This means that the masses of people should enjoy basic freedoms including those of association, speech, shelter and food. Through leadership and participation in institutions of public sector and economic management and the mediation of culture, people, living under democracy, ideally have the political space to engage in fashioning the type of development they want. Democracy thus should ensure equality and participation in development agenda setting and implementation through consensus building, negotiation and establishing social institutions and processes for bringing about successful political transition. Despite the enormous potential for transformation of society, contemporary democracies have had limited and uneven success with poverty eradication and the realization of gender equality. I put these two issues together because they are the two largest challenges faced by women in society.
Poverty is a major cause and sustaining force for gender inequality.
Today over one-quarter of the people in the developing world remain poor. Women constitute 70 percent of the one billion rural poor. Domestic violence still threatens women and girls disproportionately. And women continue to be victims of trafficking and sexual abuse. In war-time situations and in collapsed states between 60 and 80 percent of displaced people and refugees are girls and women.