Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

In September 1995, at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, participating Governments adopted the Beijing Declaration, by which they reaffirmed their fundamental commitment to "the equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and men" (para. 8) and stated unequivocally that "women's rights are human rights" (para. 14). They also adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, in which they pledged to ensure equality and non-discrimination under the law and in practice (strategic objective I.1), and, more specifically, to "revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex and remove gender bias in the administration of justice" (para. 232 (d)). In 2000, during the five-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by the General Assembly at its twenty-third special session, Governments committed to reviewing legislation with a view to striving to remove discriminatory provisions against women, preferably by 2005.

The political will to revise or repeal discriminatory laws can arise voluntarily as part of an overall renegotiation of the social contract, and as an act of astute policymaking compelled by social economic developments that have brought about undeniable and irreversible changes in women's roles in practice. The growing participation of women in political, economic, social and cultural life has contributed to the introduction of gender-responsive changes in laws and policies on protection in the workplace, security in the home and community, and entitlements in property ownership and electoral processes.

At the same time, no effective implementation of equality guarantees for women can be sustained without the genuine empowerment of women in all fields. This can only be achieved on the solid foundation of women's equal access to fundamental freedoms and rights, including the rights to security of person, to privacy, to freedom of expression, to freedom of association, and to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, in the context of the broader array of civil and political rights. Women's enjoyment of those freedoms and rights, in turn, can be attained only if they are able to benefit from their economic, social and cultural rights, including equal rights to property, occupation and employment, social protection and participation in cultural life, as well as from effective protection against violence.

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.

The new space and opportunities created by revolutionary developments in ICTs have enabled women to initiate or enhance their participation in political and public life. Women who are confined in private homes have used ICTs as a means to break out of their isolation and take part in collective action. Women who live under threat of attack because of their sexual orientation have found safety in the anonymity of the Internet, which allows them to freely speak out, establish virtual communities and participate in public debates. During moments of political unrest, women have utilized SMS, micro-blogging and social networking to provide "bodyguard" protection to each other on the ground.

The democratic deficit undermines women's substantive participation in political and public life. Patronage politics, corruption, and undemocratic local government reduce women's effectiveness in the political arena, as they prevent transparency and accountability in decision-making and in the distribution of resources. Gender discriminatory policies and regulations have been applied by autonomous local governments even when national or federal laws mandate gender equality. Empowering women's participation in political and public life from the community level up helps build a culture of accountability, as it broadens the constituency for democratic decision-making, and is crucial to the effective application of good governance at all levels.

Since the introduction of the Convention, the world's political landscape has gone through substantial changes. These have been marked, variously in different regions and States, by the dismantling of long-standing totalitarian regimes, democratization and the emergence of new forms of authoritarianism. This period has also witnessed armed conflicts both between and within States, the creation of refugee populations and international involvement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Technological leaps in the field of information and communications, particularly the Internet, have created a new public and political space, with revolutionary impact on the development and the exercise of human rights, allowing new forms of political expression and mobilization, and facilitating political communication and organization for men and women globally.

Effective political participation of women requires not only admission to political institutions but also integration into their decision-making forums. Women's full participation requires concerted action to overcome the de facto segregation of women's political participation in sectors which are stereotypically associated with women's gender roles. It requires that women be integrated into positions with decision-making power across the spectrum of issues dealt with by the institutions to which they have been elected or appointed. During political transitions, the same applies to all transitional authorities and mechanisms.

Women's capacity for equal participation in all aspects of political and public life depends on a coherent set of social and economic policies directed at the family, workplace and marketplace. It also requires their capacity to engage in complex issues such as peace and security, state-building, and extreme poverty and all forms of social exclusion. Positive action is needed to empower women to produce knowledge and engage actively and creatively in these fields. As women act collectively to overcome the structural barriers they face, sustainable access of these groups or communities to adequate resources, including financial, is critical.

The right mix of special measures, both temporary and permanent, is required to address reported stagnation in the rise in women's participation in public office. Partial and selective application of gender quotas and other temporary special measures must be replaced by a comprehensive system-wide approach, in permanent as well as ad hoc institutions of governance, peace, development and human rights, at the local, national and global levels. The emerging framework for global governance of information and communications technologies (ICTs) is particularly important, considering the crucial role that ICTs are playing in the political and public life of women.

