World Conference on Women, 1980

The conference was the mid-point review of the decade, and the conference president was Lise Østergaard, Cultural Minister of Denmark.[9][10] The secretary-general of the conference was Lucille Mair, a Jamaican academic and single mother, whose primary focus was on the development theme of the triad.[11] Discussion on the New International Economic Order subverted the discussion from being about what women needed to what the various governments needed from women or for women to reach their national goals.[12] At one point, it was suggested that if Westernized nations would provide more funding for economic development, discrimination against women would vanish.[13][14] Partisan political issues, such as insertion of the socialist economic system into the section dealing with the historical perspective on women, the repeated interruption of Israeli delegates with Muslim drummers and singers, and a storming of the conference by women protesting the Bolivian coup d'état were just some of the manifestations of the divides.[7][10]

One hundred forty-five states with around 1500 delegates participated in the official session,[15][16] including delegates like: Aleksandra Pavlovna Biryukova of the USSR; Shirley Field-Ridley of Guyana;[17] Ana Sixta González de Cuadros of Colombia; Helga Hörz of East Germany; Maïmouna Kane of Senegal; Sheila Kaul of India; Ifigenia Martínez of Mexico;[18] Gabriele Matzner-Holzer of Austria;[17] Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika of Zambia;[18] Elizabeth Anne Reid of Australia;[19] Ginko Sato of Japan;[17] Umayya Toukan of Jordan;[18] Sarah Weddington, who headed the US delegation, among many others.[6] May Sayegh of Palestine was also present at the conference. Sally Mugabe, the wife of Robert Mugabe, prime minister of a newly-independent Zimbabwe, was elected vice president of the conference to honor the role of Zimbabwe's women in the anti-colonial struggle.

After opening remarks by Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark welcomed participants and expressed her hope that the conference would prove productive.[20] Anker Jørgensen, Danish prime minister, spoke briefly, followed by opening remarks by Lise Østergaard, followed by the general discussion.[21] Debates were strongly affected by post-colonial and socialist claims of women's advancement in centrally planned economies in which the state had an obligation to prevent and an accountability for discrimination against women.[22] Having established mechanisms in the previous conference to gather data on the status of women, review of the statistical data showed that women's security had dwindled over the preceding five-year period. Among the documentation were statistics showing that while women put in two-thirds of all working hours, they received only one-tenth of the income, owning one-hundredth of its assets. Economic stagnation and industrialization in the period had led to significant increases in unemployment and benefits for women.[23] Jobs which were available confined women to insecure, low-paid, and sex-stereotyped jobs and as much of their labor was toward unpaid production, it was still invisible in compiled economic reports.[24] Decreased earnings had elevated health concerns. While literacy rates for middle class women increased, overall illiteracy among women increased.[23] One of the most contentious issues discussed was the situation of households headed by women. Many officials denied that there could be such a thing, as legally in their countries women were not allowed to be the head of a household.[11] On the other hand, one of the most memorable moments was when the delegates signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on 17 July.[16]

The first committee, under the chair Maïmouna Kane, with vice-chairs, Rafidah Aziz of Malaysia, Maria Groza of Romania, and Leónidas Páez de Virgili of Paraguay, with Rapporteur Marijke Van Hemeldonck of Belgium,[18] discussed the effects of Apartheid and the Israeli-occupied territories on women; the progress and obstacles in attaining the objectives of the World Plan of Action; and the proposal for the World Programme of Action for the second-half of the Decade for Women.[25] Of major concern was labor insecurity, caused either by the introduction of technologies which replaced women laborers or by the informal nature of many jobs open to women in developing countries. The committee discussed that more effort should be made to retrain laborers when their positions were eliminated by technological advances and that legal protections should be enacted. Also of grave concern was education of women to not only eliminate illiteracy but to make them aware of social and political processes and how they could be part of decision-making mechanisms.[26] Apartheid and racism were condemned by the committee, as was the Zionist policy of Israel which was linked to racism. The discussion on the Palestinian right to self-determination was endorsed, though it was noted that when the Palestinian people as a whole were denied basic human rights, discussing the rights of only women was futile.[27] Various draft resolutions, including resolutions to improve education and training, address women with disabilities, provide support for women migrants and refugees, provide economic security for elderly women, and to address violence against women.[28] With modifications, the committee recommended approval of the Programme and accepted CEDAW with few reservations.[29]

