Redrawing the Map: The World After the Beijing and Cairo Conferences

This article analyzes how the achievements of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing go beyond those of any other recent international conference. The article begins by describing the goals and purposes of the Beijing Conference. The article then discusses the conference's reaffirmation of the Program of Action from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, which was centered on women's reproductive health and rights. The article then compares and contrasts the processes and outcomes of both the Beijing Conference and the Cairo Conference. The article concludes with a discussion of what was achieved in the Beijing Platform for Action and what it means for women around the world.