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Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Many States have entered reservations to articles 2 and 16 of the Convention, on equality in the family, almost all in deference to religious family law, and in so doing perpetuate the structural impediment of inequality in the family to women's full and effective participation in political and public life. The Working Group regards the elimination of discrimination in the family as central to women's capacity to participate in political and public life on equal terms with men and the withdrawal of these reservations as imperative.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Reform of family laws provides a firm basis to overcome structural and cultural impediments to women's equal and full participation in political and public life. Family laws have been the focus of reform throughout history, as part of whole movements of States and societies towards modernity. In most cases, religious hermeneutic projects, particularly when initiated as part of broader reforms during times of political transition, have been an integral part of making these changes possible, with a prominent role played by women's rights movements, as in the case of Morocco, which achieved significant reform on many fronts in the family code (Moudawana), and by reform-minded religious institutions. The political will for these reforms, in State-sponsored modernization projects and social engineering agendas, has existed in diverse contexts of colonial power, the post-colonial State and communist regimes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Women who belong to vulnerable groups, based on race, class, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste and sexual orientation and gender identity, are effectively barred from political and public life based on multiple stereotyping. In its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has expressed concern about stereotyped media portrayals of women's roles within the family and society.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Caregiving responsibilities in the family are disproportionately in the hands of women. Both the reality and the a priori belief that this is the way it should be put women at a structural disadvantage in entering and participating sustainably in political and public life. The long hours of work and heavy travel demands make it difficult for women with caregiving responsibilities to maintain consistent engagement in political and public life without adequate support for the caring responsibilities. At the same time, women who carry out full-time engagement in politics and public affairs are often harassed and stigmatized, as they are perceived to undermine traditional family values.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Good practice regarding the work-life balance for public and political participation includes both childcare support and institutional family-friendly scheduling. The highest performing countries in terms of proportion of women in public office have the most generous entitlements for maternal and parental leave. This reflects States' effectiveness in creating better options for women to reconcile the balance between work and family life, promoting a better balance of responsibilities between men and women in the home and encouraging a higher percentage of fathers to take parental leave. This demonstrates a significant cultural change in society's views of gender roles, which is itself a culmination of decades of responsive social policies. Good practices regarding gender-sensitive parliaments are found in some Western European and other States that have changed the scheduling of parliamentary session to allow a work-life balance for Members of Parliament who have parental responsibilities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The institution of family is one of the foundations of whole political systems, and family law is core to women's citizenship and public life. Women's right to equality in the family shapes opportunities and constraints for women's agency and autonomy and also regulates access to land, income, education and health, including reproductive health, thereby determining a woman's capacity to fully engage in all aspects of life. The right of women to equality in the family was established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and elaborated in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Patriarchal and discriminatory family law or practice may limit women's freedom of occupation and freedom of movement in the public space. In some countries, men are still regarded by law as the head of household, barring women from representing their families in official decision-making processes on public affairs, including on development projects and issues of good governance, which have an impact on women and their families. The system of heads of household has been abrogated in many countries' legal systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Domestic violence is public as well as private in its debilitating impact on women. It can also be used directly as a form of punishment by resentful husbands or other family members against wives or female relatives who become leaders in their community.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Elimination of discrimination against women in political and public life necessitates reform of nationality laws. Women's capacity to participate in political and public life is defined by their citizenship and nationality, but nationality laws often discriminate against women, particularly when they require a single nationality in a family and the wife's nationality is treated as dependent on her husband's. In effect, women lose their nationality upon marriage with a foreign husband, particularly if both countries of the spouses follow the principle of dependent nationality. If the country of the husband does not follow this principle, then the wife is at risk of becoming stateless, denying her the right to legitimately participate in the political and public life of any country. Laws which require women to seek permission from their husbands, or other family members traditionally defined as their guardians, in acquiring passports and other identity documents also potentially undermine women's capacity to equal participation in political and public life, including through limited freedom of movement.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Unlike women's reproductive function, care functions do not necessarily have to fall on women. All forms of care, including childcare, are amenable to social reconstruction, and indeed in the Nordic countries, which have long pursued a policy of gender equality in the division of work and childcare functions, the distribution of care work comes close to parity. Good practice regarding the allocation of care responsibilities, pioneered in the Nordic countries, encourages men to enter traditionally women's worlds, both in the family and in the workplace, thus allowing women to participate and advance in the labour market.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws and practice prevail in most countries. Some such laws are self-evident, such as mandatory early retirement for women. Some are what has been called "statistical discrimination", such as separate annuity tables for women and men based on women's greater longevity. Others are the result of the sociology of the family and of legislative policy endorsing and perpetuating the economic dependence of women on a husband's income and pension entitlement.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Sharing of care responsibilities within the household should remain a matter of choice for women and men. For any real choice to be possible, paid care leave must be available to both parents. The Nordic countries were the first to introduce an independent paternity leave in order to overcome stereotypes and barriers to men sharing childcare functions. Such provisions are becoming more common around the world, with increased awareness of men's parenting roles and their need to reconcile work and family life. Paternity leave is usually much shorter than maternity leave and more often unpaid. Some countries have introduced more gender-neutral parental leave options, and recent best practice in one Nordic country provides symmetry in childcare leave, with five months for each parent individually and two months that can be allocated according to parental choice.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Ensuring girls' education may require protecting their families against economic shocks and incentivizing parents to keep their girls in school. Cash transfer programmes, for example, have assisted families in return for committing to keeping their girls and boys in school and attending regular health checks, or by providing a stipend to girls who agree to delay marriage until they complete secondary education. Such programmes have been successful in decreasing girls' dropout rates.