200:1 – Human Rights

Maternal mortality rates per 100,000 births are one of the most sensitive indicators of the ‘human rights’ balance sheet for women. The average maternal mortality rate for 2008 for those 5 countries with the highest rates (Afghanistan, Chad, Somalia, Guinea Bissau and Liberia was 1158 per 100,000 births. The equivalent rate for the 5 countries with the lowest figures in 2008 (Greece, Ireland, Denmark, Austria and Sweden) was 4 (see: www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality_countrydata.php ). This gives us a ratio of well over 200:1.

Equally striking are the contrasting figures for ‘life time risk of maternal death’ (lifetime risk for a 15 year old female of death due to pregnancy) by region:

  • In Africa, it is 1 in 36 (1 in 26 in West and Central Africa)
  • Worldwide it is 1 in 140
  • In industrialised countries, it is 1 in 4,300

For a brief analysis of this issue and its consequences (and potential solutions), seewww.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/index.html.

These statistics, the health issues they highlight and the justice and human rights challenges they raise are a reflection of the broader global inequalities of power and resources that women face. Internationally, women are routinely denied equal opportunities – in education, income, employment, landholding, access to legal redress, political participation and voice – they continue to suffer from discrimination in so many spheres of life including marriage, childbirth and maternal health care. A human rights perspective on women’s human development is outlined in detail in the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women adopted by the UN in 1979 which places legal obligations on states which ratify the Convention; seewww.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

For an accessible introduction to the role of women in development, see Lucy Moyoyeta (2007) Women, Gender and Development, published by 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World and the Women & Development Module of this site.

For an overview of some of the current priorities in women’s human development see the UN Women Report 2012 and the 2010 UNDP Human Development Report, Chapter 4.

See also the World Development report 2012 published by the World Bank atwdronline.worldbank.org//worldbank/a/c.html/world_development_report_2012

Worth reading on the subject: