Women Today
Towards the New Phase of“Positive Action” to Promote Gender
Equality

Director General, Gender Equality
Bureau, Cabinet Office

Ms. Keiko TAKEGAWA

This year marks two important milestones on genderequality: the 30th anniversary of Japan’s ratification of theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), and the 20th anniversary of the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the
Fourth World Conference on Women. Steps toward achieving
a gender-equal society have been made by many forerunners
both at home and abroad with their devoted efforts. Yet, facedwith multitude of challenges to overcome, we are still on theway to its realization.
At the end of 18th century, a pioneering initiative forfeminism was made by Olympe de Gouges, who drew up the
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen inprotest against the exclusion of women from the French
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This isconsidered a pioneering movement of feminism. Movements
for gender equality started in public fields such as freedom,human rights and democracy. After the war, Japanese women
gained suffrage, and 39 women were elected to the House ofRepresentatives in the 1946 election (8.4% of the total seats).
In the wake of the second wave of feminism that gained
momentum from the 1960s, 1975 was designated as theInternational Women’s Year, followed by the United Nation’s
Decade for Women. In 1985, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Law, which requires employers in the private
sector to ensure equal opportunity and treatment between
men and women in employment, was enacted for thedevelopment of conditions to ratify CEDAW. Thus Japancrossed the Rubicon, taking a decisive and irreversible step
forward. In practice, however, it was virtually impossible forwomen to work outside the home without support for childrearing and nursing care, which were traditionally deemed as
individuals’ personal domain. This has led to the enactment ofChild Care Leave Act in 1991, which was later amended toinclude nursing-care leave and renamed Child Care andFamily Care Leave Act in 1995. Moreover, Act on thePrevention of the Spousal Violence and the Protection ofVictims was enacted in 2001, going beyond the conventional
idea of “Law does not belong in families.”
In 1999, Basic Act for Gender-Equal Society was enacted,
becoming the first domestic law that incorporates the notion of“positive action.” This demonstrated the recognition that it isinsufficient to ban discrimination and create an environment
in which women can gain support for child care and nursing
care; in addition to this, proactive measures to provide
opportunities for women are indispensable, and yet they do notconstitute reverse discrimination.
Globally, in the political arena, countries that haveintroduced some form of quota system are increasing in
number since around 2000, reaching 108 countries at present.
On the economic front, a growing number of countries, mainly

No.75 October 2015

in Europe, have been introducing positive action measures
including quota systems for executive board members over a
decade since around 2005.
Meanwhile, Japan has not necessarily been in a favorable
situation in which everything goes smoothly despite theenactment of the Basic Act and the subsequent establishmentof the Gender Equality Bureau within the Cabinet Office.
Though Japan has been moving ahead with its undertakings,
it still lags far behind the world, which is advancing at agreater pace, allowing the gap to expand. Currently in Japan,
9.5% of the seats in the House of Representatives are held byfemale members, making the country ranked 153rd in theworld. The ratio is merely half of the average figure of Arabcountries (18.1%). Also, Japan is ranked 104th in the World
Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index.
Under the Abe Cabinet, which positions the promotion of
women’s active participation as one of its key policies, a bill on
promoting women’s active participation was submitted to theDiet. The bill was unanimously approved with a minor revisionby the House of Representatives and was sent to the House ofCouncillors. Eventually it has become law on August 28th. It
will come into effect in April next year. The law stipulates thatcompanies with 301 or more employees as well as national andlocal governments must formulate plans for the promotion of
women’s active participation, which will mark a new step
toward the new phase of positive action. Preparations are now
under way for the formulation of the Fourth Basic Plan for
Gender Equality, which sets the course of our policies for the
next five years from FY 2016.
On the international front, the United Nations launched
its “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”
initiative. To that end, now is the time for our country to step
up and accelerate its efforts to realize a gender equal society.

Biography of Ms. Keiko TAKEGAWA
Place of BirthMarch 1981

Kagawa Prefecture

Graduated from College of Arts and Sciences, the University ofTokyo
April 1981
Joined the Prime Minister’s Office (currently Cabinet Office)
July 1989
Finished the School of Business at Duke University (USA)
April 2001
Examination officer, Decoration Bureau, Cabinet Office
January 2003
Counsellor for Policy Evaluation, Minister’s Secretariat, Cabinet
OfficeApril 2005
Section Chief of Science, Secretariat, Science Council ofJapan, Cabinet Office
July 2006
Director, Policy Division for Universal Design, Policy Bureau,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
July 2008
Deputy Director General (concurrently for Policies on Cohesive
Society and Minister’s Secretariat), Cabinet Office
July 2009
Deputy Director General (for Gender Equality Bureau), Cabinet
OfficeDecember 2012 Director General, Public Relations Office, Minister’s Secretariat,
Cabinet Office
July 2014
Director General, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office1

Current Issues Series
Photo journalist

Natsuki YASUDA
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1987, Ms. Yasuda
belongs to Studio AFTERMODE as a photojournalist.
When she was 16, she was sent to Cambodia as aReporter for Friendship in a program of KnK Japan(Children without Borders), a Japanese NGO, to reporton the actual state of poverty-stricken children in
Cambodia. At present, she covers issues related topoverty and disasters mainly in Cambodia, as well as inSoutheast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Japan. Since
the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, she has
also been keeping the record of Rikuzentakata City,
Iwate Prefecture, among other devastated areas.

Joy of Encounters,
Hope of Diversity“Are there any occasions when you feel happy to have thisjob?” Since I began my carrier as a photojournalist, I havebeen asked this question several times. This is probably
because this occupation evokes the image of somethingrather negative, such as a job that requires traveling toplaces in harsh conditions and witnessing sad and painful
realities. Lately, as people tend to hold a strong image thatthe job involves traveling to dangerous places, I have beenasked the question not once or twice: “Why don’t you spend
your time doing something more enjoyable since you are still
young?” Indeed, I often have to squarely face distressing
events and deplorable situations. But I have also had joyous
occasions and witnessed delightful moment more frequently.
I, therefore, always reply to the question like this: “In orderto take photos, you absolutely have to go to the scenes. You
can never do it in your head. This is exactly why I think thisjob is so attractive. The beauty of this job is that it involves
going to see people, filled with encounters.”
What does a photojournalist do in the first place? To put
it simply, a photojournalist conveys information about what
is happening in the world through photographs. People often
ask me, “What makes a photojournalist different from apress photographer?” Although there are differences
depending on the scale and forms of the work, basicallynewspaper publishers make decisions on what locations
their photographers should go to and what shots they shouldtake; whereas photojournalists who do not belong to major
media companies, including myself, make decisions at ourown discretion on what moments we want to capture and at
what locations.
We often talk about the fact that we are now living in atime when photos taken with smartphones are fairly good.
Now that anybody can take high-quality photos without
effort, it looks as if there were little, if any, difference between
those taken by a professional and a nonprofessional, as far as
their appearances are concerned. Even boundaries between
those photos can sometimes get blurred. I believe, however,the current situation in which photos are everywhere in ourdaily lives makes it all the more important to place greater
value on what difference we can make through photos thanon what photos we can shoot.
When I was a high school student, I came across what I
wanted to make a difference to. It was Cambodia, whichbecame the point of origin of my profession. In the summer of
2003, I had an opportunity to spend some time with young

children in the country who had been born into poor families,
trafficked by deception and forced to work while being
abused, as well as with boys and girls of my age who were thevictims of human trafficking. With this as a starting point,
I came to realize that problems occurring in a country far
away were actually the ones my friends were suffering from,which made me feel much closer to the country.
Nevertheless, I did not have any funding ability to help
them, nor was I even able to feed the children I had met.
Having no particular skills, I was also unable to treat sickpeople. At that time, there seemed to be almost nothing leftthat I could do. “Still, I could at least share what I feel using
my five senses in Cambodia with as many people as possible,”
I thought. This thought has led me to the current job of
conveying information and messages.
I have also been asked many times, “Isn’t it dangerous
for women to go such places?” Admittedly, it cannot bedenied that women are targeted more often. Being a woman,
however, is also beneficial sometimes. When visiting refugee
camps in Muslim countries for coverage, male journalists
are not allowed to go inside the houses in which women live
for religious reasons, while female ones are allowed
occasionally. Some women who have gone through battles orbeen severely traumatized have difficulty in talking withmen. I have seen many places where only women are allowed
to go inside.
It is not necessarily appropriate to categorize cases into
the two groups. But females and males have their own
advantages, which make their coverage more diverse. Viewed
in this light, I think the environment that embraces suchdiversity as richness would create arenas where both womenand men can fully display their abilities.

