Women Commission
Even if women perform 60% of the work in the world, they earn only one tenth of the income and possess but one hundredth of the goods available. Often their scholastic formation is very limited or even non-existent: Two thirds of the illiterates above the age of fifteen (about one billion) are women. Even those who have received formation find it very difficult to find employment. Apart from that women have to cope with situations of discrimination and violence. Due to the simple fact of being women, they encounter numerous difficulties as soon as they want to occupy a position of power or decisions making. We must admit that even within MIJARC there is inequality between men and women.
The evaluation of the work carried out during the international seminar in India in 1996 made members understand that although women who work at lot at the local level, they are not really integrated in the responsibilities at the national and international levels. They do not often participate during the international programmes and are often put at the second level. While our movement is aiming at building up a society where solidarity prevails, and where youth are not excluded, we have not been able to give women equal opportunities within our movement. This pushed the World Assembly in Madras to decide to create an international working group of women.
The international women commission is composed of one women representative from each continent, plus one member of the World Team. Almost all the continents elected new women representatives in 2004, old and new women representatives have been participating to the Commission in order to guarantee the transmission.
Objectives:
to enable women living in rural areas to take responsibilities in the movement
to enable women to analyse gender differences, especially in the movement and in rural areas
to provoke changes with regard to stronger participation of women within the movement, in the villages/society and in development projects
to enable women to elaborate plans of action with groups and organize the follow up
