Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Within the Scope of Peace as a Global Public Good

Gender Equality And Sustainable Development: A Brief Concept Description

Gender is a phenomenon that considers social principles and not biological principles in determining the roles and relationships of men and women in a society. At the same time, these roles and relationships are not fixed but changeable phenomena. Thus, gender; it contains social differences and can be changed as opposed to biological sex. Because the gender discrimination is determined by the society. Gender roles change in different societies and in different periods of history. Policies can respond to stereotypes and traditional gender roles (such as changing the assumption that only a man is the head of the household), as well as gender. In addition, gender is a phenomenon that the whole society emerges from social interactions. Gender minds also form one's self-perception, behavior, values and abilities from the interaction it creates through shaping. (Şeren Kurular, 2016, pp.9-11).

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also an essential key to a peaceful sustainable world. On the other hand, women are exposed to physical or sexual violence, and in many countries, there are still no legal elements that protect women from violence. Developing policies that are sensitive to the following areas for women and girls is very important for a sustainable economy, society and humanity (UN, 2019):

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  Representation in political and economic decision-making processes

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  Equal access to education

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  Health care

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  Employment opportunities

Gender equality; women and men, girls and boys have equal status without restrictions imposed by gender norms, policies and legislation. It means that all members of society have the rights and opportunities to make choices, access to public service and equal participation (Kurular, 2016, p. 11)

Sustainable Development; It was an internationally recognized concept at the UN conference in 1972, and was shown as a solution to the problem of environmental degradation in our Common Future report in 1987. Here, it has been shown that growth and development models cannot be sustained if they are not controlled by drawing attention to the negative effects of human activities on the planet. At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the concept became clear. In this context, sustainable development is defined as; “Development that meets today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (SDC). Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are plans to build a sustainable and better future for all humanity. Targets take into account “global” problems that concern the whole world. These have been identified in areas such as peace, prosperity, poverty, climate, gender inequality, health, justice and education. The targets set are not independent of each other but are interrelated. Sustainable development objectives can be listed as follows (SDG, n.d.):