2

No.75 October 2015

JICA Gender Mainstreaming Policies for Government Ofﬁcers 2015
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) annually holds a Program on Gender Mainstreaming Policies for Government
Officers commissioned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA Kyushu International Center). The target group of the
training program is officers of central and local governments in developing countries who are in charge of gender mainstreaming
policies. The Program is designed to foster the officers’ abilities to develop and implement effective and comprehensive policies tomainstream gender-based perspectives, with the aim of realizing a gender-equal society in the participants’ home countries.
This year, the program was held from June 12 (Fri.) to July 8 (Wed.), with a total of seven participants from seven countries:
Cambodia, El Salvador, Nigeria, Nepal, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.

The program participants gave “Country Report” presentations
to provide a brief summary of the current state and challenges
they face in undertaking gender mainstreaming in theirrespective countries. Following that, they analyzed problems
with each other through discussions and gave advices citing theircountries’ case examples as needed, which deepened their mutual
understanding.
The program was comprised of lectures, workshops, study
tours, and presentations, and was designed to learn concepts,
methods, and theory of gender mainstreaming in a comprehensive
manner.
In addition to lectures from interdisciplinary perspectives
such as “gender budget analysis” and “gender and disasters”, theprogram offered workshops in which participants had hands-on
learning activities with occasional discussions.

At the workshop

In the study tours, they received a lecture and visited Peace
Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, and visited a day-care centerand an elementary school in Kitakyushu. In addition, they were
given training incorporating lectures, site visit and exchange of
opinions in a farming village in Fukuoka Prefecture. These tours
were aimed at enhancing their knowledge from more profoundgender perspectives through the firsthand observations ofchallenges and undertakings at various sites in Japan.
During the month-long program, participants from countries
with different backgrounds, in terms of environment andproblems in their home countries, showed respect to one anotherand built solid relationships of mutual understandings. The
program closed with the presentations of Action Plan, in which
the participants outlined concrete visions for their future
undertakings in their respective countries.

At the lecture

Participant’s Messages
The knowledge I obtained in the JICA Training Program has not only
developed my skills and professionalism but also provided me a greater

knowledge both formally and informally through every meeting,workshop, and conference to make a better and peaceful society.

understanding of different cultures. Japan is truly a nation abound in

Plus, based on the action plan I have developed in the JICA course,

people with remarkable talent, foresight and tolerance. Specifically, thecourse gave me amazing Japanese language classes that assisted mein coping with many difficulties in daily conversations with Japanese

I am planning to introduce the mainstreaming of gender into the idea ofpeace to university students in order to raise their awareness about
gender equality in a peaceful society. As John F. Kennedy once put it,people.
Besides, trips to various sites such as Tokyo, Tachiarai Town,“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for yourcountry”. To achieve a greater success, you don’t have to do extraordinary

Fujinoki Elementary School, Kotakuji Day Nursery, and Hiroshima City
offered me good opportunities to experience different aspects of Japan.

things; you have to do simple things extraordinarily well. This is what I
am trying to do at the moment.

In Hiroshima, for instance, I had a chance to visit the Peace Memorial
Museum, a world-famous tourist site, which reminds people of the
preciousness of peace. Hearing the entire story from a survivor of the

Meanwhile, I have many special memories of Japan. Among them,the most unforgettable one is that I loved the way I was treated by JICA.
I was filled with warm feelings and did not even become homesick, since

Atomic bomb, my tears almost ﬂowed down. I truly sensed the horrors of

JICA extended a cordial welcome to me. I would like to express mythe enormous tragedy and how painful it must have been for the people.
Hearing firsthand about the history made me feel as if I were one of thevictims during that era. This inspired me to become an agent of change

heartfelt thanks to JICA for the substantial support for my academic lifethat they have given
me so willingly without

for peace. Therefore, I have made a strong commitment to share theany complaint.

No.75 October 20153

Ms. Phallin Lay (Cambodia)

-off Activities!
The 25nd KFAW Foreign Correspondents Kick
In 1991, the Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) established a foreign correspondents system tobroadly network with people overseas, particularly in the Asia-Paciﬁ c region. Past and present foreign
correspondents are 285 people in 41 countries in total. This year, persons from 6 countries are selected andwork as KFAW foreign correspondents. Through this network, KFAW will keep providing up-to-date informationfrom various parts of the world. The proﬁles of the correspondents and other reports are available at the KFAW
website (http://www.kfaw.or.jp/correspondents/index.html.en).

