Article 1 of
the CEDAW defines discrimination against women as follows:
Any
distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the
effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or
exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality
of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), human
rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1979
that defines discrimination against women and commits signatory countries to
take steps toward ending it.
The
convention, which is also known as the International Bill of Rights for Women,
consists of 30 articles and includes an optional protocol (OP). Human rights
agreements often include OPs to provide an alternative mechanism to hold
governments accountable or to further elaborate on any substantive topic within
the treaty itself.
The rights
listed in the Convention for Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) cover many aspects of women’s lives and relate to political
participation, health, education, employment, housing, marriage, family
relations, and equality before the law.
Under
CEDAW, governments are also responsible for ensuring that individual citizens
and private organisations do not discriminate against women.
The CEDAW requires
both substantive and formal equality, non-discrimination, and empowerment of
women, therefore recognizes that formal equality alone is insufficient for a
state to meet its obligation and requires measures to address both direct and
indirect discrimination to achieve substantive equality between men and women.
CEDAW
provides for the right to education of females, protect the reproductive right, sex
trafficking and exploitation; political and civil rights, such as the right to
vote; health, employment, and marriage; and specific issues affecting rural
women, such as access to agricultural credit and loans.
The
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee)
is the international body charged with monitoring the implementation of the
legal obligations of the 189 States parties under the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW).
The CEDAW
Committee monitors the progress made by the countries, which have ratified or
acceded to the convention, in implementing CEDAW.
The CEDAW
Committee is made up of 23 independent elected members (elected by countries
who have signed CEDAW) who serve in their personal capacity as ‘gender
experts.’
The CEDAW
Committee meets three times a year to address specific topics related to CEDAW
and to monitor and report on the progress of individual countries that have
signed CEDAW.
Countries
that have signed CEDAW are required to submit reports to the CEDAW Committee at
least every four years.
Thus it can
be concluded that CEDAW is the convention that enables feminist jurisprudence
in the 189 countries that signed the convention. There is a CEDAW committee that monitors the implementation of measures taken to enforce the CEDAW provisions.
This convention not only provides for the discrimination of women but also heinous
crimes against women, such as trafficking, sexual violence, etc.
References:
1) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
2) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
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