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Human Rights of Women (From Sandesh.org)
Second class: The legal status of Iranian women (2000)
In many ways, the Iranian revolution has brought to the fore the discrepancy between reality and mental perceptions. But in no other respect has the inconsistency been more apparent than in the private and social lives of women. Soon after the revolution, Iranian women came to discover the gap between the reality before them and the expectations that had prompted them to take an active role in the course of the revolution. They also realized the challenge that this gap was to pose before them. It is because of the impact of the events resulting from this historical challenge that many believe that the revolution has given birth to a kind of paradox in the life of the Iranian women.
1998: A wonderful year for women's human rights? (1998)
This paper looks at some aspects of the UN's human rights standards and machinery and how they might become more relevant to the human rights of women at both the national and the international levels. Amnesty International promotes awareness of and adherence to all the rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other internationally recognized human rights instruments, the values enshrined in them, and the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights and freedoms.
Connecting the global and the local: Women’s human rights movements and the critique of globalization
In this interview by WHRNet, Josefa Francisco talks about WAGI’s work, the importance of international women’s human rights advocacy in national/local struggles, and the need for strong linkages between global and national/local struggles. She explains why feminists in the South should counter neo-liberalist globalization, discusses some problems with the women’s movement at global and national/local levels, gives a critique of the Northern rights language discourse, and offers advice to younger feminists.
Bringing equality home
From the Foreword: "This booklet does not attempt to provide an exhaustive listing of all of the work that has been done with CEDAW to date, and many of the initiatives it describes are still very much in progress. What it provides is a collection of 'snapshots' of a dynamic process currently taking place around the world as societies explore ways of using the Convention to bring concrete improvements to women's daily lives."
State Policies and Women’s Autonomy in China, The Republic of Korea, and India 1950-2000: Lessons From Contrasting Experiences
We compare changes in gender roles and women’s empowerment in China, the Republic of Korea, and India. Around 1950, when all these countries had new governments following revolution or the end of colonial rule, they were largely poor and agrarian, with many cultural commonalities which placed similar severe constraints on women’s autonomy. They adopted very different paths of development, which are known to have profoundly affected development outcomes in these countries. However, these choices have also had tremendous impact on gender outcomes, and today these countries show striking differences in the extent of gender equity achieved: China has achieved the most, and the Republic of Korea the least. We conclude that: (a) States can exert enormous influence over gender equity. They can mitigate cultural influences on women’s autonomy (as in China and India), or slow down the pace of change in gender equity despite rapid integration of women in education, formal employment and urbanization (as in the Republic of Korea). (b) The impact of policies to provide opportunities for women’s empowerment can be greatly enhanced if accompanied by communication efforts to alter cultural values which place heavy constraints to women’s accessing these opportunities.
Engendering development: Through gender equality in rights, resources and voice.
Gender discrimination remains pervasive in many dimensions of life—worldwide. This is so despite considerable advances in gender equality in recent decades. The nature and extent of the discrimination vary considerably across countries and regions. But the patterns are striking. In no region of the developing world are women equal to men in legal, social, and economic rights. Gender gaps are widespread in access to and control of resources, in economic opportunities, in power, and political voice. Women and girls bear the largest and most direct costs of these inequalities—but the costs cut more broadly across society, ultimately harming everyone. Gender equality is a core development issue—a development objective in its own right.
Fact sheet: advancing women's human rights
The concept of empowerment for women saves their lives not only physically but in a qualitative sense. Advancing women's human rights gives them options beyond childbearing and the autonomy to make those choices free of coercion. This enriches the women's families and communities as well.
Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States
This is the result of the first investigation ever conducted to compare and contrast the status of women across the broad expanse of the former Soviet Union. The final report details the status of women’s rights in twenty-nine countries, examining aspects such as the legal framework and national machinery addressing discrimination against women; educational opportunities; women’s participation in public life, politics, media, the business sector, academia and civil society; violence against women, including sexual violence; women’s de facto exploitation by way of prostitution and trafficking in women; the situation of women within distinctive and vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, sexual minorities and prisoners or the situation of women and armed conflict and as refugees.
The human rights of women
This is a reference guide to official United Nations documents on the human rights of women.
Background paper on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia
This is a UNIFEM background paper integrating gender into the Third World Conference against Racism, Racila Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
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