Women Rights and Gender Equality

Women rights are the fundamental human rights every woman should have. They are the right to go to school, the right to work, the right to vote, the right to live free from violence and to have children – if they want to – with whomever they choose. These are some of the gains made by decades of advocacy, global agreements, policy reform and international legislation – and perhaps most importantly, a growing awareness that gender equality benefits everybody.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries people began agitating for what were then considered outlandish ideas such as the right of women to vote. By the end of that century, women’s suffrage had become a universally recognized right under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This was only the first step towards the goal of achieving full and equal rights for women in every area of life.

But progress is slow. As of 2014, only 143 countries have guaranteed equality between men and women in their constitutions, and on average, women earn about 20 per cent less than men worldwide. In many countries, sexual exploitation and domestic violence remain widespread, and states fail to protect women’s health and rights in the face of threats to their safety.

Increasing women’s legal rights helps them build lives of prosperity and well-being. Empowered women generally choose to have smaller families, and their economic activity helps their communities thrive. Providing access to safe and effective reproductive healthcare empowers women to decide how many children they want to have, when and with whom. And tackling harmful patriarchal traditions such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation prevents young girls from being robbed of their futures and puts them at greater risk of death and disease.

Gender equality is closely linked to other goals and rights, such as the goal of eradicating poverty in all its forms, ensuring sustainable development, addressing climate change and promoting peace and security. When governments take steps to eliminate discrimination against women, they also make the world a safer and better place for everyone.

As we mark the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the United Nations and its Member States must keep fighting to ensure that women’s rights are fully realized. This requires an ongoing commitment of the whole UN system — including the Secretariat, funds, programmes and agencies — and of civil society and the private sector in a sort of virtuous collaboration.

This is a crucial time to take stock of how far we’ve come, and what challenges lie ahead. We are witnessing a backsliding in some countries, with regression on such issues as abortion and the status of women in the workforce. To avoid this, we need to take the lead in implementing a holistic and innovative approach to achieve gender equality and empower women in all areas of society. This is the only way to guarantee a prosperous, peaceful and harmonious planet for all.