi, Asian women also exchange network, which publishes the
"impact" magazine, is committed "through the exchange of the mobilization of the Asian women's access to more equitable and just social order, this
order acknowledges the existing diversity in the region." There are operating within the religious culture of the network, such as "Life in the Muslim women under the law" (www. wluml. Org), which is an international solidarity network, publishing a quarterly newsletter and
various themes monograph involves violence against women, reproductive rights and deprivation of the right to vote and so on. Them and the Earth's northern women's organizations have very close contact (the United Kingdom against the fundamentalist women's organization), they are often concerned about the ethnic minority groups, women in conflict. Their voices often not heard in the mainstream culture. The joint action of these organizations on women's human rights to create a major portal site
(www. whr. Org), and "women's rights, development and peace to learn together" will be committed to empowering women of the South in order to power (http://www. Learningpartnership . org).
Most of the information and communication networks from the 1975
World Women Conference in Nairobi of the United Nations, the General Assembly created the "Decade for Women" program. WOMENNET including 9 countries in 10 major networks, it was first built specifically to share with the world dedicated to research and exchange of information, quickly and regular publication of a series of information, including quarterly, news magazines and communications loose-leaf; books, small book and humor
painting; picture card and postcards; resource box, manuals and training
resources; from time to time in newspapers, research papers and bibliographic; news features and video products. Means of a large number of materials used in a wide range, from the most basic (and hands, pen / pencil, typewriter) to high-end technology (computers, VCR and
photocopiers). Is also very wide range of distribution channels, from the domestic and international mailing and delivery services, automobile, telephone, meetings to fax, web, e-mail and the Internet.
The "new" dissemination of information and communication technology requirements for training. Progressive spread of the Association of Women's Network Support Program (ICTs) in 1993, the Fourth World Conference on Women as part of the preparation. They train women to use e-
mail and the Internet, to help women understand the expansion of media and communication in order to accommodate new technology, the urgency to address women's access to new information communication technology opportunities and women's participation in the decision how to design and
placement of these technologies urgency. Beijing conference provided an opportunity for the formation of ideas that the government change the venue of the Forum to enable people to worry about the possibility of a formal meeting on effective lobbying, because it eliminates the sense of the plenary, and only provide limited communications equipment. Global Women's done a forceful response. Underlying network structure mobilized, including the world's telex network (Frankson, 1996; Gittler, 1996;
Harcourt, 1999). At the meeting, progress association for the diffusion of women's networks support programs by the emergence of a women's leadership program for attendance at meetings and non-governmental Forum on 30000
women to enter the Internet, electronic media and information services. The association said that the project's main goals is "to the base of women have shown this new technology is appropriate for women, and can be manipulated by women."
Women carried out by transnational debate and consultation resulting
in the Internet, such as an international "virtual forum", such as GK97, Beijing 5 and 10, women appeared on the 2000 Conference. Online and other places in these discussions, highlighted many of the objectives proposed
by the Beijing Conference and the obstacles encountered in the process. These obstacles include the years of deeply entrenched cultural values, social customs and religious beliefs, their contempt for the contribution of women and girls, work, thought and life; women and gender equality in
decision-making process is rarely taken into account; trade
liberalization, globalization and privatization, the impact of conflicting and does not balance, a considerable number of women are adversely affected.
On behalf of our own: Women in the Media
For decades, women have been in the media to issue a special voice, which involves men and women on the traditional prejudices abound of discrimination against women and pornographic image of women in the news
almost disappeared. Media is the Beijing Conference in 1995, the focus of attention in 2000, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women reaffirms its operations for the global media and content concerns. (http://www. un. org/womenwatch/daw/csw/47sess. htm # conclusions)
There are recommendations, is to improve the gender balance in employment. Some efforts to collect employment of women in the media data, but empirical data are quite scarce, and even the Western industrial countries as well. Some people think that the increase of women's employment in the media will not in itself bring about change in the nature of programs will not significantly alter the priority of news topics. In Asia, it noted that "the increase in female journalists, and
there is no significant change in information content, style or presentation approach. Even if the growing number of news reporting and editing by women, news of the decision-making power remains in the hands
of men, women ... ... The employment and does not drastically change the
news agenda or the order of "(Balakrishnan, 1994, p. 42). Although the employment of gender equality is a useful goal, "In this industry, the ideal state are women half of the sky" (Balakrishnan, 1994, p. 45), but it needs at each level of employment in the media and every aspect to achieved.
Right bias in the media attention focused on the representation of women is too low, sexual or gender violence, the objective of the image -
women have become men, neglect, male sexuality and male targets of