1

LALA LAJPATRAI COLLEGE

TYBMM SIXTH SEMESTER

SUBJECT: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

TOPIC: CEDAW (THE CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION OF

ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

PROJECT BY:
HUDA BASAR 89205
MARISHA MEHTA 89222
AAYUSHI SHAH 89226
SHRUTI RATHOD 89230
NIKITA VIRA 78258

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF PROFESSOR AMANJEET KAUR

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 3-4

HISTORY OF CEDAW 5-6

WHY IS CEDAW IMPORTANT 7

CEDAW RIGHTS 8

HOW DOES CEDAW WORK 8-9

MEASURES TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION 9-10

ACHIEVEMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES…………………………………………………………………………………..10

AUSTRALIA AND CEDAW………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

PLIGHT OF WOMAN IN AFGHAN…………………………………………………………………………………………12-14

CASE STUDY 1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 14-15

CASE STUDY 2……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16

CASE STUDY 3……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17-18

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INTRODUCTION
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of
rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes
discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such
discrimination. The
Convention defines
discrimination against
women 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, civil or any other field."

The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through
ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life --
including the right to vote and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and
employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and
temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and
fundamental freedoms.

The Convention is the only human rights treaty, which affirms the reproductive rights of
women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and
family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and
the nationality of their children. States parties also agree to take appropriate measures
against all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of women.

Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its
provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least every
four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations.
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Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the body
of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

CEDAW Committee consists of 23 experts on women’s rights from around the world.

Countries who have become party to the treaty (States parties) are obliged to submit regular
reports to the Committee on how the rights of the Convention are implemented. During its
sessions the Committee considers each State party report and addresses its concerns and
recommendations to the State party in the form of concluding observations.

CEDAW membership
The 23 members of CEDAW, acknowledged as experts "of high moral standing and
competence in the field covered by the Convention", are elected by the States parties.
These elections have to meet the Convention's demands for equitable geographical
distribution in membership and the requirement that CEDAW members represent "different
forms of civilization as well as principal legal systems". Their terms last four years, with only
half of the Committee members replaced each time elections take place. The meeting of
States parties is convened every other year by the Secretary-General at UN Headquarters
in New York.   

Past and present members of the Committee

As of the end of 2007, a total of 110 experts have served as members of the Committee
since 1982.

Chairpersons of the Committee

The officers of the Committee consist of a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a

Rapporteur. While the length of the terms of office is laid down in the Convention, the rules
of procedure add that the officers shall be eligible for re-election "provided that the principle
of rotation is upheld.
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History of CEDAW
Equality of rights for women is a basic principle of the United Nations. The Preamble to the
Charter of the United Nations sets as one of the Organization's central goals the
reaffirmation of "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women". The International Bill of Human Rights
strengthens and extends this emphasis on the human rights of women. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights proclaims the entitlement of everyone to equality before the
law and to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of
any kind and proceeds to include sex among the
grounds of such impermissible distinction. The
International Bill of Human Rights, combined with
related human rights treaties, thus lays down a
comprehensive set of rights to which all persons,
including women, are entitled. However, the fact of
women's humanity proved insufficient to guarantee them
the enjoyment of their internationally agreed rights.
Since its establishment, the Commission on the Status
of Women (CSW) has sought to define and elaborate
the general guarantees of non-discrimination in these
instruments from a gender perspective. The work of
CSW has resulted in a number of important declarations
and conventions that protect and promote the human rights of women.

Originally established in 1946 as a sub commission of the Commission on Human Rights,

but quickly granted the status of full commission as a result of the pressure exerted by
women's activists, the mandate of the CSW included the preparation of recommendations
relating to urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights with
the object of implementing the principle that men and women should have equal rights, and
the development of proposals to give effect to such recommendations. Between 1949 and
1959, the Commission elaborated the Convention on the Political Rights of Women,
adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 1952, the Convention on the Nationality
of Married Women, adopted by the Assembly on 29 January 1957, the Convention on
Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages adopted on
7 November 1962, and the Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for
Marriage and Registration of Marriages adopted on 1 November 1965. Each of these
treaties protected and promoted the rights of women in areas in which the Commission
considered such rights to be particularly vulnerable. Although these instruments reflected
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the growing sophistication of the UN system with regard to the protection and promotion of
women's human rights, the approach they reflected was fragmentary, as they failed to deal
with discrimination against women in a comprehensive way. Thus, the General Assembly,
on 5 December 1963, adopted its resolution 1921 (XVIII), in which it requested the
Economic and Social Council to invite the CSW to prepare a draft declaration that would
combine in a single instrument international standards articulating the equal rights of men
and women. Women activists within and outside the UN system supported throughout this
process. Drafting of the declaration, by a committee selected from within the CSW, began in
1965, with the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ultimately
being adopted by the GA on 7 November 1967. Although the Declaration amounted only to
a statement of moral and political intent, without the contractual force of a treaty, its drafting
was none the less a difficult process. Article 6, concerning equality in marriage and the
family, and article 10, relating to employment, proved to be particularly controversial, as did
the question of whether the Declaration should call for the abolition of the customs and laws
perpetuating discrimination or for their modification or change.

The 1960s saw the emergence, in many parts of the world, of a new consciousness of the
patterns of discrimination against women and a rise in the number of organizations
committed to combating the effect of such discrimination. The adverse impact of some
development policies on women also became apparent. In 1972, five years after the
adoption of the Declaration and four years after the introduction of a voluntary reporting
system on the implementation of the Declaration by the Economic and Social Commission,
the CSW considered the possibility of preparing a binding treaty that would give normative
force to the provisions of the Declaration and decided to request the Secretary-General to
call upon UN Member States to transmit their views on such a proposal. The following year,
a working group was appointed to consider the elaboration of such a convention. In 1974, at
its twenty-fifth session and in the light of the report of this working group, the Commission
decided, in principle, to prepare a single, comprehensive and internationally binding
instrument to eliminate discrimination against women. This instrument was to be prepared
without prejudice to any future recommendations that might be made by the United Nations
or its specialized agencies with respect to the preparation of legal instruments to eliminate
discrimination in specific fields.

Drafting work within the Commission was encouraged by the World Plan of Action for the
Implementation of the Objectives of the International Women's Year, adopted by the World
Conference of the International Women's Year held in Mexico City in 1975, which called for
a convention on the elimination of discrimination against women, with effective procedures
for its implementation. On 3 September 1981, 30 days after the twentieth member State had
ratified it, the Convention entered into force - faster than any previous human rights
convention had done - thus bringing to a climax United Nations efforts to codify
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comprehensively international legal standards for women.

Why is CEDAW important?

 CEDAW is the sole international, legal instrument specifically designed
to promote and protect women rights in a holistic and systematic way.
 CEDAW defines the principle of substantive equality between men and
women. “Substantive equality “means real equality which is based on
the principle of equality between men and women, guaranteeing not
just equality of opportunity but real equality-equality of outcome.
 CEDAW provides a complete definition of discrimination
 CEDAW legally binds all states parties that sign and ratify or accede to
the convention to fulfill, protect and respect women human rights.
 CEDAW addresses gender inequalities in all spheres and at all levels-
within the family, community, market and state. CEDAW recognizes and
addresses violations of women human rights in the private sphere of the
home.
 CEDAW requires states parties to ensure that private organizations,
enterprises and individuals promote and protect women rights.
 CEDAW requires states parties to eliminate prejudices and customary
and all other practices that obstruct women development , that are
grounded in the idea of inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes.

 CEDAW is the most comprehensive international agreement on the basic

human rights of women and girls.
 U.S. ratification would lend weight to the treaty and the principle that human
rights of women are universal across all cultures, nations and religions and
worthy of being guaranteed through international human rights standards.
 Until the U.S. ratifies CEDAW, it can neither credibly demand that others
live up to their obligations under the treaty, nor claim that it is a leader in the
global human rights community.
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CEDAW RIGHTS

 CEDAW to work towards eradicating discrimination against women,

 CEDAW requires parties to promote actively women's full development and

advancement

 Change social and cultural patterns that reinforce the stereotyping of women
and traditional gender roles

 CEDAW requires parties to take all appropriate measures to suppress all

forms of trafficking of women and exploitation of prostitution of women

 CEDAW sets out women's right to vote

 CEDAW requires that women have the same rights as men to acquire, retain
or change their nationality and the nationality of their children

 CEDAW urges parties to ensure that women have the same opportunities as
men in all aspects of education and training

 CEDAW requires parties to eliminate discrimination in employment so as to

ensure that women have the right to work

 Ensure women have equal access to including family planning

 CEDAW expressly requires that women have equal access to family

benefits, forms of financial credit

 CEDAW requires parties to treat women and men equally in all matters
relating to the law

 CEDAW requires parties to ensure women and men have equal rights to
freely choose a spouse and enter into marriage

How does CEDAW work?

