Global Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Women A Human Rights Perspective

A gender analysis of the human rights situation is therefore necessary in order to understand the impact of the crisis on women and their livelihoods. In South Asia, there is an urgent need for engaging, sharing, discussing these issues and formulating alternative policies, strategies and recommendations. Hence, the PWESCR (Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) in partnership with UN Women and Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) hosted a two day South Asian Regional workshop. The workshop was intended to enable experts to develop policy and advocacy tools in order to address the negative impact of the crisis from a gender and human rights perspective. The challenge before us was not only to identify gaps in the current discourse in terms of what was needed from the state as well as from other actors, and to incorporate those alternatives into the state agenda, but also to bring out the possibility of incorporating economic rights within the framework of human rights while developing a comprehensive social protection system.