What was the Beijing Declaration?
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) was adopted by 189 UN member states meeting in China, at the Fourth World Conference on Women, in 1995. It is still considered to be the most progressive and comprehensive blueprint for advancing women’s rights.
The document outlined 12 key areas where urgent social and political action was needed:
- Women and poverty
- Education and training of women
- Women and health
- Violence against women
- Women and armed conflict
- Women and the economy
- Women in power and decision-making
- Institutional mechanisms
- Human rights of women
- Women and the media
- Women and the environment
- The girl child.
The BPfA was signed by states at a time of relative peace, solidarity and optimism, when democratic and human rights institutions were strengthening. The agreement was seen as a turning point for women’s rights; gender equality was moving from the margins to the centre of global politics.
At the Fourth World Conference, the UN Division for Women (now UN Women), said:
“Only by such a fundamental restructuring of society and its institutions could women be fully empowered to take their rightful place as equal partners with men in all aspects of life.”
The BPfA was intended to facilitate this ‘fundamental restructuring’ towards gender equality.
What progress has been made since 1995?
Between 1995 and 2024, 1,531 legal reforms have been implemented in countries across the world to advance gender equality.
The proportion of women in parliaments has more than doubled since 1995 (but still, almost three-quarters of parliamentarians are men).
Access to education is improving: the number of adolescent girls and young women who are illiterate has nearly halved in the past three decades, and girls surpass boys in upper-secondary completion rates in most regions (except for sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia). 70% of countries implemented measures to improve access to STEM and digital skills and training for women and girls.
Between 2003 and 2023, the proportion of women married as children declined from 24% to 19%. However, gains in averting child marriage were three times higher in the richest households than the poorest ones.
From 1995 to 2024, young women aged 15-24 witnessed the fastest increase in access to modern family planning based on demand.
Living under Patriarchy 