Committee on Elimination of

Discrimination against Women

616^th Meeting (AM)

GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO ALL OF BRAZIL’S WOMEN AFFIRMED

BEFORE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE

Committee Urges Brazil to Uphold Pledge for Women’s Equality

“Our commitment to all Brazilian women in their diversity is affirmed in the strengthening of democracy, in the struggle against bias and racial prejudice, in the firm action to counter discrimination and exclusion”, Brazil’s Special Secretary of Women’s Policies, Emilia Therezinha Fernandes, told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning.  Quoting from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, she added:  “If poverty has a woman’s face, so will our fight against that poverty.”

Responding to questions posed last week by the Committee’s 23 experts, the delegation of Brazil outlined measures being taken to bring the country’s legislation in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; overcome negative stereotypes; improve the situation of rural women; eliminate inequality in the labour market; and develop a national machinery for the advancement of women.  (For details of the initial discussion, see Press Release WOM/1404 of 1 July.)

The Chairperson of the Committee, Ayse Feride Acar of Turkey, expressed appreciation for Brazil’s detailed response, saying that the Committee expected the country’s next report to contain more results of the policies introduced in implementation of the Convention.

The Committee appreciated finally having had an opportunity to address the situation of women in Brazil, which had ratified the Convention in 1984, and welcomed the engagement of civil society in the preparation of the reports, the Chairperson continued.  The Committee also expected a wide and effective dissemination of its conclusions throughout the country.  Ratification of the Optional Protocol and the lifting of reservations to the Convention testified to the Government’s commitment to the implementation of the Convention in its entirety.  Indeed, the Government had been hailed internationally for its commitment to the elimination of discrimination, and expectations were high.

The Committee’s work had regularly shed light on multiple discrimination against women all over the world, and that issue was very relevant to Brazil, she said.  She welcomed the Government’s recognition of multiple manifestations of discrimination and encouraged it to challenge them in “a frontal attack”.  Pleased that the eradication of discrimination was considered to be a prerequisite for building a democracy in Brazil, she urged the Government to keep its commitment to

the advancement to women on its agenda and put into action concrete measures and policies to ensure gender equality, including equality of indigenous women.  Among the main challenges, she mentioned women’s education, health, employment and political participation.

Remaining discriminatory provisions should be a priority on the agenda, she said.  Parts of the country’s new legislation, as well as archaic rules, needed to be further amended to come in line with the Convention.  Among the main concerns, she stressed the need to eliminate sexist stereotypes, sensitize the population, and provide training for the judiciary and the general population.  The country had good quota legislation, but the electoral system was not supportive of the initiatives.  Thus, while the number of women’s candidacies was increasing, the number of women elected to specific positions remained low.  Such a situation had a tendency to “boomerang”, discouraging women from participation in politics.  She was also concerned over high mortality rates, which were both “preventable and regrettable”.

Maria Regina Tavares da Silva, expert from Portugal, said that, despite all the barriers, Brazil had undertaken a vast array of initiatives to eliminate discrimination against women.  Heisoo Shin, expert from the Republic of Korea, cautioned against confusing the words “equity” and “equality”, stressing that the Convention required States parties to achieve complete equality between men and women. 

Also participating in Brazil’s presentation were:  the Special Secretary of Racial Equality Promotion Policies, Matilde Ribeiro; Regina Celia de Oliveira Bittencourt, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Regina Coeli Viola, Ministry of Health; Iaris Romalho Cortes, Feminist Studies and Advice Centre (CFEMEA); Suely de Oliveira, Subdepartment of Institutional Articulation; and Leila Linhares Barsted, Technical Coordination.  Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti and Fernando E. Lins de Salvo Coimbra of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations also took part in the work of the Committee today.

The Committee will meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 8 July, to consider Japan’s fourth and fifth periodic reports.

Country Response

Hunger being one of the most prominent problems in Brazil, members of the delegation described the Zero Hunger Programme, which aimed to eradicate poverty and hunger by means of a permanent food security policy.  The Programme encompassed all ministries and the three spheres of Government.  The Ministry of Food Security and Hunger Combat and the National Food and Nutritional Security Council had been established in January 2003 to coordinate the Programme.

