World conference on women in Nairobi

Press, 10 July 1985, Page 22

World conference on women in Nairobi

NZPA-Reuter Nairobi About 10,000 women from every United Nations member country are due in Nairobi over the next week to discuss whether the position of women in the world has improved over the last 10 years. Women’s pressure groups plan meetings all over the city to exchange ideas on topics ranging from “sex stereotyping in elementary education” and female circumcision, to feminism in general. The meetings begin today. They will be followed by a formal United Nations conference, attended by Government representatives, from July 15. Both events have drawn big names. The 37-member United States delegation, headed by President Reagan’s daughter, Maureen, includes a former United Nations envoy, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and Senator Nancy Kassebaum.

The Soviet delegation is led by a pioneer woman cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. The United Nations conference marks the end of a “decade for women” declared at a similar conference in Mexico in 1975, and seems likely to be a politi-cally-charged affair. The United States is resisting attempts by Third World and Left-wing groups to discuss such issues as the effect of apartheid on South African women and the lot of Arab women living in Israeli-occupied Arab lands. The New Zealand delegation, led by the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Mrs Hercus, includes a Labour backbencher, Mrs Helen Clark, the new secretary of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ms Mary O’Regah and the president of the Maori Women’s Welfare League, Mrs Georgina Kirby. The senior vice-presi-dent of the National Council for Women, Mrs Jocelyn Fish, and the vice-president

of the Federation of Labour, Ms Sonja Davies, will also attend. The 10-day series of meetings, or “Forum 85,” is billed as a place for 7000 women from non-Govern-ment organisations to press their ideas. Among the specialised discussion topics are techniques designed to reduce 1 female children’s vulner- ‘ ability to sexual and other assaults. ( Delegates will visit projects in the Kenyan country-,! side to see the traditional > role of the African woman.; Forum 85 will also dis-, cuss youth, old age/ migrants and refugees, and ' women as portrayed by the* media. About 200 films about women will be screened. The forum is organised by ■ the conference of non-gov-ernmental organisations (C.0.N.G.0.), a group which has consultative status with, the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.