Transcript Slide 1

Women’s Rights
© Oxfam photo Geoff Sayar, Uganda
© Oxfam photo Rajendra Shaw, India
Women’s Rights are Human Rights
Women’s rights are
human rights. In
theory, women have
never been overtly
excluded from the
concept of human
rights.
Yet, women today earn
less than men, own
less property than
men, and have less
access to education,
employment, housing
and health care.
© Oxfam photo Annie Bungeroth, Zimbabwe
Human Rights Abuses
Women and girls’
experiences with
human rights abuse
have been virtually
ignored.
Most of the:
-casualties of war
-world’s refugees
-world’s poor
are women and
children.
 Oxfam Photo, Abbie Trayler-Smith, Yemen
Protecting Women’s Rights
© Oxfam photo Annie Bungeroth, Sri Lanka
Each of the human
rights treaties in the
next few slides, and
the whole of the
human rights
framework are
essential for the
realization of
women’s full
spectrum of rights.
-
UDHR
The Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights
stipulates that
human rights
apply to all people
equally, “without
distinction of any
kind such as race,
color, sex,
language…or any
other status”.
© Oxfam Photo- Gilvan Barrreto, Honduras
CEDAW
The Convention on the
Elimination of All Form of
Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), was
adopted by the UN in 1979.
CEDAW was the first
document to
comprehensively address
women’s rights within
political, cultural, economic,
social and family spheres.
© Oxfam photo, Howard Davies, Sri Lanka
DEVAW
The 1993
Declaration on the
Elimination of
Violence Against
Women (DEVAW)
set forth ways in
which governments
should act to
prevent violence,
and to protect and
defend women’s
rights.
© Oxfam photo Anonymous, South Africa
-
Violence Against Women
Violence against
women is rooted in a
global culture that
discriminates against
women and denies
them equal rights with
men.
Women and girls more
often face abuse from
their employers,
partners, husbands,
families and
community members.
© Oxfam Photo, Aubrey Wade, Liberia
Condoning Violence
When the state
dismisses the
majority of violence
against women as
private or domestic
matters, thereby
allowing this
violence to
continue, it sends a
clear message that
violence against
women is
condoned.
© Oxfam photo Annie Bungeroth, Zimbabwe
Discrimination
Human rights
violations
against women
are often
complicated by
further
discrimination on
the grounds of
race, ethnicity,
sexual identity,
caste, religion,
class or age.
© Oxfam photo Jane Beesley, Kenya
© Oxfam photo Annie Bungeroth, Sri Lanka
State Responsibility
States have a
responsibility when
abuses against
women are
committed.
Their obligations
under international
human rights law can
be summarized under
three categories:
respect, protect and
fulfill.
© Oxfam photo Caroline Gluck, Uganda