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Addressee: UNESCO, Cultural and Academic institutions

Paragraph #35Session #3 (2004)

Full Text

The Forum recommends that UNESCO, other cultural institutions and academic institutions:
(a) Recognize and document the diversity of gender relations in indigenous communities based on active community input and participation;
(b) Examine and document women’s spheres of power in indigenous societies, taking into account traditional mechanisms of gender definition and distinction (e.g., pollution/purity, gender-specific roles in ritual, gendered division of labour);
(c) Examine and document the instrumental role of women in indigenous societies as the custodians of sacred knowledge and power, and as medical specialists;
(d) Highlight and give recognition to women’s instrumental roles in indigenous societies as educators, healers and ritual specialists;
(e) Highlight indigenous women’s traditional skills, arts and crafts and publicize them through the media, cultural institutions etc.

Responses

UNESCO is till in the process of improving in-house dialogue on indigenous gender issues in order to get an overview on which Programmes and activities directly or indirectly address some of the issues raised in the recommendation, notably through UNESCO programmes on literacy for women, cultural approaches to HIV/AIDS, the gender and human rights work of the Human and Social Science Sector, as well as some programmes in the Culture Sector. The gender section of the Bureau for Strategic Planning is involved in co-facilitating the in-house dialogue around the recommendations concerning indigenous women and gender relations.

Final Report of UNPFII Session 3 (2004)

Area of Work

Culture, Indigenous Women