For Immediate Release:	August 26, 2003
For More Information:	Jodi Jacobson, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), jjacobson@genderhealth.org, 301-270-1182
Sponsor Organization:	The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
"As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words"
On Tuesday, August 26th, Women's Equality Day, the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), the Feminist Majority Foundation, and the Women's Environment and Development Organization, with the Communications Consortium Media Center, held a press conference to release the first Global Women's Issues Scorecard, comparing the rhetorical promises made by the Bush Administration on international women's rights and health concerns against the actions taken by the Administration. A full copy of the first Global Scorecard can be obtained through CHANGE's website at http://www.genderhealth.org/scorecard.php or from http://www.wglobalscorecard.org. The three groups graded the Administration's official statements against its actions on a range of issues critical to the lives of women and other vulnerable groups worldwide, including HIV/AIDS, Afghan women's rights, international family planning and the Millennium Challenge Account. Speakers included Ellie Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, speaking on Bush administration policies affecting Afghan women and on CEDAW, the International Treaty for the Rights of Women; Jodi Jacobson, Executive Director, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) on the global HIV/AIDS initiative and international family planning issues; and June Zeitlin, Executive Director, Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) on agricultural subsidies, the Millennium Challenge Account and policies affecting Iraqi women. Among the grades given to the Administration were a "B" for rhetoric on global AIDS policies, and an "F" for policies that ignore the needs of women and other vulnerable groups; a "B" for rhetoric on support for the rights of women in Afghanistan, and an "F" for failing to act to increase security, expand girls access to schools, and address the resurgence of fundamentalist restrictions on women's daily lives; and a "D" for rhetoric on international family planning and an "F" for its actions generally to restrict funding for essential reproductive health services worldwide. "The Bush Administration earns high marks in several areas for its rhetoric on issues of critical concern to women worldwide," noted Jodi Jacobson of CHANGE. "Indeed, President Bush and members of his administration have sought to promote themselves as compassionate conservatives in part by speaking out on urgent global issues, such as the global AIDS epidemic and the need to secure women's rights in war torn countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq." "But as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words," Jacobson stated. "And in this regard, women throughout the world will find little to celebrate in this Administration's policies to date." "To improve its record and be more accountable to its own stated goals," asserted Jacobson, "the Bush Administration should move quickly to put in place the programs and the resources to secure and promote the rights of women to education, employment, and freedom of expression in places like Afghanistan and Iraq; expand women's access to basic reproductive and sexual healthcare, including both prevention of and treatment for HIV/AIDs; and address the epidemic of gender-based violence that threatens the lives of women everywhere." Jodi L. Jacobson, Executive Director Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 910 Takoma Park, Maryland 20912 Phone: (301) 270-1182 Fax: (301) 270-2052 http://www.genderhealth.org The Center for Health and Gender Equity is a U.S.-based international reproductive health and rights organization. We conduct research, policy analysis, and evidence-based advocacy in our efforts to make public health and human rights principles integral to U.S. international population and health policies and programs. For more information or to be added to our database, please e-mail Seneca Pappas at spappas@genderhealth.org.