Undercurrents

4Leveling the FieldActivism through the Lens of Equity

Without women's equal access to positions of decision‐making power and a clear process to get there, gender equality, global security, and peace will never be realized.

—Winnie Byanyima, executive director, UNAIDS

I OFTEN WONDER why we see billion‐dollar commitments to work on eradicating polio, HIV, and intermittent epidemic outbreaks, but nothing comparable for targeting a preventable disease that reliably kills hundreds of thousands of women every single year. We already have the medicines, tools, and protocols to prevent, screen for, and treat this disease. Yet we will allow legions of poor and middle‐aged women to die a painful, drawn‐out death from cervical cancer this year. It's outrageous.

At least part of the reason is their status. In many communities, women and girls are not allowed to own property, retain employment, or receive government services. By custom, they often are the last to eat dinner, the last to be educated, and the last to be paid for their work. They are almost always the last in line for healthcare.

Gender inequity is deeply embedded in modern life at every level, whether in the rich world or the poor. In global health initiatives, gender bias appears frequently, as many women's issues—including cervical cancer—have not received the attention they deserve. Around the world, women and girls suffer and die disproportionately through female infanticide, genital cutting, early and forced marriage, ...