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The treaty calls for ratifying nations to overcome barriers of discrimination against women in
the areas of legal rights, education, employment, healthcare, politics and finance.  Like
other human rights treaties, CEDAW sets benchmarks within traditional enforcement
mechanisms that respect sovereignty and democracy. The treaty defines “best practices” for
ensuring basic human rights for women, but it does not itself impose any particular laws on
governments. The treaty has proven to be a valuable tool for governments wanting to
improve their own laws by broadening the basic rights of women. The treaty calls for
governments to remove barriers to substantive equality.  This requires countries to examine
the actual conditions of life for women and girls and to report on structures and customs that
discriminate against them and on actions taken to eliminate those barriers.  Many of the 185
countries that have ratified the treaty have used it for guiding the passage and enforcement
of national laws. Examples:

 Uganda, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and others have incorporated treaty
provisions in their constitutions and domestic legal codes.
 Ukraine, Nepal, Thailand and the Philippines passed new laws to curb sexual
trafficking.
 India developed national guidelines on workplace sexual assault after the Supreme
Court, in ruling on a major rape case, found that CEDAW required such protections.
 Nicaragua, Jordan, Egypt and Guinea all saw significant increases in literacy rates
after improving access to education for girls and women.
 Colombia made domestic violence a crime and required legal protection for its
victims after ratification.

Measures to eliminate discrimination

The States Parties to CEDAW Convention committed themselves to
condemn and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. As
stated in articles 2-5, the States Parties shall take all appropriate measures
in all areas of life (political, social, economic, cultural, etc.) to ensure the
advancement of women in order to guarantee them full enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms on the basis of gender equality.
The means that shall be used to achieve these goals and to eliminate
discrimination against women include the following measures:

·      Introducing new laws,

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·      Establishing tribunals and other public institutions to protect women against
discrimination,

·      Modifying or abolishing existing laws, customs and practices that are
discriminating against women;

·      Introducing sanctions where appropriate to provide women with effective

protection against discrimination by any person, organization and enterprise.

·      Introducing temporary special measures (art. 4) that shall not be

considered discrimination if adopted in order to accelerate “de facto equality
between men and women”. These special measures shall in no way lead to
maintaining “unequal or separate standards” and “shall be discontinued when
the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.”

By accepting the Convention the State Parties also committed themselves to taking all
appropriate measures to modify social and cultural patterns of social gender roles in order
to eliminate prejudices and all kinds of practices based “on the idea of the inferiority or the
superiority of either of the sexes or on the stereotyped roles of men and women.”

The CEDAW Convention permits the States to “enter a reservation” at the time of ratification
or accession if the reservation is not incompatible with the object and the purpose of the
treaty. This means that States can declare that certain provisions of the treaty will not bind
them. The information on the reservations entered by the States Parties are available at UN
Treaty Collection website.

What CEDAW Has Helped Achieve In Other Countries?

 Reducing the sexual enslavement and trafficking of women and girls.
 Securing basic legal recourse to women and girls against violence and
abuses of their human rights.
 Freeing access to primary education and health care where it had previously
been denied.
 Saving lives during pregnancy and childbirth.
 Acknowledging the basic right to own and inherit property, including
helping to secure essential development loans to poor women.
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Australia's signing of CEDAW 

Australia's decision to sign and later ratify CEDAW was a long process, surrounded by much debate.

Opposition to CEDAW
Many Australians feared CEDAW and the effect that it would have on Australian society. Some groups and
individuals organized rallies and wrote letters to Members of Parliament, hoping to influence Australia not to
sign. Several parliamentarians also went on to voice their opposition to CEDAW in Parliament and worked
to prevent Australia signing the treaty.

Opponents argued that CEDAW would force women out of their homes and into the workforce and cause a
breakdown of family life. In addition, the fact that the former Soviet Union bloc participated in the UN led
some people to believe that Australia signing CEDAW would give the bloc countries the power to dictate
standards to Australia.

Support for CEDAW

Many Australians and women's organizations, in particular, strongly supported CEDAW. This support was
demonstrated at a national level and also in local branches. These groups included the Federation of
Business and Professional Women, the Young Women's Christian Association and Zonta International.
Many other non-government organizations (NGOs) also supported the Convention through the National
Council of Women, a voluntary coordinating body that at the time had 583 affiliated organizations,
representing over a million members.

Supporters worked to secure political support for CEDAW. For example, the Women's Electoral Lobby sent
letters and had meetings, asking politicians and political candidates to support the Convention. Seminars
were held and pamphlets distributed to publicize CEDAW and inform women, allowing them to see how
CEDAW could address many issues relevant to their lives.