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Barriers to women's economic opportunities resulting from reproduction and care functions must be removed in order to permit choice by women and men as to how they allocate economic and caring duties. Three possible patterns of allocation have been identified: both parents as full-time workers; one full-time and one part-time worker, where the part-time worker is usually the woman; or the male breadwinner model. There is also the single parent pattern, which is usually a woman.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- As regards childcare, the Working Group supports the call of UN-Women for States to guarantee quality and accessible childcare as a social protection floor. This both serves the obligation to achieve de facto equality for women in economic and social life and enables parents to reconcile work and family life. The Working Group suggests that the provision of childcare may also be engineered as an economic efficiency measure, with the right to fully subsidized care services linked to the parent's participation in economic activity. In addition, good practice includes State support for community, trade union and corporate initiatives to provide care services. Furthermore, after children start school, it is good practice to synchronize children's school hours and holidays with adults' work schedules.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73a (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Establish a national legal framework recognizing gender equality in cultural and family life, in accordance with regional and international standards: (iii) Develop national strategies to eradicate cultural practices that discriminate against women and girls, as well as gender stereotypes, through awareness-raising campaigns, educational and informational programmes and stakeholder mobilization. Engage men, as appropriate, in prevention and protection efforts in respect of gender-based discrimination and violence;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States:] Take measures to ensure that families allow girls to access education on an equal basis with boys, by raising awareness in the community and providing families with financial incentives to allow girls to finish their studies;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73d (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that women, on an equal footing with men, and girls, on an equal footing with boys, have the right to at least half the family property and inheritance in the event of divorce or widowhood. Facilitate the invalidation of any waiver of these rights obtained from a woman as a result of pressure from her family or community;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- In order to prepare this report, the Working Group used responses to a questionnaire received from 32 Member States, as well as studies and research by United Nations programmes and bodies, international human rights mechanisms and other stakeholders that were transmitted to it directly or have been carried out recently on the subject. The Working Group also identified good practices in respect of equality in the family and in cultural life, as required by Human Rights Council resolution 15/23.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- It is the opinion of the Working Group that the understanding and legal definition of the family in national legislation should be extended to recognize different forms of family. The recognition of same-sex couples, for both women and men, and other forms of family is an example of good practice that a number of States have already implemented. In this regard, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has confirmed that mothers who are lesbians should not be deprived of custodial rights over their children.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 74c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that international and regional human rights mechanisms:] Explore the establishment of an essential framework of minimum legal protection for all types of family, including self-created or self-defined families, that would guarantee women's fundamental rights in the family, in accordance with international law.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The State has an obligation to punish and to put an end to impunity and excuses or justification that perpetuate gender-based discrimination in cultural and family life. The State also has an obligation to afford redress for the harm suffered by women, including by providing for compensation, restitution, guarantees of non-repetition and even preventive measures.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The State must act as an agent of change as regards women's place in cultural and family life, by fostering and creating a culture free of all forms of discrimination against women. A transformative approach to women and girls' status in the family is crucial. There needs to be awareness that, in the past, a patriarchal concept of family pervaded all secular, religious, customary and indigenous laws and institutions and that some States and groups are now trying, in a retrograde manner, to subject women to the most oppressive forms of patriarchy, particularly in the context of religious fanaticism. It should also be understood that the transition towards equality between women and men, and girls and boys, in the culture and in the family is a prerequisite for a decent society.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73c (x)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Guarantee women's de jure and de facto right to equality in family diversity: Set up gender-awareness training for all State civil servants involved in education, health, social services, law enforcement and judicial decision-making. Include women, on an equal basis, in all bodies that interpret and apply family law;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73d (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that women are free to participate in economic activities outside the house or village, without the supervision of male relatives;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73d (v)
- Paragraph text
- [According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States:] Recognize women as heads of family on an equal basis with men so that they may enjoy the same financial or social benefits;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The legal rights of women and girls to equality and non-discrimination in cultural and family life, established in 1948 by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by international human rights law, are often restricted in national laws and in practice, including in cultural practice. The Working Group emphasizes that, in accordance with international human rights law, States have an obligation to adopt appropriate measures with a view to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls in laws, cultural practices and the family, whether perpetrated by State agents or private actors.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73a (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Establish a national legal framework recognizing gender equality in cultural and family life, in accordance with regional and international standards: (i) Recognize and enshrine, in their constitutions and laws, the right to equality, which should apply in all areas of life and have primacy over all religious, customary and indigenous laws, norms, codes and rules, with no possibility of exemption, waiver or circumvention;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73d (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States:] Recognize the right of women living in polygamous marriages to end their marriage when their husband takes another wife and grant them a share of the family property, including the value of the house or land;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, legislative provisions strengthen patriarchal family structures, as well as the concomitant discrimination and violence against women. This is particularly true of provisions allowing rapists to marry their victims in order to escape legal proceedings and laws that exclude marital rape from the prohibition of rape under criminal law. In some contexts, only men are able to transmit their nationality to their foreign spouses and their children. This de jure inequality has considerable effects on women and their children because the State protection granted by citizenship is refused them de facto.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph