Global Gender Equality

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 17th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords—or, I should say, mostly noble Baronesses—I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate, because I was at the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver. In fact, it was the fourth Women Deliver conference I have attended over the years, and they are getting bigger. As you have heard, there were over 8,000 people this time. I declare an interest, too, as chair of the All-Party Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health.

Among the many hundreds of meetings one could go to, one stood out for me. It made a change from the usual diet of women’s reproductive health issues, which I will come to later. At an absolutely packed meeting, I heard a report called the State of the World’s Fathers. It was given by an organisation called Promundo, which I know, and is leading a global campaign called MenCare to promote the involvement of men and boys in childcare and domestic duties. I chaired a meeting in the House for its first report four years ago, and again last week for this recent report. By the way, I am sorry that only one male Member of this House is speaking, but I guess every other male noble Lord will read the debate tomorrow evening while their wife prepares the dinner, clears up afterwards, gets ready for bed and sets the breakfast. I am sure that is true.

I am not entirely joking, because the report points out that women do most of the work in the home, regardless of their other duties. To achieve a 50:50 balance, it is calculated that men need to do 50 minutes of housework and childcare every day, if they are to be fair to their partners. Of course, many men do help with caring and housework—please do not get me wrong—particularly in some societies. But I vividly remember my first trip with the International Development Committee, which was to Uganda. We were taken to a village right out in the sticks, where the women had prepared a presentation of drawings and speeches to tell us what their day was like. It was amusing as well as informative, and their day consisted of getting up very early in the morning to fetch the water from some distance; cleaning the yard; making a meal before getting the children off to school; waking their husbands and feeding same; working in the fields until dark; preparing dinner; clearing and settling children; and serving dinner to the men, who had been sitting under the trees all day. They had drawn a lovely picture of that. The men, we were told, were discussing important matters and had to do this most days. It was a regular day for the subsistence farmer families in Uganda at that time.

I quote from the State of the World’s Fathers report:

“Globally, women spend significantly more time than men—sometimes up to ten times as much—on unpaid care … and domestic work. If this is calculated on the basis of an hourly minimum wage, it could make up 9 to 11 percent of global … GDP”.


This rather amused me in the report:

“In 2018, 606 million women of working age”—


I do not know if all 606 million were personally interviewed, but it got the figure from somewhere—

“around the world said that they were unable to take on paid work because of unpaid”,

domestic “responsibilities”. That rings true to many of us. It continues:

“In countries where women spend twice as much time as men on unpaid care, their average earnings”,


when they do outside work,

“are less than two-thirds of men’s... This disparity lies at the heart of gender inequality; it keeps women, families, communities, countries, and the world poor”.

The women in Uganda expressed very forcefully how hard women work. In many ways though, they are not that different from many women in developed countries, who work all day outside the home, but are still responsible for all the childcare, domestic work and shopping arrangements. Added to that, they still do not get equal pay for the work they do.

The World Economic Forum has said that a country’s GNP improves substantially if women are encouraged to work outside the home. Our Government encourage mothers to work outside the home, but—and it is a big “but”—if they are to do this, and many do, better facilities must be provided for childcare. In this country, they are still woefully inadequate, and partners must do more to help.

Policy changes suggested in the report are better education for boys on home responsibilities and childcare—that is creeping into our schools; talking to my grandchildren, I think that it is beginning to happen—and not just equal pay for equal work but equal fully paid, non-transferable parental leave for all parents. That is central to setting the foundation for fathers’ involvement with their children from an early age.

This is all very well and one hopes that it is starting to happen, but there can never be liberation and true empowerment of women until they have power over their own bodies—that is my favourite sentence. This means, of course—my favourite subject, too—that they must have access to affordable or free family planning and safe abortion, so that they can choose how many children to have and not just be breeding machines until they die of exhaustion. I know that this Government and the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, are committed to this subject, but perhaps she could tell us just how committed they are in changing circumstances.

In this country—I know that it is not the Minister’s responsibility, but it is that of her Government—family planning services are rapidly disappearing as council budgets are cut and women either have to travel long distances to find a specialist service or go to their GP, who in many cases prescribes only the pill and gives them little choice over what method to use. I note that abortion rates in older women are rising, which could be due to such lack of provision. I hope that she can comment on this.

On international development, will funding to NGOs providing sexual and reproductive health services be provided in coming years? They were not last year, because there was a different system, so there is a big gap to fill worldwide in those services since President Trump reintroduced the gag rule—we have heard about that already; I do not need to explain it. That affects all NGOs providing sexual and reproductive health services whether or not they include abortion.

How will the Government maintain their fine reputation in this field? To do so means constantly repeating the policy on abortion after rape in conflict, which should be provided under international humanitarian law whether or not the national law of the country concerned allows it. Will the Government confirm that they will stick to 0.7% of GNP being spent on international development, of which 10% should be on sexual and reproductive health?

I congratulate the Government—it is hard for me to congratulate a Tory Government—on what they have done so far for women’s rights, and women’s reproductive rights particularly, worldwide. I trust that they will try even harder in the future.

Sexual Violence in Conflict

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

Of course, it is important that we work with all our international partners on this. The UK, rightly, is speaking of this regularly, but we must ensure that it is on everybody’s agenda too. My noble friend’s suggestion of working more closely with our Commonwealth partners is a very good one, which I will take forward ahead of the PSVI conference.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell us whether UK aid still provides for abortions for women who have been raped in conflict? Can she also confirm that the United Kingdom recognises that international law on these matters overrides the national law of the country in these situations?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, the UK is committed to empowering women and girls to choose whether and when they have children, giving them greater control over their lives. In humanitarian crisis situations, as the noble Baroness highlights, that is more important than ever. It is our view that in situations of armed conflict or occupation, where the denial of abortion threatens a woman’s life or causes unbearable suffering, international humanitarian law principles may justify offering a safe abortion, rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment.

Africa: Population Growth

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 29th April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I have not seen any analysis on this issue. We are working closely with the continent of Africa to ensure that we are able to fund our projects correctly and influence them where we can. The Prime Minister visited Africa at the end of last year to set out a new partnership to ensure that we can maximise our influence there.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, further to the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, on this Question, the Minister will know that, where countries provide voluntary family planning, the fertility rate is beginning to fall and that in many countries it has fallen a great deal. The problem remains however—I get reports from many countries, particularly in Africa—that women still cannot afford to buy family planning supplies because they are not freely available. Have the Department for International Development and the Government—who have done well on this issue and I congratulate them—any plans to make family planning free?

[Baroness Sugg]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. When I was researching this issue, I read a previous comment from her about how, if we did not have access to our own family planning, few of us would have been where we are today. That hit home with me. She is right to point out that family planning has the benefit of reducing fertility levels, which can be transformational around population growth. We are working closely to ensure that women and girls across developing countries can access and use family planning without coercion or discrimination and with a full, free and informed choice.

Access to Cash

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

We are still studying the report, which came out fairly recently and contains a lot of data and material. The Link network went to countries such as Sweden, where the proportion of transactions in cash is now only 10%, and asked what could be learned from that situation, which is where we are going to be in five to 10 years’ time, to ensure that people in this country have protection and choice available to them.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, as the more affluent members of our society no longer carry cash, will the Government consider giving bank accounts and card readers to the destitute and homeless on our streets?

[Lord Bates]

I do not want to make any value judgments about people carrying cash. Cash continues to be carried by the vast majority of the population—I think the report mentions a figure of about 95%. One of the things we have advanced is fee-free banking, which revolutionised the approach for many people in precisely the situations the noble Baroness refers to.

Cyclone Idai

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Thursday 28th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

On the co-ordination that we are responsible for, we have committed some £5.8 billion to international climate finance. We are taking a leading role in resilience, ensuring that the ambitions set out in Paris are actually met and putting resources behind that. So we are doing all that, but this is a complex situation and international co-operation is needed to address it.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, the Minister may recall that some 20 years ago there were images in our newspapers of a woman giving birth to a baby in a tree in Mozambique. The disaster then was made worse by a shortage of helicopters and large Antonov aeroplanes that could get helicopters to the area. Has this been corrected? Are there enough helicopters to help people in south-east Africa at the moment?

[Lord Bates]

We could not say that there were enough, but what the international organisations are doing is quite remarkable. The Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs at the UN, led by Sir Mark Lowcock, formerly of DfID, has been doing an incredible amount of work in this area. The UNFPA is dealing with that particular point but so is the WFP, the IOM and UNICEF. They are all working to ensure that people get the help that they need.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 19th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

As the noble Lord will know, we are one of the largest funders. The UN General Assembly margin meeting that I mentioned raised $122 million, some of which is yet to hit UNRWA’s bank account. It is important that people honour their pledges. It is also important for other countries to step forward and support UNRWA, not only on its financial needs but through wider support for moving towards a Middle East peace process.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, can the Minister explain why the Government of Israel, as the occupying force in Palestine, are not required to pay for, or at the very least contribute to, the cost of UNRWA?