Signing of CEDAW
Despite some opposition, Australia signed CEDAW at a special signing ceremony at the UN World
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Conference for the Decade of Women. Australia was one of the 23 countries that helped prepare the
ceremony and sent a strong delegation of experts led by The Hon Robert (Bob) Ellicott (the then Minister
for Home Affairs). Australia's signing of CEDAW, showed its commitment, in principle, to the rights the
treaty enshrines. Australia deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations Secretary-General
on 28 July 1983, and it entered into force for Australia a month later.

The vast majority of Afghanistan's population professes to be followers of Islam. Over 1400
years ago, Islam demanded that men and women be equal before God, and gave them various
rights such the right to inheritance, the right to vote, the right to work, and even choose their
own partners in marriage. For centuries now in Afghanistan, women have been denied these
rights either by official government decree or by their own husbands, fathers, and brothers.
During the rule of the Taliban (1996 - 2001), women were treated worse than in any other time
or by any other society. They were forbidden to work, leave the house without a male escort,
not allowed to seek medical help from a male doctor, and forced to cover themselves from head
to toe, even covering their eyes. Women, who were doctors and teachers before, suddenly were
forced to be beggars and even prostitutes in order to feed their families.

Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, many would agree that the
political and cultural position of Afghan women has improved
substantially. The recently adopted Afghan constitution states that
"the citizens of Afghanistan - whether man or woman- have equal
rights and duties before the law". So far, women have been allowed
to return back to work, the government no longer forces them to
wear the all covering burqa, and they even have been appointed to
prominent positions in the government. Despite all these changes
many challenges still remain. The repression of women is still
prevalent in rural areas where many families still restrict their own mothers, daughters, wives
and sisters from participation in public life. They are still forced into marriages and denied a
basic education. Numerous schools for girls have been burned down and little girls have even
been poisoned to death for daring to go to school.

Fact Box

 Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies during childbirth

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 87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate

 Only 30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan
 1 in every 3 Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual
violence
 44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan
 70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan

Afghan Bill Aims To Criminalize

Discrimination against Women
Although according to the map provided in wikipedia.org Afghanistan comes in the category of
those countries that has signed and ratified CEDAW. But unfortunately the government of
Afghanistan has not given its report yet.

In Afghanistan, anyone who bars a woman from attending school, going to work, or visiting a
doctor could soon face prison time.

The bill criminalizes discrimination against women and envisages various punishments -- from
financial fines to prison terms -- for those found guilty of violating women's rights.

The overall situation of women and girls in Afghanistan has improved significantly since the
collapse of the Taliban. Under the Taliban’s hard-line rule, the most basic rights of women were
severely restricted, but millions have now returned to work and millions of girls have returned to
school.

Fateh Muhammad, a former mujahedin turned farmer in northern Balkh Province, told "Only a
couple of years ago, it was beyond our imagination to accept a woman as a politician, for
instance, but now we go and vote for a female candidate and it’s completely normal,"
Muhammad said.

In force for Afghanistan on 4 April 2003

The Secretary-General acknowledged receiving Afghanistan’s papers of accession and CEDAW is
now legally in force in Afghanistan.

CEDAW outlines important aspects of the rights of women. These include:

• Voting, being elected to political office

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• Participating in public life

• Equal access to quality education (Articles 10a & 10b)

• Proper nutrition and healthcare including reproductive rights

• Equal employment opportunities and fair pay

Habiba Sarobi: First Ever- Female Provincial

Governor
On March 3, 2005, President Hamid Karzai appointed Afghanistan's first ever-female provincial
governor. Governor Habiba Sorabi. Habiba Sarobi previously served as Minister for Women’s
Affairs. Her appointment is part of a national initiative to promote women to positions of power.

CASE STUDY -1

Afghanistan / Violence against Women and Girls

"The case of Bibi Aisha, who was mutilated by her husband, is a typical of abuse
against Afghan women, says the United Nations." (Time/Getty)

Afghan Women Still Suffer Horrendous Abuse, Says United Nations Report
By Jon Boone
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The Guardian, December 9, 2010

