Terms to Know and Key Ideas for Conference!

Hi delegates! In this blog post you will be (re)introduced to some key terms, themes, and ideas on our topics: Restoring and Improving Girl's Education During Post-COVID Recovery, and Measures for Protecting Maternal Health During Crises. We will begin by covering terms, themes, and ideas for girl's education and then move on to maternal health. This post is designed to highlight fundamental ideas that should be given particular thought when you conduct research, draft solutions, and generally think about these topics. Think of these terms, themes, and ideas as a starting point and guide for you, not the end-all-be-all for your conceptualization and operationalization of these topics.

Restoring and Improving Girl's Education During Post-COVID Recovery

Let us begin with practical issues that effect any person's education: sleep, food, water, scholastic supplies, time, money, distance, internet access (just to name a few). How does your delegation's country allocate these resources to children based on their sex? Is there any evidence supporting a favoritism or prioritization of boy children rather than girl children? If there is one computer in a home with limited access to the internet, but there is both a boy child and girl child who can we anticipate will have more access to that computer and internet for schooling?

We know that girl children are often tasked with what is called a dual labor responsibility that requires that their time and attention be spent on domestic/unpaid labor and paid labor activities. Meaning that girl children are at a disadvantage when it comes to available time allocation for school. In addition, girl children often to subject to harassment, rape, and other forms of violence either on their way to school and/or because they are girls seeking an education (think of the case of Malala Yousafzai and the everyday harassment girls and wimmin experience when walking down the street). This all a part of the violence against girls and wimmin. During COIVD-19 everyone has been forced into homes and private spheres, and in effect has trapped victims of domestic and child abuse with their abusers. Child marriage too has increased since the outbreak of COIVD-19 in many developing democracies which leads to an increase in the dual-labor responsibility, (often) domestic abuse and rape, and maternal care. Child marriage then almost completely diminishes any chance at future eduction for girl children. (Remember that developed democracies or economically wealthy countries are not immune from child marriage/child pregnancy or dual labor responsibilities!).

Consider past UN actions taken to try and improve girl children's education:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); specifically Goal 4.The SDG's goal is to ensure sustainable and long-term gender parity in education, and to provide “girls and boys completely free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education,” as well as to “eliminate gender disparities in education” (“SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”).

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); specifically Target 3.A. MDG sought to eliminate gender disparity in schools by 2015.

• United Nations Girl's Education Initiative (UNGEI). The UNGEI was founded in 2000 to facilitate resources and initiatives aimed at the and gender equality targets outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNGEI additionally hosts global summits and regional workshops while partnering with various stakeholders such as educators, ally organizations, and activists, to champion girls’ education. Currently the UNGEI has helped 30 countries to “tackle gender barriers through education sector plans, policies and budgets”, and plans to leverage the “power of partnership to engage in policy dialogue at global, regional, and country levels to ensure that policies and costed plans advance girls’ education and gender equality”(“UNGEI Strategic Directions 2018-2023”).

What did past UN actions do well in targeting gender disparities in education? What did past UN actions fail to consider or come up short on? How has the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered, reversed, or made moot past UN actions? 

Measurers for Protecting Maternal Health During CrisesMaternal health

There are three terms that refer to the health of wimmin before, during, and after pregnancy. Maternal health is the most general and is used to describe a pregnant person's emotion, physical, and mental health during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Maternal morbidity describes any illness directly linked to pregnancy or childbirth. While maternal mortality refers to the death of a person while they are giving birth or within a one year period after giving birth. 

Consider the ways in which war or epi/pandemics effect healthcare systems, food production, trade, and nearly every resource needed for survival. What is the impact of these situations on a pregnant person's ability to access needed maternal healthcare or other resources to ensure their survival and the survival of the baby? How then can your delegation link disasters to maternal health?  

It is also good to consider two other themes when thinking about maternal health during crisis: violence against wimmin and reproductive freedom. Rape and forced sterilization are weapons of war used to deteriorate emotional and psychological morale, to assert domination, and in some cases to end to reproduction of a certain ethnic or religious group. Reproductive freedom--the ability to choose when to get pregnant and whether or not to obtain an abortion--is vital to maternal health. In instances of child marriage young girls are raped and are forced into pregnancy before the age of 15; consider the emotional and physical damage caused by this that can effect maternal health. There are instances where a pregnant person must obtain an abortion to survive life-threatening pregnancy related complication, and pregnant people may still look to obtain an abortion through other means that are unsafe and can cause death. There are several countries where abortion is legal but due to various patriarchal structures and legal pluralism wimmin cannot leave the home or access substantive finances without a man's permission, often their husband or father. Additionally, consider the mental health of someone who is forced to have a baby because they are not allotted control over their own bodies.

Consider this past UN action to try and improve maternal health: 

• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA focuses on the sexual, reproductive, and maternal healthcare around the world. The International Conference on Population and Development of 1994 was held to discuss reproductive healthcare programs worldwide and was the catalyst for the UNFPA. UNFPA works alongside governments, health experts and civil society to train health workers, improve the availability of reproductive healthcare services, strengthen healthcare systems, and promote international maternal health standards.

Consider the benefits and downfalls of the UNFPA? Is there an explanation for why there are not more UN actions designed for reproductive and maternal healthcare?

Leave your thoughts by commenting below - we are so excited to hear from you and start this conversation!