Gender Mainstreaming

Why in news?

Recently, a two-day National Consultation on Revisiting and Re-envisioning the Beijing Declaration was organized by National Alliance for Women’s Organization to review and revive the struggle.

What is gender mainstreaming?

• Gender mainstreaming – It means integrating a gender equality perspective when designing, implementing and evaluating policies, programmes and projects.
• Origin – The concept of gender mainstreaming was first introduced at the 1985 Nairobi World Conference on Women.
• Strategy for gender equality – Gender mainstreaming was established as a strategy in international gender equality policy through the Beijing Platform for Action.

Beijing Platform for Action was adopted at the 1995 Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing.

• Key principles of gender mainstreaming
  • Inclusive analysis - Understanding how policies and programs impact women and men differently, and incorporating these insights into decision-making processes.
  • Equal participation -  Ensuring that both women and men have equal opportunities to participate in and benefit from development efforts and policymaking.
  • Eliminating gender bias - Identifying and addressing systemic gender biases and inequalities in institutions, practices, and norms.
  • Empowerment - Promoting women's empowerment and leadership in all spheres of life, including social, economic, and political domains.
  • Accountability - Holding institutions and stakeholders accountable for achieving gender equality goals.

SDG goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

How has women rights and gender mainstreaming ev0lved?

• Seneca Falls Convention - The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention was a historic women’s rights meeting in New York where the “Declaration of Sentiments” was adopted.
• The declaration held  “that all men and women are created equal”.
• Suffrage movement - The Suffragette movement of the 19th and 20th century was a long-drawn fight by women globally to gain their right to vote.
• The Second sex (1949)  - French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir put forth the idea of  Gender as a social construct and  gender identities are not biologically determined but socially constructed.
• Societal norms and constraints shape women’s choices and behaviour, often restricting their freedom and opportunities.
• This perspective laid the theoretical foundation for future feminist activism.
• The Feminine mystique (1963) - Betty Friedan brought the private “problem that has no name” till then into the public domain.
•  Friedman initiated discussion around devalued domestic work and critiqued the way it was romanticised through the portrayal of housewives as the ideal of femininity.
• National Organization for Women (NOW) – It was established in 1966 as a result of collective feminist consciousness on Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) that initiated discussion around domestic work.
• It criticized the portrayal of housewives as the ideal of femininity.
• Women’s strike for equality - In 1970 over 50,000 women marched with slogans like “Don’t Iron While the Strike is Hot” and “Don’t Cook Dinner—Starve a Rat Today”.
• The strike was part of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s and furthered the demand for equality in both public and private spheres.
• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (1967) – Appropriate measures to abolish existing laws, customs, regulations and practices which are discriminatory against women,
• International Women's Year (1975) - It was organized by United Nations in Mexico City to emphasize importance of women rights.
  • The UN further designated the decade from 1976-1985 as the United Nations Decade for Women.
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against (CEDAW) – It was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women.
• It was ratified in second world conference.
• Discrimination - It redefined that ‘discrimination’ is not only legal inequalities but also social and cultural barriers, and compelled nations to take steps to dismantle systemic inequalities.

What are the challenges in achieving women’s rights?

• Lack of women in leadership – It hinders comprehensive policy formulation on women development.
  • 27% of parliamentary seats
  • 36% of local government seats
  • 28% of management positions
• Lack of equal grounds – The conferences failed to address intersectional inequalities faced by women of color, indigenous women, and those from economically disadvantaged or conflict-affected.
• Non-binding nature – Governments endorsed gender equality but failed to implement laws or policies that would lead to substantial changes for women on the ground.
  • The absence of binding nature diluted the effectiveness of the conference outcomes.
• Absence of accountability – The effectiveness of these international conferences was often undermined by a lack of sustained political will and accountability.

• Imbalance in unpaid care work – Persistent gender inequality in house hold chores limits women’s participation in education, employment, and other opportunities.
• By 2050, women globally will be spending 9.5 per cent more time (2.3 more hours per day) on unpaid care work than men.
• Legal barriers – At least 28 countries do not have laws granting women equal rights to enter marriage and initiate divorce.
• Inadequate funding - Women’s rights cannot be fully realized without addressing the financial constraints.
• The additional investment needed for achieving gender equality by 2030 is estimated at USD 360 billion per year.
• Social norms and cultural practices – The prevalence of child marriage highlights the need for attitudinal shifts and the promotion of legal frameworks that safeguard women and girls’ rights.
  • Globally, one in five young women is married before age 18.
• Women and armed conflict – Wars and armed conflict destroy families and societies and leave women and girls particularly vulnerable.
  • Sexual violence is widespread and often used as a war tactic which affects women right.

What lies ahead?

• Focus on Education and awareness
• Promote women's participation in the workforce by providing equal pay and career development opportunities.
• Data collection to identify areas of inequality and monitor progress.
• Promote gender equality in the workplace, improve working conditions

Reference

The Indian Express| Gender Mainstreamin

Digital Sequence Information (DSI)

Why in News?