[Lord Bates]

I cannot give an adequate answer to that at present. The situation is incredibly complex, but the only way forward is for people to agree a peaceful resolution on a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders with agreed land swaps, a fair settlement for the refugees that are there and an agreement on Jerusalem as a shared capital for the two nations.

Muslims: Population Growth and Sharia Law

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 30th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord never loses an opportunity to weave something about the Royal Navy into a question. I did not think that he would manage it today, but he has. I am very happy to join him in paying tribute to the Royal Navy.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, will the Minister launch an investigation into the growth in the number of people named Pearson in this country and assess what effect it is having on racial harmony?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I get the noble Baroness’s point.

International Women’s Day: Progress on Global Gender Equality

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am delighted because a lot of what I had planned to say—and it was not very much because I had a very late night last night, which I will tell you about later—has been said already by many Peers. That is thanks to the efforts of Andrew Mitchell, the Secretary of State for International Development years ago and his successors in a Conservative Government. I do not often say nice things about Conservative Governments, I know, but at this time I say that they have done a terrific job, if only to make sure that a majority of people who have spoken in this debate so far have mentioned my favourite subject, which is women’s reproductive health, family planning and safe abortion. That is what I plan to talk about now, and to use my favourite phrase, you cannot promote the empowerment of women—the noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, has already alluded to this—unless you give them power over their own bodies first. It is pointless talking about it unless you do that.

Women in the West, and particularly in this country, have had it pretty good from this point of view for a long time now, and I think that sometimes we take family planning for granted. We know that, on the whole, we can control the number of children we have. Even I controlled the number of children I had, because these provisions have been there for our generation of women. We do not realise that in many other parts of the world this just does not apply. Often, once a girl starts menstruating, she is married off very early and, from then on, is either pregnant or breastfeeding—or dead, frankly—as she goes on and on producing more and more children. It is a pretty dreadful life. There is no hope of gender equality there and no talk of empowerment.

The most crucial intervention is family planning and safe abortion. Many countries have already achieved this. The Asian Tiger countries are often held up as an example—and they have done it without coercion, I would add. More recently, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Bangladesh have all brought down their fertility rate—meaning their family size—freeing women to do other things. Because of our Government pushing this agenda, more and more women have access to family planning, and I say thank you again to the Government and to the Department for International Development. Maternal mortality has been reduced by 44% since 1990, and although the world population is rising, it is doing so at a slower rate, which is good news. The intervention of non-coercive family planning is about the availability of supplies, and our Government are making sure, as far as is possible, that we spread supplies as widely as possible.

As was mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, education is terribly important. Girls have to be educated, but they cannot be educated if they are childbearing. If they are constantly expected to have more and more babies, they will be unable to access education at anything more than a rudimentary level. The World Bank has demonstrated that when women are educated, and when they have fewer children because they have access to family planning, the economy of their country improves and the lot of all the people living there is improved. It is a win-win situation for everybody if that happens.

The reason I had a late night last night is that my All-Party Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health launched a paper. I have a copy with me here and noble Lords will all get one in the next week—I am sorry to advertise it but it is very important. The Who Decides? report is about safe abortion in the developing world. It also mentions this country, which I know is quite a contentious issue.

We need legal, safe abortion in all countries and we need improvements here in the UK. The noble Lord, Lord Steel, who was here earlier, piloted the Bill through Parliament in 1967. It was a tremendous thing for the women of this country but it now needs updating. Women still need the permission of two doctors; often they have to have two different appointments, and it can take ages to get an appointment in the first place. They need better access.

Worldwide, the abortion rate is the same whether abortion is legal or illegal in a particular country—abortions still go on. Women who cannot access safe abortion will take matters into their own hands, and many die as a consequence. In fact, 68,000 women die every year from unsafe abortion in the rest of the world. So people who oppose safe abortion provision are promoting death—the death of young women and the death of mothers of young families.