India

Mongolia

Ms. Swapna MAJUMDAR

Ms. Turmunkh ODONTUYAIndependent Journalist

Independent Researcher

Yoga Trainer and Facilitator
ACE School

Pakistan

The Philippines

Sri Lanka

Ms. Aiko SHIMIZU

Ms. Kanthi Hemamalee
WIJETUNGE

Mr. Saboor Ahmed KAKAR
Education Activist (Alif Ailaan),National Youth Leader (Pakistan
Red Crescent Society)

Nepal

Outreach and Innovations
Coordinator in Youth at Venture

Ms. Yojana POKHAREL

Public Service Commission

Foreign Correspondentʼs Report
Profi leManual Scavenger Changes Her Destiny

I am a Delhi based independent journalist for over 15 years, focusing on
research-based articles on development issues and the role of women as
agents of social change. In my writings, I have focused on India’s
development policy and its impact on people, women in particular. I havereceived several awards and fellowships for the empathy and professionalismwith which I have written on subjects such as health care, HIV/AIDS, nutrition,
livelihoods, sanitation, education, environment and gender. I have covered
several international conferences on development issues.

Ms. Swapna MAJUMDAR (India)
Choti Bai hates everything that is yellow. It reminds herof human excreta she cleaned in home toilets with her barehands while working as a manual scavenger. Seven years
ago, the life of this 44-year-old resident of northwestern
India changed dramatically when she gave up this work. “Icannot forget the 22 years I spent cleaning dry toilets.
Although I have quit the work, whenever I see any food or
clothes that are yellow in color, I feel as if I were handlinghuman excrement once again,” Bai said.
Life as a manual scavenger began when she was 15,
shortly after she got married. As a child, she had seen her
mother and two older sisters do the same work. Although
she and another two younger sisters were allowed to go toschool, Bai knew that they were destined to enter the family
profession of manual scavenging as her community has
traditionally been engaged in this occupation.“It did notcome as any surprise when my mother-in-law told me toaccompany my sister-in-law for manual scavenging soonafter my marriage.” she said.
In India, manual scavengers, mostly women, are involvedin cleaning dry toilets without any protective gloves or
equipment and carry human excreta in containers on theirheads for disposal. Men from this community clean septic
tanks and sewers. There are several laws that prohibit
manual scavenging in India. The earliest one was passed in
1993 and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation, the more comprehensive
ban, was passed in 2013.

Yet, it continues with 790,000 families still working as
manual scavengers, according to the 2011 census. Dalits(the lowest rank in the Hindu caste system), especiallywomen, make a living out of manual scavenging. Those who
get paid can earn as little as 60 cents a day. However, mostfemale manual scavengers receive no wages. Bai said she
used to receive leftover ﬂatbread, food and a small sack ofwheat from her employers.
It was in 2008 that Bai discovered that manual
scavenging was illegal when she met activists with the
Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (National Campaign for Dignity
and Elimination of Manual Scavenging), a coalition of 30
community-based organizations from 13 Indian states,
working to improve the lives of these marginalized
communities. When the campaign activists visited hervillage and explained they were not required to do thisundignified work, she and other female manual scavengers
were skeptical. “I didn’t believe them. This was being doneby all the families in our community. Also, I didn’t have any
skills to do anything else. So I didn’t know what I could do if
I gave it up,” Bai recalled.
But the activists didn’t give up. They continued to speak
to them about their rights. According to the campaign
convener, more than 95 percent of the manual scavengers
are women. He said: “They are victims of caste-based
discrimination. So there was a greater need to raiseawareness among them.” It took eight months for Bai todecide to give up manual scavenging. She began working in

4No.75 October 2015

Foreign Correspondents’ Report
the fields as a daily wage laborer and took to sewing clothes.
In 2010, when campaign activists saw her determination,
they asked her to work with them. In 2012 she joined thecampaign as a motivator, earning a monthly salary of $75. It
is not only the salary, which is far more than she used toearn, but more importantly, the dignity her new life hasbrought her and the respect she got, especially from those
who had once considered her untouchable, has boosted her
confidence.
Since then, as a part of the campaign, she has persuaded
112 women working as manual scavengers in her district togive up this work. While some of these women have been
helped to start a small poultry business, others have been
helped to get job cards under the government’s national
rural employment guarantee scheme. Bai says that now
there are no more women manual scavengers in her village.
So far, 100 such former female manual scavengers havejoined the campaign as motivators and have been able toliberate 16,000 women.
Last year, Bai broke another boundary by drinking tea
at a local tea shop, which had in the past refused to serve

members of her community, with five women from a nearby
village who had also given up manual scavenging.

