The purpose of this module is to provide an overview of the ESC rights of women. The module
Introduction
This excerpt from the magazine Far Eastern Economic Review graphically captures the multifaceted discrimination and exploitation faced by women. Processes of political and economic transformation that have changed the face of the world over the past decades have had a profound impact on the lives of women. Many of these changes have been positive. Some, however, have strengthened the bonds of subordination and discrimination against women, restricting them from enjoyment of their economic and social rights. Internal conflicts and wars have led to displacement and destruction of property and livelihoods, which place women in an ever more vulnerable position. Military conflict also results in an increase in violence and crime, and women and girls become particular targets. Extremism and religious fundamentalism deny women’s autonomy and subject them to the most cruel and inhuman of punishments for “transgression” of norms laid out by those in power within the hierarchies that rule these movements. The rapid globalization of the world’s economies has brought in its wake not only structural adjustment programs that weaken national economies and nation-states, but also promotion of forms of industrialization and agriculture that are more exploitative of both human and natural resources. Statistics show that the female labor force is the most affected. In addition, as the poor of the world become poorer, women become the poorest of them all; the “feminization” of poverty is a reality in the contemporary world. A decrease in social spending—for example, on public health, education, transport, food and fertilizer subsidies—has been a critical part of the “structural adjustment programs” imposed on many countries by the international financial institutions. This decrease has had a disastrous impact on the quality of life of populations in general, and on disadvantaged communities, such as women, in particular. (See Module 26 for more on this issue.) The United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 1993 highlighted various areas in which women fare worse than men in accessing as well as enjoying ESC entitlements:
Understanding Gender Ideology and Its PracticeThe question of gender is normally ignored in the development of policies or programs for dealing with economic, social and cultural issues. The 1995 UNDP Human Development Report rightly stated, “For too long it was assumed that development was a process that lifts all boats . . . that it was gender neutral in its impact. Experience teaches otherwise.” [3] It is thus essential to understand gender ideology and ensure that women’s perspective is not ignored or undermined by activists working in the field of ESC rights. Differentiation based on gender (male-female) forms the core of gender ideology. Biological differences are real (e.g., chromosomes, external and internal genitalia, hormonal states and secondary sex characteristics) and lead to the determination of the male or female sex. Through gender ideology, however, these differences are extended to the social milieu and are taken for granted in establishing social position and hierarchy, providing access to resources and participation in society, and creating stereotyped roles for men and women. On the basis of sex differences, a superordinate-subordinate hierarchy is established, through which males have access to land holdings, inheritance, skills, productive employment and the associated high status. Women, on the other hand, receive poor nutrition and medical care, and inferior education; they suffer violence and are even denied life (female infanticide). Social institutions such as the family, religious groups or caste systems; political and legal structures; economic and educational institutions; and the mass media—all are permeated with norms and values that discriminate against women and legitimize and institutionalize social placements on the basis of gender.
Applying a gender perspective would change the manner in which we articulate ESC rights. The following are some examples: 1. Right to Work and Rights at Work From a gender perspective, the meaning of work would be changed to include unpaid work at home, on the family farm, and elsewhere, work that is currently not valued by society. A redefinition of work would recognize women’s productive labor and enable women to profitably engage in home-based work. Women are currently relegated to low-paid and low-skilled jobs; this needs to be rectified. A fresh perspective would help ensure that women have flexible working hours and that they are reintegrated into the labor force after time off for marriage and childbirth without penalization for absence. Rights at work would include protection from sexual harassment in the work place, trade unions and labor organizations. They would also include provision of nursing breaks for breast-feeding mothers, and establishment of crèches and day-care centers; separate toilet facilities and free access to them; provision of dayrooms for rest and recognition of menstruation-related health problems as the basis of rest breaks; and ensuring participation of women in trade unions by holding meetings at times that are convenient to women. (See Module 10 for more on the right to work and rights at work.) 2. Land Rights and Right to Property Women’s claims to land bring into question their capacity to enjoy equal rights in every sphere—civil, political, economic, social and cultural. Women’s rights to equal inheritance, to equal shares of matrimonial property, to recognition as legitimate and legal owners of land and property, who can buy, sell, lease and raise loans on the basis of that property, are denied all over the world, in a wide range of cultures and communities. (See Module 18.)