With a budget of some $2 million this year, the Special Secretariat of Policies for Women provided direct advice to the President on the elaboration of women’s policies, implemented education campaigns and monitored affirmative action laws.  A part of the Secretariat, the National Council for Women’s Rights, promoted women’s policies at the national level.

Country representatives also pointed out that Brazil had the second largest black population in the world outside of Africa, and that the establishment of the Special Secretariat of Policies to Promote Racial Equality last March was an acknowledgement of historically deep socio-racial inequality.  Earning some 55 per cent less than other women, black women suffered from both sex and racial discrimination.  Almost 60 per cent of domestic servants were black.

Disparities between black and white women were also obvious in the areas of health and education.   The Racial Equality Secretariat, which reported directly to the President, participated in the articulation of racial equality policies, promoted protection of individual rights of racial groups and monitored implementation of international Conventions, among its other duties.  One of the Special Secretariat’s pressing needs was to address the inequalities in the educational system, which frequently reproduced racist and sexist practices.  The Secretariat would be responsible for the mainstreaming of affirmative action programmes to empower black people.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was an integral part of Brazilian legislation, members of the delegation explained.  The political autonomy of the States did not exempt them from their obligations to the Constitution and federal laws, including mandatory application of the Convention’s Optional Protocol, which Brazil ratified in 2002.  The Office of the Attorney General monitored implementation of legislation and had almost become a “fourth power”.  The Superior Federal Courts had greater bearing than State Courts.  The Judiciary had full autonomy and independence.  Although arguments to justify “honour crimes” were no longer used in large urban areas, in many remote towns attorneys still used such arguments to influence popular juries.

Commenting on Brazil’s Penal Code, one member of the delegation said that a draft amendment to the 1984 Code was presently under consideration in the national Congress.  In 2001, the feminist movement had pressed legislators to codify the crime of sexual harassment.  Given the long delay in the reform of the Penal Code, the Secretariat planned to make legislative proposals to alter provisions that discriminated against women.

The new Civil Code, which entered into force in 2003, had revoked many discriminatory provisions, but the process of change had been slow.  Marriage age had been recently set at 18 years, but women could get married at age 16 with the consent of parents or legal guardians.  Women under 16 could get married to avoid criminal penalty or in the case of pregnancy.  That provision preserved a sexist stipulation that by marrying the victim, the aggressor could avoid culpability for sexual crimes.  Another archaic rule still in effect stipulated that widows and divorced women could only remarry 10 months after the beginning of widowhood or dissolution of marriage.

Concerning Brazil’s quota system, one member of the delegation said that affirmative action, including quotas, was gaining ground.  Measures were focused on persons with disabilities, women and the black population.  In 2003, five of the 27 registered political parties had adopted quota systems for women.  Peculiarities in the Brazilian electoral system had, however, led to limited results.  Objections by the political parties, as well as reluctance on the part of women, had also hindered its success.  Quota policies had only recently taken race into account.  Proposals for the adoption of political quotas for black and Afro-descendant persons were being examined.  Quota policies for rural women referred specifically to those participating in agrarian reform.  The Government

was committed to stimulating the implementation of quotas and other affirmative action programmes.

On domestic and sexual violence, the Special Secretariat of Policies for Women was implementing the National Plan of Action for the Prevention of All Forms of Violence Committed against Women.  The plan included Special Police Departments for Assistance to Women, shelters and a series of activities to be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education.  Other areas of concern included trafficking in human beings, sexual abuse of children and adolescents and street children.  Labour issues included maternity protection, day-care centres, child labour, and unemployment and salary differences.

The situation of indigenous women was described as appalling.  While the new Civil Code had introduced some advances in their legal status, more remained to be done.  The new legislation no longer referred to indigenous people as legally incapable.  Facing the silence surrounding, the situation of indigenous women was one of the Government’s main initiatives.  The challenge of the new Government was to set up public policies to recognize their cultural, political and socio-economic needs.

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