writing_womans_lives_symposium_paper_book_v2

hinder reproductive autonomy was seen as vital. The Cairo lobby prepared the background of the
conference held in 1994 in Cairo, which was the program of action that put the gender equality and
women’s empowerment to the center of population and development policy. The conference took
place in media with the slogan “Women’s Reality, Women’s Power”. 13
The Cairo Programme of Action was a profound turn in terms of the acceptance of abortion as a
fundamental and essential human right. Joan Dunlop stated the importance of conference as;
“The International Conference on Population and Development recognized, for the
first time in an international agreement that population and development policies need to
be centered not on demographic targets, but on women’s health, their empowerment and
their reproductive rights.” 14
Accordingly, population policies having more significant emphasis on improving the life standards
of individuals, particularly the women was declared as a necessity and accepted by parliamentarians
all over the world. 15 The declaration on population and development included five headings as
population and sustainable development, reproductive health and family planning, gender equality
and empowerment of women, health and mortality, resource mobilization.
In this respect, the policies within the context of sustainable development of the planet such as
the alleviation of poverty, improvement of health care and the quality of education were formulated.
In accordance with the reproductive health and family planning, a broader framework underlining
the necessity of facilitating access to family planning services and information and education
evolved, which was regarded as the preventive factor for the prevalence of unplanned pregnancies.
Thus, providing universal access to family planning services and decreasing the need for abortion
services were seen as the basic factors. The empowerment of women was discussed on the basis of
the improved political, social, economic and health status enforced by governments’ legislations.
Women’s gaining equal rights and equal status with men was emphasized through the enhancement
of their gender awareness. Education was considered as the critical factor in this respect to eliminate
negative gender stereotypes and to remove all legal, social and cultural barriers. Furthermore, other
policies about preventable and treatable illnesses and reducing child and maternal mortality rates
were among other factors parliamentarians tried to have a consensus on. Another issue emphasized
was the allocation of the resources among the sectors of a country and the mobilization of the
important domestic and external financial resources for the population and development
programs. 16
The coalition had another purpose of setting up and securing a remarkable consensus on the
items discussed in Cairo, which led to the fourth UN World Conference on Women, held in
September in 1995 in Beijing. It was for the insurance of three fundamental commitments for women
in the 21 st century that involved reproductive health care and family planning, empowerment of
women, preventing violence against women. The Beijing Action Platform made all governments and
inter‐governmental and non‐governmental organizations enhance their commitment to women’s
health. Also the consequences of abortions carried out in unsuitable conditions and their impact on
public health were evaluated. It was also emphasized that governments should revise the laws that
punish women having illegal abortions. 17 Women, as stated by Dunlop, would have the opportunity
to control their bodies, their lives and destinies through these improvements. Beijing conference’s
accomplishment took place in media with the heading of “Women’s Meeting Agrees on Right to Say
No to Sex”. The key sentence in the conference was stated in newspapers as;
"The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely
and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive
health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence." 18
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