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Nations seek roadmap for female equality By The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS - Five years ago, the biggest global gathering of women in history helped spur 189 countries to adopt an ambitious plan to achieve equality of the sexes. Still very far from that goal, the same nations meet Monday to try to agree on an accelerated roadmap toward equality for women. But the Vatican and a group of Islamic countries are objecting to the same proposals they did in Beijing in 1995 - including sexual and reproductive rights for women, adolescent sex education and the definition of the family - as well as some new ones. "It's becoming very, very clear that there are a few countries that are trying to stand in the way of progress," said Linda Tarr-Whelan, the U.S. ambassador to the Commission on the Status of Women. Tarr-Whelan pointed to Algeria, Sudan, Libya, Iran and to a lesser extent the Vatican, saying there has been a "backlash" against the progress that has been made since Beijing. "These are folks who like it the way they have it and are trying to slow the whole process down," she said. The final document outlining initiatives to spur implementation of the 150-page Beijing platform was supposed to have been completed this past week. But the ideological divide over a range of issues was likely to keep negotiators working through much of the five-day conference to try to reach consensus before it ends Friday. At the same time, delegates are celebrating the first successes after Beijing. The Beijing platform runs the gamut from promoting women's inheritance rights to condemning rape in wartime and alleviating the increasing poverty of women. For the first time, a U.N. document declared that women have the right to decide freely all matters related to their sexuality and childbearing. The platform also calls on governments to revise laws to ensure women's equal rights, to provide equal education for girls, and to put women in top decision-making positions in business and government. Visit our back issue library Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Western Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Corvallis Gazette-Times | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | | Ashland Daily Tidings | Gresham Outlook | Springfield News | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2000 Lee Northwest Publishing