C h o t i B a i , o n c e w o r ke d a s a
m a n u a l s c a ve n g e r, i s n o w amotivational leader

ProfileLand and Property Rights of Women in
Sri Lanka

I possess a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and have taken a one-year
programme on gender studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA under Hubert H.
Humphrey Fellowship programme. I have held several key positions in the public sector
including the Director of Women’s Bureau. Currently I am functioning as a member of the
Public Service Commission of Sri Lanka which is the highest decision-making body withregard to the appointments, promotions and disciplinary matters of the public servants. I
am the only female member of the 9-member commission and expected to bring genderconcerns to the Commission and make decisions on an equal and fair basis.

Ms. Kanthi WIJETUNGE (Sri Lanka)
Securing rights to land and property for women is widely
recognized as fundamental to ensuring effective andsustainable human development. Hence it is extremely
important to consider the situation of women in enjoying
this right when assessing the gender equality situation in acountry. Sri Lanka’s constitution is nondiscriminatory on
ownership of land and property. Traditionally, however, themajority of people transfer property inheritance to malemembers of families considering that they are the future
breadwinners.
Latha is the youngest in a family with three children.
She is unmarried and lives in her family’s own house. The
ownership of the house had been transferred by her parents
to her second eldest brother. The eldest brother was given
the ownership of their paddy field. Latha’s parents’ intention
was to give some money to Latha when she gets married.
Unfortunately, her father died and mother could not doanything as she did not have any control over the family
resources, either. After the death of her mother, she has
become a dependent on her brother and began to undergodifficulties due to the lack of rights to her parents’ land andproperty. Under these circumstances, Latha wanted toengage in dressmaking to earn some money. But she had
only one sewing machine, and was not even permitted toutilize a part of the house for her business. She tried toobtain a loan facility from a bank to rent out a place andpurchase additional sewing machines to start the business,

No.75 October 2015

but failed due to lack of collateral.
Mala is a married woman who lives in a rural area withher husband and four children. Her husband is a farmer,
who earns a considerable income and owns a house andpaddy land. But gradually he became alcoholic and also
started gambling. After sometime Mala came to know that
her husband had mortgaged their house and obtained
money. He had not even informed her about this fact and not
given a single cent for family expenses. Yet, she had to suffersilently for her children.
The above are only a few case examples of many poor
women who lack rights to land and property. In poor ruralcommunities, male dominance is still prevalent and the
majority of males enjoy more access and control over landand property compared to females. Consequently, women’s
subordinate position and dependence have been further
aggravated.
Women’s disadvantageous position due to the lack ofland and property ownership rights has been clearly
manifested during the implementation of programmes evenat a national level. It is seen recently in implementing
resettlement schemes in war-torn areas after the 30-yearlong war in the country. The war has left women in the
Northern and Eastern Provinces without choice but tobecome heads of households as a result of deaths or
disappearance of their male counterparts. Most of them
have become homeless and landless single mothers. They

5

Foreign Correspondents’ Report
are forced to take care of their children without any income
and any other livelihood opportunities.
The majority of these women had difficulty in obtaining
the death certificates of their family members who were
killed during the war, and therefore have lost entitlement totheir husbands’ properties. Female-headed households thatown land also face specific problems as those women lackbasic knowledge on land ownership and are unable toacquire titles to their land. Gender-insensitive policies onland administration have also negatively affected women.
Within the Tamil and Muslim communities, owing to
the dowry system, land and houses have traditionally been
in women’s names. But developmental agencies andgovernment officials tend to ask for the names of the maleheads of households when registering new land and houses.
Because of this practice, the land allocation for resettlement
has badly harmed women’s right to land and property. And

despite the recognition and acceptance of women’s rights toland and property, the male domination and reliance on men
to decide on issues related to land are prevalent in many
parts of the country.
Meanwhile, in the post-war context, the lack of access toadequate housing and the resulting consequences for
women-headed households are often highlighted, andvarious measures have been taken to help them. With theintroduction of new initiatives and empowerment of existinggroups, women are slowly starting to realize their rights
over land and property.
Poor rural women need legal assistance to ensure theirproperty ownership. They should be enlightened how to use
their land and property in a productive manner. By securing
women’s rights to land and property, many women who livein poor rural communities will benefit and enjoy equal
rights with men.

