In a recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly commemorating the 30th anniversary of the landmark document adopted in Cairo, actor and UN Population Fund goodwill ambassador Ashley Judd emphasized the importance of women and girls having control over their own bodies and being free from male violence. The Cairo conference in 1994 was a turning point for the UNFPA, shifting its focus from numerical targets to promoting choices for individual women and men, as well as supporting economic development and education for girls, based on research showing that educated women have smaller families. Judd highlighted the importance of the Cairo program of action in guiding her advocacy work over the past two decades.
While the Cairo conference recognized sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for women, it did not explicitly include sexual rights, which were later addressed at the 1995 U.N. women’s conference in Beijing. The issue of unsafe abortion was a contentious topic at the Cairo conference, where delegates acknowledged it as a public health issue that governments must address to save women’s lives. However, abortion was not condoned as a method of family planning or mentioned in terms of legalization, and the issue remains contentious to this day. Judd shared stories from her travels, including encounters with women in Madagascar who were being exploited by men due to various inequalities they faced.
During a visit to Turkey last August, Judd met with Turkish families and refugees living in difficult conditions, with many expressing their inability to bring another child into the world due to their circumstances. She commended the UNFPA for its efforts to provide modern family planning choices to those in need, despite challenges such as government restrictions on their availability in the public sector. As a goodwill ambassador for the UNFPA, Judd emphasized the importance of women being able to choose when to have children and the right to refuse sex without facing retaliation. The executive director of UNFPA, Natalia Kanem, noted significant progress made over the past 30 years, such as the decline in maternal mortality rates, increased contraceptive use, and reduced rates of child marriage globally.
Kanem also highlighted positive developments, such as legislation against domestic violence in over 60 countries and decreasing punitive laws against LGBTQ+ individuals. However, she pointed out that progress is slowing, with annual reductions in maternal deaths flattening and widening inequalities between and within countries. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed echoed these concerns, emphasizing the need to address situations where sexual and reproductive health and rights are being rolled back and women’s rights are being eroded. Mohammed called for continued vigilance and pushback against any threats to women’s rights globally, especially in developing countries where access to family planning remains limited for many women. The push for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls remains a crucial focus for the UN and its partners in advancing the rights and well-being of all individuals.
