Despite important progress, women’s rights around the world remain poor. Poverty, discrimination and lack of equality cost lives, says a UN report.
Almost half of all women and girls in the world are prevented from making independent decisions about their sexuality and reproduction. This comes from that World Population Report 2024 presented by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The rights of “women, girls and gender diverse people are increasingly being pushed back,” said UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem.
Everywhere the poorest and minorities are the most disadvantaged, especially when it comes to pregnancy. According to the report, 800 women die every day during or after childbirth. Half of deaths related to pregnancy, birth or complications afterward occur in countries with humanitarian crises or conflicts.
UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem holds a copy of the world population report that has now been presented.
Big differences in the safety of births
The 1994 World Population Conference ushered in “decades of progress.” Maternal mortality fell by 34 percent between 2000 and 2020. However, not all women would have benefited equally from this. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination prevented greater progress.
According to the report, there are large regional differences in the safety of births. The risk for women in sub-Saharan African countries of dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth is 130 times higher than in Europe or North America. In addition, there are still inequalities in access to health care in all countries.
Women’s rights are being exploited politically
Women’s bodies are often used as a “battlefield” in politics, especially when it comes to questions about fertility treatments and abortions. This is counteracted by the fact that political decision-making bodies continue to be too dominated by men and women have too little say.
A lack of representation and limited self-determination also means that one in four women cannot say no to sex if their partner wants sex, explained UNFPA director Kanem. One in ten women cannot make their own decisions about contraception and sexual violence is a problem in almost every country in the world.
UNFPA target: Unplanned Pregnancies impede
UNFPA requires programs to improve the situation that are specifically aimed at disadvantaged women. Investing $79 billion (around €74 billion) in low- and middle-income countries could prevent around 400 million unplanned pregnancies and save a million lives by 2030.