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June 16, 2002
REVIEWS: Empowering women
There were times when a big army and a wide spread dominion were considered to be the symbols of power. Then came a time when the situation changed altogether and economy replaced the army. Until the UNFPA’s annual report, The state of the world population, 2001, was published the perspective of the world for many of us was the same. The stronger is the economy of a state the more powerful it becomes.
Modifying this perspective drastically, the report makes it clear that in the future the real symbols of power for any nation of the world would be the stocks of fuel and water it has to consume, as these are among those resources which are being critically consumed by the constantly increasing population of the world.
At present the population of the world is more than 6.1 billion. It was just less than half of that in 1960. In a period of less than half a century, the world population has doubled. Whereas the latest estimates presented in the latest population report indicate that it would reach the astounding figure of 9.3 billion by 2050. Every year 77 million babies are born. The rate of the population growth is grave in the sense that the balance between the needs of man and the world resources has already become precarious. Pakistan is ranked third among the six countries which account for half of this growth. The first two are India and China.
The important point to note in this context is that the major part of this increase has occurred and, as the report declares, will continue to take place in the developing and poor countries. They on the contrary have a minor share in the rapidly increasing consumption of the world resources. The world’s richest countries with only 20 per cent of the global population account for 86 per cent of private consumption. Greenhouses in the US, which accounts for only 4.6 per cent of the world population, discharge one fourth of the gases emitted by the entire world.
The population in the developing and poor countries is multiplying rapidly either out of frustration or out of fear of extinction.
The report with the title Population and environmental change points out that the world resources are being depleted incessantly even though the fertility rate has been on the decline. The rate of pollution of the air and water is rising critically, and global warming is taking a heavy toll. The changes, which have been taking place in the environment, pose a grave threat to life on earth.
This poses some critical questions for men in general and policy makers in particular. They are:
* How can a balance be maintained between technological advancement and the consumption of world resources?
* How can the global environment and human beings be protected from the hazards posed by modern technology?
* How can poverty be eradicated and environment-friendly ways be developed to satisfy the constantly increasing needs of man?
Given the bleak picture which the report paints of what will befall us if the situation remains unchanged, the answer to the above questions assume great importance. The report advises policy makers to concentrate on the need to give assurance to women of their rights to education, health and reproduction at their own will, and the elimination of poverty.
Both of these issues are interlinked and efforts in one area affects the other as well. Women constitute 50 per cent of the agricultural labour force and are the head of a quarter of all families in the rural areas of the poorest countries. But their contribution is not recognized. Neither are they allowed to participate in decision-making. To empower them it is essential to give them the opportunity to enter the decision-making process.
The state of world population 2001: population and environmental change
UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
Website:
www.unfpa.org
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