Finally, I want all noble Lords, and in particular the Government, to look at the report. I hope the Minister will reply to me in her closing comments. It is terribly important that we look at provision worldwide. Medical abortion now is so much easier: two pills can be taken in the first 12 weeks to produce a much easier form of abortion through a very early miscarriage, and no surgical intervention is required. We must promote this method worldwide. We must make sure that it is available online and without the intervention of doctors. Women do not need doctors all the time to control our bodies; we can do it ourselves if we are given the means to do so. In this country, that applies also. We should not have to get the permission of two doctors to end an early pregnancy that we unsuccessfully tried to avoid. Women must have that choice: whatever you personally feel about it, an individual woman must have that choice. We must rethink the Abortion Act 1967 and decriminalise abortion because, for goodness’ sake, it is still part of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. It is a criminal offence to have an abortion in this country without two doctors allowing you to do so. Will the Minister please say something about that and promise that women worldwide will get a better, easier deal with the advent of medical abortion, and likewise women in this country?

Gaza

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Wednesday 21st February 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tonge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of living conditions in Gaza.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK is very concerned about Gaza. We assess that around 1.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Households are receiving only five to six hours of electricity per day, there is limited access to safe water and power shortages are impeding health provision.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am glad that the Minister has such an understanding of what is going on in Gaza. Let me add that it is so good to see him in his place.

[Noble Lords]

Hear, hear!

[Baroness Tonge]

However, with all these things that we hear are going on in Gaza, does the Minister agree that its people have now for 10 years been suffering cruel and degrading treatment, which amounts to the collective punishment of nearly 2 million people, more than half of whom are children? How long must this go on? How long will it be before our Government take some action?

[Lord Bates]

We are taking immediate action in the sense that we are providing humanitarian aid. The assistance that we are providing to UNRWA is helping some 1.1 million of the 1.9 million people who are there, but I have to say that the parties to the conflict must be the parties to the solution. There is an opportunity here in Gaza for its people to recognise the state of Israel, to renounce violence and to accept the agreements that are there to allow the situation to normalise and progress, as has happened in the Palestinian Authority areas. It is a desperate situation and we call on all those people to put the children, the women and the people of Gaza at the heart of their concerns.

Sierra Leone: Ebola

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 30th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, first, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, on securing this debate.

I declare an interest as chair of the APPG on Population, Development and Reproductive Health. Members of the group visited Sierra Leone this time last year with the assistance of the UNFPA, which does much work there. While we were there, we were fortunate in bumping into the new Secretary of State, Priti Patel, at the high commissioner’s residence, so we corralled her and did not let her escape for a while.

Another memory of that visit was the plaque in memory of Jo Cox MP which had been erected in the Parliament chamber. It was shown to us by the niece of the late Satta Amara, founder of the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone, which promoted women’s empowerment in the country. I knew Satta, and we had done exchange visits between her country and my constituency in the years before the Ebola outbreak.

I have indulged in that preamble because the empowerment of women by giving them power over their own bodies and over the number of children they have is very important to a country’s development and economic success. That means improving maternal health before all else. I do not have time to list Sierra Leone’s statistics and shall not do so. Your Lordships all know how dire they are.

After the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone, DfID was a major donor, particularly to healthcare, and efforts were made to roll out treatments for individual diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Yet during our visit, post Ebola, there was still very little evidence of a health network countrywide. Such a network does not particularly need doctors and nurses but it needs workers to impart public health messages and distribute supplies such as contraceptives, which only 16% of women in Sierra Leone can access.

We visited two hospitals: a very overcrowded and struggling government-run one, and the exemplary charity-run Aberdeen Women’s Centre. There are only 40 hospitals in the whole of Sierra Leone and few health centres, which in my view are even more important, although people were trying to create “pop up” health centres—again, to deal with HIV screening.

A worrying fact was the lack of treatment available for cervical cancer, which affects thousands of women in Sierra Leone. They test these women but there is no treatment available. It is very cruel to tell someone they have a disease but cannot do anything about it.

Also, will the Minister tell us when there is to be a campaign to vaccinate women against the HPV virus, which causes cervical cancer? I hear that something may be being done on this front; perhaps the Minister could confirm.

We were told that Sierra Leone was trying to develop health networks, but could the Minister tell the House if DfID is encouraging this? It is so important. The lack of such a network was in my view a major contributor to the spread of the Ebola epidemic. Does the Minister agree?

I would have liked much more time to talk about this beautiful country which has suffered so many misfortunes, from the curse of the diamond trade, as mentioned by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, to the recent mudslide and floods near Freetown— another blow to the health services trying to grow there. I hope the Minister will assure us that the UK will continue to engage with Sierra Leone and support the people there.