Jean D'Cunha looks like a symbol of tradition. Her make-up isn't obvious and her earrings have an antique look. She has a conventional, but beautiful Indian shawl drapes around her dark-red suit. The only thing non-traditional in this loving wife, caring mother and attentive friend is perhaps her black curly hair cut short.

 

But don't let the look of this Indian woman fool you, for she is a busy career woman, dealing with as delicate a subject as gender equality.

 

D'Cunha is the regional program director of United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for East and South-East Asia, and has a very good impression of Chinese women.

 

"Chinese urban women are extremely articulate, confident, resilient," she says. 

 

"They occupy very important places in the public sphere, contributing significantly to society both in private and public life."

 

China signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1980. It has a 10-year national program for gender equality and women's empowerment that runs till 2010, and has issued laws, policies and legislations to protect women's rights.

 

D'Cunha has contributed significantly to the Chinese government's efforts to improve policies and legislations on gender equality and women's empowerment.

 

But she says like other countries, the situation in China is not perfect.

 

"China needs more solid implementation and accountability to address the whole question of gender in HIV-AIDS, domestic violence, trafficking of rural women and other problems."

 

For better and strict implementation of the policies and laws, the country should have a adequate national budgets to allocate funds to enable gender equality and women's empowerment goals to be met, she says.

 

It's important that women are promoted to decision-making posts at all levels. "It can reflect women's interests, rights and gender equality."

 

Even ordinary women need to be aware of the fact that they have rights equal to those of men. D'cunha had "a very interesting discussion with senior officials at the All China Women's Federation", which is a key partner of UNIFEM in China, on how to tackle gender issues.

 

The United Nations will hold a conference with the Chinese government in May on how can CEDAW programs be better implemented in the country.

 

Apart from a healthy work atmosphere, support of family and friends plays a very important role for women in balancing their life and work, she says.

 

(China Daily March 23, 2007)