Recently held CoP16 biodiversity conference set up 'Cali fund' to support biodiversity conservation in countries providing digital sequence information.

What is digital sequence information?

• Genetic sequence – DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence order of nucleotides in DNA. 
• The unique genetic codes and sequences in all living organisms hold the information needed for them to develop and function.
• Digital Sequence Information (DSI) – It  is the digital data of genetic information of plants, animals, microbes.
• Data types - It covers any information derived out of these nucleotide or amino acid sequences, genome sequences, their biochemical composition, gene locations, genetic maps.
• DSI Databases – It is typically stored in global databases, such as GenBank, EMBL-EBI, or DDBJ.

What are the significances of DSI?

• Basic science research - It allows researchers to investigate how genes interact with each other and helps in evolutionary studies.
• Biodiversity conservation – It enables scientists to analyze the genetic material of endangered or extinct ones, without requiring physical samples.
• Disease research – For identifying and tracking pathogens like viruses, bacteria, and parasites, which is vital for public health monitoring.
• For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the global sharing of the SARS-CoV-2 genome via DSI databases allowed scientists worldwide to develop diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines quickly.
• Vaccine development – Vaccine research relies on DSI which helps to analyze and create vaccines for emerging strains.
• Agriculture and food security – Crop improvement by identifying genes associated with desirable traits such as drought resistance, pest tolerance, and higher yields in crops.
• Bioprospecting – Genetic codes of plants, animals and microbes are used to find new compounds that can be used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or other commercial purposes.

Bioprospecting is the systematic and organized search of useful products derived from bio resources including plants, microorganisms, animals that can be developed further for commercialization and overall benefits of the society.

• Precision medicine – Where a patient’s genetic makeup is analyzed to personalized medicine for effective treatments.
• Product development - Industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture and advanced lab technologies uses DSI to create or improve their products.

Stone-washed denim jeans get their streaked quality from nature - specifically from enzymes developed from microbes found in super salty soda lakes.

Why is it Important to adopt multilateral mechanism in COP – 16?

• At COP16, countries are aiming to create a single, multilateral system focused on generating revenues for conservation from the use of DSI.
• Access and benefit sharing – To globally determine the access and benefit sharing mechanism for digital sequence information.

Large companies and other major entities benefiting commercially from DSI will contribute to “the Cali Fund,” based on a percentage of their profits or revenues.

• Global access to genetic resources – To facilitate the free exchange of genetic data through publicly accessible databases.
• Complex law system – The laws to govern the use of genetic material vary widely from country to country complicating the sharing of biological material for research.
• Intellectual property rights – To determine the ownership of digitally sequenced genes and how they can be patented or commercialized.
• Ethical implications – The vast amounts of DSI available could be used for unethical purposes, such as unauthorized genetic modification or bioweapons development.
• Revenue for countries  – To enable Species-rich countries, including tropical giants like Brazil and India, capitalizing on their biodiversity through  compensation or royalties from companies using DSI in their product.

A U.N.-commissioned study estimated that a charge of 0.1% to 1% on annual revenues of companies using DSI could generate between $1 billion and $10 billion annually.

What lies ahead?     

• Determine how DSI revenues would be distributed for use in nature conservation.
• Develop charging mechanism on certain sectors like pharmaceuticals a percentage of their revenue or profit to use DSI databases
• Ensure free access for non-profit research that benefits humanity.
• Support poorer nations in developing their own genetic research.

Reference

The Hindu| COP16 On How To Uses And Pay For Genetic Information

UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 20-11-2024

Banda Aceh Statement

Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) unveiled a roadmap at an international conference in Banda Aceh, Indonesia for global tsunami preparedness.

• Banda Aceh Statement – It is a global commitment to improving tsunami warning and mitigation systems.
• It calls on states and civil society to accelerate investments to meet the 2030 goal.
• It recognised new Tsunami Ready communities, including 26 in India and 12 in Indonesia and included real-time drills in 2 villages near Banda Aceh to test community preparedness.
• These exercises reinforced the importance of UNESCO’s 3-step warning process
  • Detection - Using advanced monitoring systems like deep-ocean tsunami buoys to identify sea-level disturbances.
  • Warning - Forecasting wave propagation and potential impacts, followed by immediate alerts.
  • Dissemination - Reaching vulnerable populations swiftly through diverse communication channels like sirens, radio and smartphones.
• Target – To achieve 100 per tsunami-ready coastal communities globally by 2030.
• Role of UNESCO – UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme (TRRP) is an international community-based effort to bolster risk prevention and mitigation across global coastal zones.
• It has expanded its Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System to cover high-risk areas worldwide.
• Its global network includes
  • Tens of thousands of seismometers
  • Over 1,200 active sea-level stations
  • Submarine cable observatories
  • 74 deep-ocean tsunami buoys.
• Beneficiaries – More than 30 countries have already benefited from UNESCO’s TRRP to train their populations.