26th Seminar on KFAW Research Activities (June 12, 2015)
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) has been conducting research and study on various issues concerning genderand gender equality in countries around the world with a central focus on the Asia-Paciﬁc region.
At the 26th Seminar on KFAW Research Activities, a KFAW chief researcher and KFAW visiting researchers presented the resultsof their research.

“Relationship between Women Organization and City

“Nepal Earthquake and Activities of Local NGOs”

Ofﬁce for Gender-Equality Society”
2014/15 KFAW Visiting Researchers

KFAW Chief Researcher Satoko KANZAKI

Masako TANAKA
Mayuko SANO

Sano and Tanaka, serving as KFAW visiting researchers
since last year, reported on the current state of Nepal,
which was hit by the massive earthquake, and assistanceactivities undertaken by NGOs. Tanaka ﬂew to thedisaster-stricken areas on May 1, immediately after thecatastrophe, and joined the assistance activities. There,
she saw the reality that people in Dalit communities(placed at the lowest rung of the caste hierarchy) weretreated unequally in the distribution of relief supplies.
For instance, they were merely provided with plastic
picnic sheets instead of tents. Tanaka emphasized theimportance of conversation, saying, “It is more important
to listen to the female disaster victims when handing
relief supplies than to merely distribute a large number ofsupplies. By learning firsthand of their plight, we cangain an understanding of the problems they face more
precisely, leading to the provision of support and care they
really need.” In conclusion, she stressed the importance ofpreventing disparities and inequalities based on caste,ethnicity and genderfrom widening further
by extending assistance,
keeping in mind that thepast unjust treatment
had contributed to thearmed conﬂict in the
country.

Kanzaki, Chief researcher, explained about the establishment of
Women’s organizations in Kitakyushu City. She made an analysis of
the relationship between the women organizations’ establishment/
activities and the municipal policy for women from five points of view:(1) City government’s women issues division; (2) City plan for women’sissues; (3) Women’s Center where the women groups carry out theiractivities; (4) Suggestions from the panel of experts with women
representatives and (5) international momentum. She pointed out that
the City policy for women and women’s organizations have been closely
related and mutually developed considering the following aspects: theestablishment of the City of Kitakyushu’s first division for women’sissues which was based on a recommendation made by the panel ofexperts; the subsequent women’s organizations’ activities to raise
people’s awareness by holding “Kitakyushu Women’s Conference” ineach ward of the city; the intermediary role of these organizations
between the city government and citizens, since at that time, the city’s
office for women was merely a small section; and the city’s establishmentof the Women’s Center to facilitate the activities of women’s groups.
Then, she concluded her report by calling on citizens and the city
government to solidify their cooperative efforts to further promote a
gender-equal society. This call emphasized the importance of 2015 as alandmark year for the Beijing+20
and the city of Kitakyushu withthe 25th anniversary of KFAW as
well as the launch of its Women’s
Active Participation Support Officewithin the city government.

6

No.75 October 2015

ISSN
ISSN
0918-82660918-8266

Debrieﬁng on Participation in International Understanding Seminar,
ISSN 0918-8266
KFAW Consulate Series 6:
the 59th U.N. Commission on theISSN 0918-8266
British Honorary Consul Talks
Status of Women (CSW59)
About the UK and Japan
Date
Venue

Date
Venue

May 15, 2015 (Friday) 18:30-20:00
Small Seminar Room, 5th Floor,
Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center, MOVE
Ms. Mitsuko HORIUCHI(President, Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women)

August 18, 2015 (Tuesday) 15:00-16:30
Main Seminar Room, 5th Floor,
Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center, MOVE
Mr. Lawrence CHIVERS (British Honorary Consul Kitakyushu)
Lecturer
No. of Participants 113

A debriefing session was held on participation in the 59th U.N.
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) that had takenplace in New York from March 9 to March 20, 2015. The priority
theme for CSW59 was “Beijing+20.” It was reported that thecommission had undertaken a review of progress made in theimplementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women as well as the
Political Declaration adopted at the special session of the U.N.
General Assembly “Women 2000,” and subsequently adopted aresolution on their future follow-ups.
In addition, President Horiuchi reported on the side event“Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination
against
Women(CEDAW) and Gender-Based Violence(GBV): Progress and Challenges 20
years after Beijing”, which she hadparticipated in as a moderator.

