Blanca Dole

Colectivo Feminista “Mujeres Universitarias”, Honduras

After the Summit on Social Development, Can
Women Speak of Improvements in Social Development?

    In order to establish the progress that women have made since the Summit, Blanca Dole stated that one has to determine whether progress simply means creating institutional programmes that conduct a few activities to provide social compensation to women with little resources, or whether it means making a real change in the structures that define public policies in order to eliminate the gender-based subordination that exists in the political, economic, social and cultural arenas?

    She shared some suggestions that a group of feminists, have made regarding the status of women in Central America.

Putting the Status of Central American Women into Context

    Central American countries recently began the transition to democracy. These countries have many things in common: some have a long history of armed conflict while others have lost their identity as a result of occupation.

    The transition to democracy has been marked by the capitalist free-market model aimed at the radical downsizing of governments, the rejection of the social welfare system and the excessive opening up of markets. Unemployment is on the rise, real wages are dropping, public investment is decreasing, public services are deteriorating while the cost of these services is rising.

     Ms. Dole identified the following characteristics that describe the status of Central American women in 1995:

• Increased feminization of poverty.
  
• Women are consistently left out of the distribution of power and political decision-making bodies; the gap between unequal rights and real inequality is still a reality.
  
• The increase in the frequency and severity of violent acts committed against women.

    She noted that the deterioration of living conditions and of the socio-political situation that characterised Central America until the last decade, as well as the impact of the war and repression, paradoxically brought traditionally non-political issues into the political arena. Women brought the need to survive into the public forum; they talked about family and social duties and obligations and, as a result, gained moral legitimacy and social validation for their organizations.

    She noted that women have become involved in developing bills in legislation, have created governmental agencies such as women’s institutes, family counselling centres and commissioner’s offices for women. They have passed laws against family violence, ratified the Belén Do Pará agreement against all forms of discrimination. However, the government machinery has put up many obstacles to hinder our progress.

    The proposals developed by the regional program “La Corriente” for the Fourth World Women’s Conference in Beijing, include the development of a broader governing concept for Central American societies. The concept should recognise the need to eliminate the major economic imbalances and social inequalities (based on gender, ethnic origin and class) so as to create the appropriate conditions required for sustainable socio-economic development.

    One month after Hurricane Mitch hit Central America, causing its worst damage in Honduras and Nicaragua, poverty is on the rise. These were considered countries with extremely high levels of poverty before the disaster. Damage to the economic and social infrastructures as well as human destruction have taken the country back to conditions that existed 30, even 50 years ago.

    According to statistics, 52% of those who lost their homes, belongings, work tools and even family members, were women. The social sectors considered most vulnerable historically and structurally, people in rural communities and high-risk areas in larger centres were hardest hit.

    Some concerns about current trends:

• What will happen if the foreign debt is partially or totally eliminated? In 1990, authorities succeeded in eliminating part of the debt, however, the country made no progress.
  
• The tendency to become involved only in productive projects, t the expense of the creation of civic responsibility.
  
• Will there be solutions for women in the informal sector of the economy who lost their houses and are not eligible to apply for credit from lending institutions?
  
• Is the women’s movement prepared to develop strategies to keep an eye on the progress made and on the proposals for changes that will have to be introduced into the development model?
  
• What areas will be priority in the division of resources received as international aid?

Blanca Dole is coordinator of the Colectivo Feminista “Mujeres Universitarias”, (University Women’s Collective) in Honduras.