Currently, 700 million people live in tsunami-prone coastal areas, a figure projected to reach 1 billion by 2050. Locally damaging tsunamis occur in the Pacific every 1-2 years and UNESCO estimates a near 100% chance of a tsunami in the Mediterranean within the next 30 years.

Reference

Down to Earth| Banda Aceh Statement for Tsunami Preparedness

Uttarakhand Bird Census

Recently, the two-day bird census has been organised in Uttarakhand.

• It is the 1^st ever bird count in Uttarakhand.
• Organised By - The E-Bird Organization in collaboration with the forest department and various other groups.

Bird Count India is a partnership of a large number of organizations and groups working to increase our collective understanding of the distribution, abundance, and population trends of Indian birds.

• Goal - To establish a dedicated annual bird count for Uttarakhand, bringing communities together to celebrate the state’s rich birdlife.
• Time - Mid-November is an interesting time for birds count in this region as the altitudinal migrants descend to lower elevations and long-distance migrants arrive from far-off lands, joining resident species who are adapting to the presence of this region.

Key findings of the Survey

• Avian diversity – It had concluded with 729 bird species across 13 districts.
• Leading District – They are in the order as follows
  • Nainital - 251 species
  • Dehradun - 230 species
  • Pauri Garhwal
• Highest birds count – It includes the species Ruddy Shelducks, Indian Spot-billed Ducks, and Eurasian Coots.
• Endangered species - The 17 species classified as endangered which includes the Pied Avocet, Red-wattled Lapwing, Spotted Dove, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Greater Coucal, and White-throated Kingfisher.
• Significance – It primarily focused on identifying the species location to gain a better understanding of the diversity of birds in these regions.
• It helps to understand which bird species are declining in the hills, plains, or wetlands.
• It is crucial for bird conservation efforts in future.

References

1. The Indian Express| Uttarakhand Bird Census
2. Bird Count India| Uttarakhand Bird Census

Gene HMGB15 – Architect of Pollen and Seed Development

Recently, a novel gene named HMGB15 identified by Bose Institute, Kolkata, an autonomous institution of Department of Science and Technology.

• HMGB15 – It is a non-histone protein that restructures chromatin.
• It plays a crucial role in the development of stamens (male reproductive structure) including pollen grain and seed formation, in Arabidopsis flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard.

• Mutation in the gene – It causes significant disruptions like
  • Partial male sterility in plants
  • Low pollen grain viability
  • Defective pollen wall patterning
  • Retarded pollen tube germination rate
  • Shorter filaments that are unable to reach the stigma
  • Reduced seed production
• The abnormalities in the mutants are due to the disruption in gene regulatory networks important for pollen development, maturation and pollen tube germination.

• Significance – Understanding the pollen development process opens up new possibilities for improving crop fertility and seed production.

Reference

PIB| Novel Gene HMGB15 in Pollen Development Process

World Food and Agriculture Book

According to the recently released ‘World Food and Agriculture’ yearbook, global hunger continues to worsen, with 152 million more people facing hunger in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

• It reveals critical insights on the sustainability of global agriculture, food security, and the importance of agrifood systems in employment
• Released by - United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded in 1945 with its headquarters in Rome. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Key highlights from the book

• Global agricultural value – It has increased by 89% in real terms over the past 2 decades, reaching $3.8 trillion in 2022.
• Despite this growth, agriculture’s contribution to global economic output has remained relatively stable, and the proportion of the global workforce employed in agriculture has decreased.
• Food insecurity – While food production has continued to rise, hunger remains a persistent issue.
  • Majority of the undernourished people lives in Asia, though the prevalence of undernourishment is highest in Africa.
• Obesity rates – They are also rising, particularly in high-income regions.
  • Over 25% of adults in the Americas, Europe and Oceania are obese.

• Global production of primary crops – It reached 9.6 billion tonnes in 2022, an increase of 56% compared to 2000.
  • Staple crops such as sugar cane, maize, wheat and rice together account for nearly 50% of global crop production.
• Meat production – It had increased, with chicken accounting for the largest share of this rise.
• Use of pesticides – It increased by 70% between 2000 and 2022, with the Americas accounting for 50% of the global pesticide use in 2022.
• Inorganic fertilizers in agriculture – Its usage increased in 2022, with 58% of this amount being nitrogen.
• Production of vegetable oils – It grew by 133% between 2000 and 2021, largely driven by an increase in palm oil production.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood systems – It have risen with livestock contributing to around 54% of Farm-gate emissions.
• Water scarcity – It remains a growing concern in regions such as the Near East and North Africa, where many countries face extreme water stress, impacting the sustainability of agricultural production.
  • Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are withdrawing each year 9 to almost 40 times their renewable freshwater resources available.

References

1. Down to Earth| Rising Global Hunger Crisis
2. FAO| Key Highlights of World Food and Agriculture