"Bibi Aisha, the Afghan girl whose nose and ears were cut off by her husband, was a 'lucky
victim' because she survived her attack and got help, a top human rights official in the
country said yesterday. While Aisha escaped her abusive family, the deputy chairman of the
country's Independent Human Rights Commission said that many women in similar
circumstances were less lucky. 'For sure, we have hundreds of Bibi Aishas in Afghanistan,'
said Ahmad Fahim Hakim. His remarks came after the news that one of the men
responsible for attacking Aisha had been arrested, a development hailed by human rights
workers as a sign the Afghan authorities are starting to take deep-rooted abuse of women
seriously. Hakim was speaking during the publication of a major UN report that showed that,
despite improvements in women's rights -- long touted as a major goal of the US-led
intervention in Afghanistan -- the country is still blighted by forced marriages, the giving
away of infant girls to future husbands to settle disputes, honor killings and desperate
women resorting to death by self-immolation.
The report by the UN's Afghanistan mission said that such practices are problem in all
communities and cause 'suffering, humiliation and marginalization for millions of Afghan
women and girls.' Despite recent efforts to toughen laws designed to protect women, the
government does little to combat abuses. For example, the law on elimination of violence
against women, which was regarded by rights activists as a major step forward when it
came into effect in August last year, is not being enforced in many rural areas, where
officials have not even heard of it, the report said. One long-observed tradition covered by
the report is the concept of baad, where a young girl will be given in marriage to settle
disputes between families. 'Many of the women told us that, instead of the murderer being
punished, an innocent girl is punished and has to spend her life in slavery and subject to
cruel violence,' said Georgette Gagnon, the UN's director of human rights in Kabul. The
head of Afghanistan's only specialist burns unit is quoted saying that forced marriages are
the main cause of women who try to kill themselves by setting themselves on fire. According
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to figures quoted in the report, in 57% of Afghan marriages one of the partners is younger
than 16."

CASE STUDY-2

A 16 years old woman, resident of Dashet-e-Qala district.

Womankind Worldwide says millions of Afghan women and girls continue to face systematic discrimination and violence
in their households and communities. Guarantees given to Afghan women after the fall of the Taleban in 2001 have not
translated into real change.
BBC NEWS, Oct. 31, 2006

This woman introduced herself Mahsoma, claims that she has been raped by three of her brother-in-laws. She had come to
Directorate of Women in Takhar to get divorce from her husband, claimed that her husband has borrowed money from them,
which is why he didn't show any reaction against this heinous action.

A number of little girls become the victim of aggressors, due to poverty, destitution and lack of strength against them. One of
these girls is Gul Dasta, 15, resident of Baharak district in Takhar province. She has claims that a landlord’s son has raped her.

The ordeal of Gul Dasta goes thus: "When my mother was out of home to collect burning wood, and so my other family
members, I wanted to graze sheep in pastures, when a 20-year-old son of the landlord shut my mouth threatening me with death
took me to the near cotton field and raped me."

Recently Gul Dasta has complained to provincial assembly in Taloqan city, demanding the punishment of this rapist guy.
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CASE STUDY-3
Violence against women on the rise in north of Afghanistan
"80% of women are victims of violence, abuse against women has become a tradition"

Gulbar is Burnt by Her Husband in Badghis province

RAWA report, Jan 26, 2006

Sexual abuse, murder and other crimes of different types are increasing in the Northern
provinces of Afghanistan and this situation has provoked the intense concerns of human
rights and women affairs' activists.

Human rights institutions are saying that during this year tens of cases of violence against
women and girls, including rape and murder, have been committed in the province of
Jowzjan, Faryab, Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar and Balkh.
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These institutions and some women, who have been victims of the committed violence, are
claiming that those who commit such crimes have power, therefore they are not arrested
and if they are arrested, after paying money, they are set free.

Maliha 22, a woman from Jowzjan, who is victim of rape, in a video interview that has been
recently provided by AHRO to in Kabul and then given to Pazhwak News Agency, acclaims
that five men have raped her.

Maliha says: "In Pakistan my husband got money from other men and they used to have
sexual intercourse with me. I argued with him, he beat me so I was compelled to come to
Kabul and hand over myself to police. A policeman, Mateen, took me to his house and
raped me. Maliha claims that in the next night, the policeman, along with other four men,
gang raped her leaving her unconscious.

She adds that when her parents took her away from Kabul to Jowzjan, she informed them
about this issue, they told her that the rapists have money and power and no one can stand
them.

Miss Maghfirat Sameemi, regional officer of Human Rights Organization in the provinces of
Jowzjan, Faryab and Sar-e-Pul, condemns these rapes; called the situation very concerning
and told to PNA that recently a man has raped 6 years old, Mubina, in the Khan Charbagh
district of Faryab Province.

Ms Sameemi claimed that district chief of Khan Charbagh has taken US$100,000 bribe from
the rapist and released him.

She adds that 6 case of rape, 3 case of murder, 16 cancellation of girls' engagement, 47
case of beating of women, 3 case of raping boys; have been registered with their office.
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WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM

WWW.CEDAW2010.ORG

WWW.UN.ORG