3. Right to Health
See Module 14 for more on the right to health. Women’s Rights as Human Rights Some history Women have struggled in every historical epoch and in every part of the world for equal treatment. In the early part of this century, the right of women to receive an education, to obtain paid employment, to enter professions, to vote and to stand for elections were all highly contested issues. However, by the end of the century these rights, which could be described as a part of the “liberal democratic” political agenda, have been both recognized and established through law and customary practice in most societies. However, women in many parts of the world still face multiple obstacles in enjoying these rights. Women’s ability to enjoy civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights is interlinked with the issue of discrimination. Discrimination based on gender ideology and patriarchy was not initially considered as part of the human rights agenda. Excluding sex discrimination and violence against women from the human rights agenda also results from a failure to see the oppression of women as political. Female subordination runs so deep that it is still viewed as inevitable or natural rather than as a politically constructed reality maintained by patriarchal interests, ideology, and institutions.7 For many years the women’s movement has organized women at local, national, regional and international levels. In recent decades, however, the movement has sought to use the human rights framework to mainstream women’s issues, rather than have the movement remain on the sidelines, benefiting from special programs, or continuing as a movement separate and apart from the rest of the human rights movement.
The women’s movement has used the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as an effective tool for bringing women’s issues into the rights arena. Another major strategy has been to use the opportunities presented by international meetings and UN conferences. The unprecedented mobilization of women at the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1991 led to the inclusion of women’s human rights within the Vienna Declaration. The groups and networks that became active during that process continued on to target other UN conferences—the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the 1995 World Summit on Social Development and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. Women’s human rights activism has focused on expanding existing definitions of rights to include more gender-specific sensitivity to abuse as well as to provide gender-sensitive solutions and redress. In addition, it has focused on the inter-sectionality of rights, seeking to correlate the principles enunciated in separate conventions and covenants with each other. This has most successfully been done with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (hereafter referred to as the Women’s Convention). As a part of this exercise, violence against women has been framed as a violation of the right to life; the right not to be subjected to torture or to other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right to equal protection under the law; the right to liberty and security of person; and the right to the highest standard of physical and mental health. Freedom of expression and association have been additional critical areas under which diverse issues, ranging from the denial of access to information regarding contraceptives to the forced veiling of women, have been considered. The mainstreaming of women’s rights issues within the human rights movement and agenda has involved both conceptual and programmatic challenges: Women’s rights—public and private sphere divideBecause women are defined in most human rights instruments in terms of their child-bearing and familial responsibilities, and because the family, which is a site of violence and oppression for many women, continues to be described as the primary unit of society, there are severe limitations on the possibility of according equal treatment to women within the existing human rights regime. The division between the “public” and “private” spheres constitutes the foundation for all forms of discrimination against women. In the so-called private arena, the equal treatment of women remains extremely controversial. The primacy of woman’s biological and reproductive roles in defining her identity and her role in society is reinforced by social and cultural norms the world over. Critical areas of human life such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody of children and inheritance continue to be determined according to religious, traditional and customary practices in many countries. Domestic violence, incest and marital rape are perceived as “private” matters and therefore “outside” the purview of the law. These attitudes are also articulated through many, varied legal systems and frameworks. Given this context, women’s capacity to enjoy economic and social rights is often constrained by economic dependence and social attitudes that affirm her secondary and subordinate status in society. The right to be treated on an equal basis with men when it comes to domestic and family matters is essential for women’s economic and social freedom. The Women’s Convention remains the instrument with the largest number of reservations by governments ratifying international human rights conventions. The fact that almost all of the reservations focus on the spirit of the Convention, which calls for changing unequal power relations between men and women in the private sphere, speaks to the resistance to this area of women’s rights. Since civil and political rights have dominated human rights concerns over the last five decades, the focus has been on the negative obligation of the state to refrain from action as opposed to its positive obligation to intervene. This, in turn, has strengthened the private/public dichotomy; the state was expected to refrain from interfering in the private sphere. The emphasis on constraints of state power has meant that gender inequality has been seen as falling under development policy rather than as part of the state’s affirmative human rights obligations. Understanding of the responsibility of nonstate actors has, however, been evolving in recent years, and this has and will have a bearing on this private/public sphere debate. (See Module 9 for further discussion on this point.) Women’s rights and universality The principle of universality—that human rights belong to all human beings on an equal basis (see Module 2)—is an extremely critical, and sometimes hotly contested, concept within the struggle for women’s human rights. Many customary practices, traditions and religious beliefs relegate women to a secondary status and sometimes even deny adult women their legal majority. Most women define themselves, both as individuals and as members of communities, in terms of cultural factors that are inextricably linked to the social and economic aspects of their lives. In a world where conflicts based on differences and identities are rampant, the issue of cultural rights remains one of the most controversial and divisive. This makes the consideration of cultural rights from a women’s rights perspective very problematic. The Women’s Convention reflects a clear awareness of this dilemma; in article 5(a) it calls on states parties to the Convention
While respect for diversity and for diverse forms of social and cultural expression and identity must guide adherence to human rights principles, women's rights activists argue for transformation of these practices and beliefs on the basis of recognition of the dignity and worth of women as full human beings. Women’s human rights groups, while organizing cross-culturally, remain sensitive to the needs and desires of every region of the world. This sensitivity is a challenge for human rights activists in general and those involved in ESC rights activism in particular. Articulating and advocating for ESC rights requires a process that respects diversity as well as consensus. (See Module 17 for a more in-depth discussion of cultural rights.)
