A/HRC/7/36 page 13 74. He declared that there still existed an old racial ideology with regard to social relations, which valued friendship among peoples of every racial origin, but froze the social position of individuals with different physical traits in terms of facial features and skin colour. Racial prejudice and discrimination in Brazil was not manifested in the same manner as it did in North America or South Africa. He underlined the fact that, instead of being open, violence manifested itself subtly, embedded in a normalization of racial asymmetry, which manifested in differences in opportunities and exposure to adverse social conditions. The most important actions of the Brazilian State in the field of racial equality were in the realm of education. At the primary and secondary education levels, there was a slight reduction in racial inequality, with an increase in the number of children attending classes. 75. A comment was made that the Millennium Development Goals had to be achieved for people of African descent as well as for Africans. This comment stressed that the African Union had acknowledged the worrying situation of people of African descent and stressed that it was time that people of African descent were recognized as having equal status and that that, in turn, would reflect positively on the status of Africans. 76. Mention was also made of post-Durban progress worldwide, with examples of several European Union countries actively working towards achieving the Millennium Goals for people of African descent. Furthermore, it was stated that resources needed to be made available to organizations of people of African descent as there was a need for more participation by victims of racism in the Durban review process. 77. The importance of the availability of disaggregated data to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals was also mentioned, with a focus on data and goals specific to peoples of African descent; for example, the rate of mortality of people of African descent in comparison with that of other racial groups. Different parameters could be set to measure the racial-specific problems of people of African descent. Item 5 (a) (viii): Empowerment of women of African descent 78. Ambassador Kasanda, the Chairperson-Rapporteur, made introductory remarks on the empowerment of women of African descent, stressing the fact that women of African descent faced additional burdens and difficulties in their lives. They suffered from racism but also from gender discrimination. For an Afro-descendant woman, disempowerment meant systematic discrimination at every level of her life. At birth, parents often preferred boys to girls, which led to the abortion of girl children. More girls dropped out of school than boys. As adolescents, girls suffered abuse, exploitation and violence, or they suffered genital mutilation because of beliefs and customs entrenched in society. They also faced early marriage and premature parenthood. 79. He further stressed that education freed people from ignorance. That was why investment had to be made in the education of women. Education enhanced the range of life choices available to women. Under international law, for example, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, States parties had an obligation to ensure that women realized their human right to participate in the political arena and their right to be fully involved in decision-making on the basis of equality with men. Gender equality had to be made a reality.