Cedaw Women's Rights

In the article “Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equality’’ i read about how Women’s rights are the fundamental human rights that were enshrined by the United Nations for every human being on the planet nearly 70 years ago. These rights include to live free from violence, slavery, and discrimination; to be educated ; to vote and to earn a fair and equal wage. A famous saying goes “Women’s rights are human rights” meaning, women all around the world are entitled to all of these rights, but yet there are women and girls who are still denied these rights, often simply because of their gender. Winning these rights for women isn’t all, it’s also about changing how countries and communities works and their perspectives on gender equality. Global Fund for Women exists to support the tireless and courageous efforts of women’s groups who work every day to win rights for women and girls. These groups are working to ensure women can own property, vote, run for office, get paid fair wages, and live free from violence – including domestic violence, sexual assault. The Global Fund for Women also stand for other rights that are vital for women’s equality. They stand for a woman’s right to decide if and when she has children, and to have high-quality health

Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Gender-based violence and economic discrimination are problems in many parts of the world.

Women. This word creates an image- an image of a mother, a sister, a daughter. Women are of the basics part of life, they are essential not only to society, but to the human species. Therefore, women should be treated with equal importance and given the same rights regardless of gender. Society has come a long way since 1920 and giving women the right to vote. However, there a parts of the world where women are treated unequally in respect of men and are fighting for that equality- a basic human right. Women especially in the developing world struggle with unjust inequalities. Common abuses that claim women are sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality. Reportage and storytelling of these horrible abuses are combined in the nonfiction book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, where Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue that the oppression of women is the worst current global issue that calls for change.

In the world today, women have a say in what they want to do and things that they desire to do. Back in the day, before the 1800’s, women had to be submissive to their male counterparts and do according to what was required of them. In the end, this led to the demeaning of the woman and the concept that women were inferior to men. Even though this concept and perception changed, there have been some countries and regions of the world that have not yet recognized the equality that women deserve. Such areas do not allow women to vote, attend school, have a say in the community, and the women are at the mercy of their husbands, fathers or male superiors (Hartmann, Susan M).

Gender discrimination and violence against women were not part of the Human Rights Agenda until the 1990s when feminists began to push for this change (p84/book). One of the slogans of their campaign was that “Women’s Rights

granted the permission to vote but with Jim Crow still in effect in most states, black women didn’t vote because of being intimidate by whites. Other notable women such as Rosa Parks, was known as a black woman who wouldn’t give up her seat while traveling on a city bus. During that time, blacks were allowed to ride buses but only sitting in the back of the bus. Rosa Parks sat in the front and was arrested for breaking the law.

In Pakistan only 25% of women are in the workforce while 86% of men are, not only are there less women in the workforce, but they also earn less since the male to female income ratio is 18%. That means that for every dollar a man makes a woman would only make 18 cents. The United States only has a income ratio of 80%, but there should not be a gap at all (Hess, 2014). The work is equal but women’s pay is less than men’s. According to the World Economic Forum as of 2016 the United States was 45th in the Global Gender Gap Index.

The 150th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Rights movement was celebrated in 1998, today women benefit from the tremendous positive changes brought about by this movement. These women empowered one another in promoting social change. The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) (1999) stated

Since the late 19th century, women have been struggling with the issue of not receiving the same amount of pay as men. The gender wage gap was not seen as a major issue until the 1960s, however, and unfortunately, it is still a major issue in our world today. (cite source). In the early 1900’s, World War I caused many men to leave their families behind to fight for their country. As a result of this, women had to take the responsibility of the male roles in the workforce. Women were expected to do the same jobs as men did before they were deployed, but were paid less to do so (cite source). This problem still exists in our world today. In 2011, it was proven that the weekly earnings for a female full-time worker is $684, compared

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World by Joni Seager discusses the inequality around the globe with a focus on women with an objection to raise awareness to the public. Eager states “As we enter the 21st century, we need public and civic leaders who will build on these feminist foundations to make unflinching real- not rhetorical- commitments to social justice for women” (Seager 9-10). Seager presents an intriguing idea stating that “leaders” in office must understand the full extent of how serious this issue is; if not, human rights will not be altered. Several women today are not being treated equally. They are harassed and bullied with harsh mental and physical abuse.

According to The National Organization for Women, women only make 77 cents per dollar a man makes, this can cause women to stay in unhealthy and abusive relationships because they are financially depended on their spouse or boyfriend. There is a 9.4% pay gap between men and women, this causes many women to feel angry and that there is a social injustice that they want to change. Women do the same work as men and only earn 77 per dollar simply because she is a woman. This results in women making thousands of dollars less than a

“Without doubt, the last century has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of women’s rights, in one of the most profound social revolutions the world has ever seen. One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today, that right is virtually universal. Millions of men and women around the world today advocate to end violence against women, and a record two-thirds of countries have passed laws against it.” – Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Executive Director

Many women suffer around the world and have trouble gaining equal rights. Countries such as: Iran (where women have to cover their face and legs), Saudi Arabia (where women can not be in public without their face covered), and France (where you can not cover your face in public), have strict rules about what clothing women can wear (Bruce-Lockhart) (Kim). Women have been suffering and fighting for rights around the world for centuries. Some of the many major issues that they fought for or are still fighting for now are the right to vote, the political and economical power the women are limited to, and the right to and education.

All around the world women are crying out, claiming "that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate form human rights," (Hillary Clinton -- Tumulty, 1997). The abuses females endure are found everywhere in places like Senegal, Bangladesh, and Berjing, China. Abortion, denial of political rights, and suppression of speech (Tumulty) are forces upon women daily. But feminism has taken a strong hold of the women around the world, giving them hope for equal rights in the future. "Our community could see we were a society of strong willed women," prides Faustima Nunez, a resident of Chica, "and we are no

Although they have been given more rights and equality, women still lack fairness in areas such as education, domestic abuse, crime, and lower class value. Cassandra Clifford states in her article “Are Girls still marginalized? Discrimination and Gender Inequality in Today’s Society”, “Woman and girls are abused by their husbands and fathers, young girls are exploited by sex tourism and trafficking, girls in many countries are forced into arranged marriages at early ages. Twice as many women are illiterate as men, due to the large gap in education, and girls are still less likely to get jobs and excel in the work place than boys.” She describes some of the issues that women face today around the world. These issues are what keep society from coming together to form a better world.