Women’s rights and the indivisibility of human rights The experiences of women all over the world point to the impossibility of their enjoying their ESC rights as a result of situations where their freedom and autonomy are constrained. For example, the capacity of a woman worker to enjoy to the full her freedom to work, to receive equal pay, to organize or to be an active member in a workers’ organization is restricted by the prescription of a clearly defined role for her within the family and the community. Social expectations that she fulfill her role as wife, housewife and mother combine with cultural sanctions that impose restrictions on her mobility and on her ability to interact on equal terms with male colleagues in public spaces. Together these create a situation in which a woman worker’s capacity to become a leader in the workers’ movement is severely hampered. Thus, a focus on the indivisibility of human rights is a critical part of women’s activism.
Violence against women as a human rights violation The phenomenon of violence against women cannot be ignored if human rights are to be examined from a gender perspective. The following is a summary from the Preliminary Report by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, which provides a useful perspective on the subject.
Women’s Rights—Norms and StandardsThe principle of nondiscrimination is a cornerstone of human rights principles. Discrimination based on sex is among the forms of discrimination prohibited. This prohibition is enshrined in the Universal of Declaration of Human Rights. The commitment to nondiscrimination was clearly reiterated by the international community in common article 2 of the two International Covenants—on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The United Nations declared 1975 the International Year of the Woman, with the first World Conference on Women being held in Mexico. The year was extended to a decade, with conferences in Copenhagen (1980) and in Nairobi (1985). The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in China in 1995. The NGO Forum for the Beijing conference was attended by tens of thousands of women from all over the world. The Platform for Action of the Beijing conference identified the human rights of women as a critical area of concern. Most of the other areas have a direct bearing on economic and social rights—poverty, education and training, health, the economy, power and decision-making, the media and the environment. Women’s concerns were also centrally featured at the World Conference on Environment (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and at the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). There are at present two UN conventions that are women-specific: the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1954)12 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) (the Women’s Convention).13 In November 1999, the UN General Assembly adopted an Optional Protocol to the Women’s Convention, which will enable individual women to bring their complaints about noncompliance with the Convention to the attention of the Convention’s monitoring committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Optional Protocol will come into force when it is ratified by ten countries. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is best described as an international bill of rights for women as it sets out in detail both what is to be regarded as discrimination against women and the measures that have to be taken in order to eliminate this discrimination. Women’s rights are conceptualized as human rights and a “nondiscrimination” model is adopted, so that women’s rights are considered violated if women are denied the same rights as men. The Women’s Convention defines discrimination as: “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 or any other field.” Thus, the Women’s Convention defines discrimination against women broadly. The elements of the definition are:
The Women’s Convention is the UN treaty that most clearly brings together civil and political rights with ESC rights. In addition, since its inception, the committee (CEDAW) established under the Convention has issued a number of General Recommendations (GR) that elaborate on the articles of the Convention. Among the most critical have been: GR 12 and 19 on violence (1989 and 1992); GR 13 on equal remuneration for work of equal value (1989); GR 14 on female circumcision (1990); GR 15 on unpaid women workers in rural and urban family enterprises (1991); GR 21 on equality in marriage and family relations (1994); and a new GR on health (1999). (See the pages that follow this module for excerpts of certain GRs). Substantive equality
Standards on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women The CEDAW’s General Recommendation 19 deals entirely with the question of violence against women. The committee stated that “gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men,” and concluded that the definition of “discrimination against women” in article 1 of the Women’s Convention includes gender-based violence. Such violence may violate specific provisions of the Convention regardless of whether violence is mentioned in those specific provisions. The committee defined gender-based violence as “violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty.” A Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women was adopted in 1994 by the UN General Assembly. Based on the Declaration, the UN Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Its Causes and Consequences. The Rapporteur submits annual reports to the Commission. The economic, social and cultural causes of women’s vulnerability to violence as well as the economic and social consequences of women being exposed to violence within the family, the community and in public life form key components of the Rapporteur’s investigations.