The second committee, under the chair Sheila Kaul, with vice-chairs, Nermin Abadan-Unat of Turkey, María de Lourdes Castro e Silva de Vincenzi of Brazil, and Chavdar Kyuranov of Bulgaria, with Rapporteur Ali Benbouchta of Morocco,[18] discussed an agenda identical to the first committee's focal points.[30] Apartheid was rejected and the committee recommended that with its eradication, women in South Africa and bordering refugee states should be compensated with the means to reconstruct their societies in ways that created avenues for women's participation.[31] With regard to the review of the Programme, the committee noted that without change in socio-economic systems, equality for women remained elusive. It was noted that globalization led to an increasing need to pursue paths for disarmament, peace and international cooperation.[32] It was also noted that regional systems needed to be fully integrated to allow women's participation but additionally new programs organized specifically for women should be explored.[33] The situation of refugee women, their vulnerabilities to exploitation and violence and the need to protect their human rights.[34] On the question of Palestinian women, the committee recognized that material assistance would do little to stop insecurity unless Israel ended its colonization, returned land to its owners and worked toward a durable peace.[35] The committee examined several draft resolutions regarding peace initiatives, refugees, water insecurity, and adding women to census figures,[36] as well as draft resolutions on health and welfare, protecting families from defaulted support obligations, drug trafficking and forced disappearance, and integrating women into the UN system and programs.[37] With modifications, the committee recommended approval of the Programme.[38]

The planning of the 1980 Tribune, or Forum as it was called in Copenhagen,[39] was led by Edith Ballantyne, the executive secretary of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and president of the United Nations Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO). Elizabeth Palmer, a representative of the YWCA chaired the actual Forum,[40] which was hosted at the Copenhagen University Amager Campus.[41] The success of developing transnational networks of women was evident in the expansion of attendees at the NGO Tribune from 6000 participants in Mexico City to around 8000 in Copenhagen.[42] Many complained of the inadequacy of the forum facilities, including the fact that child care had not been considered.[43][44][45] The forum was split into small sessions consisting of around 200 meetings per day. Because of the lack of translators, and the fact that conferences were labeled as of concern to developed or developing nations, in-depth discussion was difficult and often barely touched the surface of issues.[39][8][45] Peggy Antrobus and Charlotte Bunch, with sponsorship from the University of the West Indies' Women and Development Department and the Asian Pacific Centre for Women and Development (APCWD), recently relocated from Tehran to Bangkok, organized an orientation video Feminist Strategies for the Decade which was shown daily.[5][46] Irene Tinker[7]

The politicization of the official conference also influenced the NGO Tribune, resulting in tensions and displays of nationalism, such as[47] Iranian women holding a news conference to celebrate their revolution by calling for the use of the hijab as a protest against colonialism and Ukrainian women protesting for independence.[48] When Nawal El Saadawi of Egypt presented a paper on female circumcision, western feminists were advised that the issue was a developing world problem and not their concern.[49] Lesbians attendees hosted five workshops, which were well attended and less controversial than at the 1975 conference.[45] Some of the prominent women attendees were Shulamit Aloni of Israel;[44] Marie Assaad of Egypt;[13] Charlotte Bunch, US lesbian activist;[50] Phyllis Chesler a US expert on refugees;[44] Betty Friedan, founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW);[51] Natalia Malakhovskaia, Soviet exile; Marie-Angélique Savané of Senegal.[13] As they had in Mexico City, the members of the Forum continued the tradition of presenting their additions to the Programme of Action at the official session. A group of women led by Domitila Barrios de Chungara were met by police and barred from entering the plenary meeting until Lucille Mair met with them and allowed the recommendations to be presented.[52]