3-07-09, 12:15 pm
Across the world, large majorities of people agree that women should have equal rights and that their governments and international institutions like the United Nations have a role to play in promoting gender equality, a new poll by has found.
The survey of 22 countries took public opinion samples from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, including countries where Islam is the predominant religion.
For example, 98 percent of respondents to the survey in Mexico agreed that gender equality was 'very' or 'somewhat' important. In addition 97 percent of those in France, 91 percent in Turkey, 78 percent in Iran, 90 percent in Kenya, 95 percent in China, and 60 percent in India shared a similar opinion.
On average, across all nations, 84 percent of men as well as 89 percent of women said equality is important, the survey found.
The status of gender equality has generally improved, respondents in most of the countries in the survey stated. Only in Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and Nigeria did a majority of people suggest that the status of women had not changed or had worsened over the course of their lifetimes.
A majority of respondents also agreed that governments have a role to play in preventing discrimination against women. More than eight in 10 people in the US shared this view, while 72 percent of Russians, 76 percent of Egyptians, and 88 percent of South Koreans agreed.
Respondents were split, however, on whether their governments were already doing enough to prevent discrimination. Just over half of people in Argentina said their government should do more to ensure equality, while 19 percent said it is already doing enough, and about one in four said that it should not be involved in the issue at all. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, which has the largest population of Muslims in the world, 69 percent stated that their government should do more to ensure equality, 21 percent said it is doing enough, and just six percent said their government should stay away from the issue.
According to the survey, women were slightly more likely than men to say that their government should make an effort to prevent discrimination (83 percent to 78 percent). Women were far more likely than men to say, however, that their government should do more than it is doing now to prevent discrimination against women (58 percent to 48 percent).
Majorities in all of the countries except India and Egypt also agreed that the United Nations must play a role in promoting the rights of women. In those two countries, a majority described this role as 'improper interference.' Almost six in 10 people in the US agree that the UN should promote equal rights. On average, 66 percent of all people approved of UN efforts to further the rights of women, while 26 percent said this would be improper interference.
