The City of Women: Empowering and Safeguarding Women's Rights in Urban Spaces

1. Round table – 21st July 2014 Points of view that will change the world Living together children’s cities XXX Rencontre Internationale Des Educateurs Freinet – RIDEF Pilar Fontevedra FIMEM President

2. The City of women and girls Introduction In order to talk about the city of women, I'd begin with Christine de Pizan, from Venice, and her book, written in 1405, “The Book of the City of Ladies”. Through this book she asserts that women's nature is as suited as men's to carry out many different tasks, the intellectual ones included, peculiar to a public situation. Christine de Pizanbuilds her City on Reason, Honesty and Justice, making an environment of relationships based upon rights, that's a citizenship space.

3. City and Citizenship The starting point of citizenship begins in cities, where nevertheless can also be found models of gender inequality and of sharp separation between public and private, linked to male and female respectively. Moreover, this one-sided planning of space makes uneasy to reach the city advantages and most of all women have to pay for lack of parks , gardens, infrastructures or absence of security. On the contrary, in planning cities according to a gender approach, we see that not only women's needs are fulfilled, but also other citizens' (children, elderly or disabled people), because the plan and the governance of the city are consistent with sustainability and security goals. Life quality for each male and female citizen comes from benchmarks consistent with economical requirements as well with social ones.

4. The city as social area Space is the exact mirror of society's values, its social classes, the idea of family and of male and female roles played in that society. Modern cities are shaping children's minds: boys and girls learn how to move in a city looking at their elders. They both will reach full citizenship when women's tasks in society are fully acknowledged and that's something to be seen in public areas, how much women mean to the city. When female shapes can't be seen in a town, that town is built by men and meant for them.

5. Violence against women and girls Whether walking in a town or travelling by public transport, going to school or selling goods at the market, women and girls are at risk of sexual harassment or violence. As these facts threaten the women everyday, they have far less chances to get education and work, to take part in political life or, simply, to enjoy their neighbourhood. "In no city or country of the world women and girls are safe from violence. No leader can declare “Nothing like this is happening in my backyard”. Michelle Bachelet, Chile President, former UN executive director for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality.

6. Appropriation de l'espace Les rues, les parcs, et, en général, tous les lieux publiques sont utilisés surtout par les hommes et représentent la vision masculine de l'activité commerciale, sportive ou récréative, en éloignant ainsi les femmes de ces lieux. L'appropriation de cet espace publique perpétue le vieux rôle de la femme, reléguée dans l'univers familiale de la maison. Même dans les cours de récré on a montré une utilisation différente de l'espace: les garçons s'approprient le centre de la cour et relèguent les filles et les enfants qui font des jeux "féminins" dans la périphérie. La distribution de l'espace dans les maisons renforce la séparation des rôles et des travaux qui viennent de la division sexuelle et sociale entre les genres. Virginia Wolf affirme la nécessite pour les femmes de disposer d'un propre espace, d'une "chambre" à soi.

7. Conclusions La manière de construire les villes n'est pas neutre. Si dans le projet on ne tient pas compte de toutes les nécessites de l’être humain et on attribue de la valeur seulement aux demandes du travail productif l'espace urbain ne pourra pas être pour toutes et pour tous. La participation de la population aux faits de la ville en plus de montrer ses nécessités, implique la coresponsabilité dans l'attention au milieu urbain qu'on habite et augmente le sentiment d’appartenance au lieu. Une ville sûre pour toute la population, soutenable, qui respecte la nature, planifiée à la mesure de tous les gens qui y habitent, y inclus les femmes et les filles, doit être considérée un droit humain impératif.