The International Understanding Seminar under the theme of
the comparison of cultures and differences in gender roles between
the UK and Japan was held, inviting British Honorary Consul
Kitakyushu Lawrence Chivers, who is a resident of Kitakyushu, as alecturer. Based on his own experiences, Honorary Consul Chivers
illustrated gender roles at home and at work as well as customs in the
UK in an enjoyable way, sprinkling his talk with jokes and quizzes.
He explained that nowadays there is almost no stereotyped
gender roles such as “the father’s tasks and the mother’s tasks”, andbasically all the members share household tasks in British families,
citing concrete and easily understandable examples such as “a person
who has cooked does not have to wash
dishes; instead, each one washes his/herown dishes after meal.” At the question andanswer session following the seminar,
many of the participants actively madeinquiries, including high school students
who asked questions in English.

Lecturer

No. of Participants 39

Information

Date(Visiting Professor, Kwansei Gakuin University /Director, Plan Japan)
She is a commentator of TBS’s“Hiroshi Sekiguchi’s Sunday Morning.”(Visiting Professor, Kwansei Gakuin University / Director, Plan Japan). Ms. Nguen Thi TUYET (Vice President, Hanoi Women’s Union, Vietnam). Ms. Clarie LO (Member, the Steering Committee of the Hong Kong Basic Law /Member, the Appeal Board of the Financial Disputes Resolution Council). Ms. Masako KATSUKI(Sales Manager, Kitakyushu Head Office, the Nishinippon Shimbun). Mr. Harumichi YUASA (Professor, Institute of Information Security /Venue Main Seminar Room, 5th Floor, Kitakyushu Municipal

Director, Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women)

Gender Equality Center, MOVE

Coordinator
Ms. Mitsuko HORIUCHI

Capacity 100 seats (First-come-ﬁrst-served basis)(President, Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women)

Nursery Available (500 yen per person, reservation required)

KITAKYUSHUKITAKYUSHUOTEMACHIOTEMACHIBUILDING
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11-4,11-4,
KOKURAKITA,
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803-0814
803-0814
JAPAN
JAPAN
FAX＋81-93-583-5195
FAX＋81-93-583-5195
PHONE＋81-93-583-3434
PHONE＋81-93-583-3434
E-mail:E-mail:kfaw@kfaw.or.jp
kfaw@kfaw.or.jp
URL:URL:
http://www.kfaw.or.jp/index.html.en
http://www.kfaw.or.jp/index.html.en

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KITAKYUSHU OTEMACHI BUILDING 3F
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Kitakyushu

OTEMACHI 11-4, KOKURAKITA, KITAKYUSHU, 803-0814 JAPAN
PHONE＋81-93-583-3434
DalianFAX＋81-93-583-5195
E-mail: kfaw@kfaw.or.jp URL: http://www.kfaw.or.jp/index.html.en

KFAW

Beijing

Panel Discussion

Panelists. Ms. Asako OSAKI

October 31, 2015 (Saturday) 13:30-16:00

Location
Locationof of
Kitakyushu
Kitakyushu

Keynote Speech
Ms. Asako OSAKI▼The 26th Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women will explore“the promotion of women’s active participation” as its main theme.
At the conference, Ms. Asako OSAKI from Gender Action Platform(GAP) will deliver the keynote lecture on future visions and present
challenges of women’s active participation in Japan and other
Asian regions. As a specialist on development policy and gender,
Ms. Osaki is active in various ﬁelds at government agencies, aid
agencies, international organizations, NGOs, research institutions,among others. Subsequently, the overseas panelists (Hong Kong
and Vietnam) will describe the current situations of women’s
active participation in Asia. Furthermore, the conference aims tochart a future course toward the promotion of women’s active
participation after hearing from the Japanese panelists about theirexperiences and the actual situations in Japan.

▼

26th Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women
Promoting Women s Active Participation: in Partnership with Asia

Seoul

Tokyo

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