The Fight For Women Rights is Everyone’s Fight
One of the most significant challenges facing the world today is the fight for women rights. Not only do women and girls deserve equal access to education, health care and jobs, but they also need equal political voice and representation in order to fully participate in society and become the economic engines they are capable of being. The truth is that no country, rich or poor, can achieve true economic prosperity without empowering all women and ensuring that they have full equality of rights with men.
Women’s rights are a human right, but they are also a precondition for sustainable development and peace. Women’s equal participation in the economy and politics boosts economic growth, increases access to health services and education, and promotes stability by bringing balance to power. In short, the fight for women’s rights is everyone’s fight.
Only when all women have access to their full range of rights — from land ownership and equal pay to freedom from violence and legal representation — can they realise their potential as individuals and as members of a thriving, peaceful and equitable world.
In the last quarter century, global levels of women’s rights have increased rapidly in many countries. Women around the globe are going to school, becoming a greater share of the labor force, moving out of traditional household roles and taking on leadership positions. They are becoming more politically active, leading NGOs and political parties. They are pushing for the end of female genital mutilation and advocating for their rights in the workplace.
But despite these successes, the world is far from making real progress towards equality. In fact, in some cases the gains made by women are reversing. In 2021, the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report” found that globally, women enjoy only three quarters of the same legal rights as men. The report finds that economic factors account for a substantial part of the variation in women’s rights, but other non-economic drivers are at play too, such as religion and cultural and time-dependent dynamics.
The most comprehensive international agreement on women’s rights is the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 and ratified by 189 states. It sets out an international bill of rights for women, and defines the obligations of States to ensure that women can enjoy these rights.
States are obligated under CEDAW to eliminate barriers that prevent women from meaningful participation, such as discriminatory laws and practices in all areas, including employment, family life, housing, education and public services (Article 1), and to take action to modify social and cultural patterns that perpetuate discrimination against women (Article 5). This includes the requirement for States to protect women against physical abuse by family or domestic partners, which is considered a form of discrimination under the Convention (Article 10). This is a key reason why medica mondiale is working to strengthen global governance structures and push for the adoption of more effective laws to combat gender-based violence and promote women’s rights.