In 1995, a new, regional convention entitled the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women came into force. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights may investigate cases brought under the Convention. A new Women’s Commission is authorized to receive complaints and resolve them in cooperation with the Inter-American Commission. Any person or group of people or NGOs from a state party to the Convention may petition the Inter-American Commission. Persons belonging to countries that have not ratified the Convention may approach the Women’s Commission for relief. ILO Conventions and Other Standards In addition, the International Labour Organization has adopted a series of conventions regarding women’s employment; subjects include maternity benefits, equal pay and equal treatment. The World Health Organization, the UN Fund for Population Activities and UN/AIDS have over the years developed a series of policy guidelines regarding women’s health that increasingly focus on issues of reproductive and sexual rights. UNESCO has several documents that focus on women’s rights to education and training. Conclusion—Challenges and Opportunities Promoting and protecting the ESC rights of women provides a unique opportunity to link with strategies for defense of civil and political rights. It also challenges many existing assumptions regarding women’s role in society and can lead to substantive changes in the unequal power relations between men and women. One strategic area of work for the promotion of women’s economic and social rights is that of building alliances between women’s rights groups and human rights groups. In addition, it is important to support linkages between women’s groups and other social movements that work in the area of economic and social justice. Trade unions, farmers’ organizations, groups working for media and cultural freedom, environmental rights groups, groups working for the rights of minority and indigenous communities should become natural allies in this work. Bringing a gender-sensitive approach to the work of these various groups, however, remains a major challenge. Developing conceptual bridges between forms of gender-based discrimination and other forms of discrimination based on differences such as race, ethnicity, language, religion, age and sexual preference would also be of strategic importance for linking not only our understanding of the issues but also our activism across sectors and across national and regional borders. Author: This module is based on a paper prepared by Sunila Abeyesekera following the Phi Phi Island workshop, which was modified to incorporate comments made by the participants at the Yogyakarta workshop. USING MODULE 4 IN A TRAINING PROGRAM NOTES
1. Lincoln Kaye, “To Bear any Burden: Asia’s Women Pay a Disproportionately High Price for the Region’s Economic Boom.” Far Eastern Economic Review 158 (1997): 42-3.
2. UNDP Human Development Report 1993, 25, quoted in International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics and Morals by Henry J. Steiner and Philip Alston, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 894.
3. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 1995 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 1. 4. Taken from Report of a Workshop on Integrating Women’s Rights in Human Rights Activism (Bangkok: Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, 1998), 8. 5. Taken from Zimbabwe: Urgent Action Alert, from Sisterhood Is Global website: www.sigi.org/Alert/zimb0699.htm
6. Taken from T.K. Sundari Ravindran, “Engendering Health,” seminar (New Delhi, 2000) (forthcoming).
7. Charlotte Bunch, “Transforming Human Rights from a Feminist Perspective,” in Women’s Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives, eds. J.S. Peters and Andrea Wolper (New York: Routledge, 1995), 11-17. 8. Katarina Tomasevski, Women and Human Rights (London: Zed Books, 1993), 1-4. 9. Narrated by Huma Khan, member of Vanangana, February 2000. 10. Windows to the World: Developing a Curriculum for Rural Women (New Delhi: NIRANTAR, 1997), 3-6.
11. Commission on Human Rights, Preliminary Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Ms. Radika Coomaraswamy, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1995/42 (1995), 20-21.
12. Convention on the Political Rights of Women, opened for signature 31 Mar. 1953, entered into force 7 July 1954, 193 UNTS 135.
13. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted 18 Dec. 1979, GA Res. 34/180, 34 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 46), UN Doc. A/34/46 (1980), 1249 UNTS 13, entered into force 3 Sept. 1981, reprinted in 19 ILM 33 (1980).
14. This section on substantive equality is taken from IWRAW Asia Pacific draft training material, 1997. 15. Adapted by Amal Abd El Hadi from “No Retreat: The Experience of an Egyptian Village” (Cairo: Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 1998). |