[The Working Group recommends that States:] Create the enabling conditions for public recognition and acceptance for women in positions of leadership and decision-making through public campaigns and educational programmes which are responsive to multicultural settings, including by: (i) Giving recognition to the diversity of women's engagements in political and public life; (ii) Providing a positive image of diverse women, including minority women, indigenous women, women with disabilities, and other historically marginalized women, in leadership and decision-making positions; (iii) Providing youth and children with a wide range of relevant role models and career paths for women, including through mentoring programmes for young women's participation in political and public life;

It is crucial to recognize both the right to maternity benefits and also the right to an equal and fair distribution of care functions as fully-fledged economic and social rights. These rights are a prerequisite for the equal right of women to the enjoyment of all economic social and cultural rights and, in particular: the right to work; the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work; an adequate standard of living; freedom from hunger; enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and the right to take part in cultural life.

Patterns of allocation are often not the result of choice, but rather of stereotyping and discrimination. There is evidence, in most countries, of discrimination in hiring, firing and workplace treatment of pregnant women; imposition of a disproportionate share of unpaid care responsibilities on women; and negative stereotyping of mothers and also fathers who are taking care of children. Cultural assumptions of the motherhood role appear to exist in tension with the conception of the ideal worker. Nevertheless, in a cross-regional comparison of selected countries, it was found that motherhood does not uniformly reduce labour force participation or occupational success and, indeed, it increases these in some countries as compared to women without children. However, it does reduce the number of hours worked and, even more, it increases, disproportionately and beyond any difference that might be explained by the reduction of work hours, the gap between mothers' wages and fathers' wages.

Women's reproductive functions include pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. These are the biological functions of maternity. In accordance with the normative framework created by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the ILO Conventions, in some States, there are provisions, statutory or judicial, prohibiting discrimination during pregnancy and protecting women against dismissal for a period of months or even years after they give birth. Nevertheless, there has been a rise in complaints of pregnancy discrimination in a number of countries, and effective measures are required to guarantee women's employment security during pregnancy and after birth.

The frameworks of the ILO and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women impose an obligation on States parties to provide paid maternity leave to employed women, set by the ILO at a minimum of 14 weeks with a recommended 18 weeks, and daily breaks for breastfeeding. The provision of maternity leave has become almost universal: 51 per cent of countries provide maternity leave of at least 14 weeks; 20 per cent of 18 weeks or more; 35 per cent of 12-13 weeks of leave. Only 14 per cent of countries provide less than 12 weeks.

State obligation under the Convention and ILO Conventions is to provide paid leave. Maternity leave policies without adequate compensation can lead to financial stress, and research suggests that women who return to work without taking their full maternity leave entitlement usually do so for financial reasons. Good practice for payment of maternity leave is through social insurance or public funds so as not to increase discrimination against women by employers seeking to avoid the burden of paid maternity leave.

Effective constitutions for gender equality and non-discrimination provide clarity in a hierarchy of competing laws, legal provisions which establish compliance with universal standards of human rights, and coherence throughout national legal frameworks. There are good practices to be found in different regions, where recognition of the autonomy of customary or indigenous communities is nevertheless subject to the requirement that they respect women's human rights. For instance, in the sub-Saharan region, one constitutional provision mandates that "laws, cultures, customs and traditions which are against the dignity, welfare or interest of women or any other marginalised group … or which undermine their status, are prohibited by this Constitution", and in Latin America and the Caribbean one constitution provides far-reaching recognition of both gender equality and indigenous rights, guaranteeing women's participation and decision-making in indigenous governance and justice systems.

International human rights law guarantees gender equality in the family, including when marriage is entered into, during marriage and at its dissolution, as set out in article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women establishes the obligation of States to ensure gender equality in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, including in respect of the decision whether to marry, the free choice of spouse, rights and responsibilities as parents, the decision on the number and spacing of children, and personal rights as husband and wife. Similarly, articles 1 to 3 of the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages require States to ensure gender equality regarding consent to marriage, to specify a legal minimum age for marriage and to register marriages.

The family is the basic unit of society and, as such, should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support. The family plays a key role in social development and in the growth and well-being of children, including girls. Women and girls' ability to act and participate in the different aspects of life in society derives mainly from respect for their right to equality with men and boys in the family. In this context, the Working Group deems it essential for families to be formed in such a way that women and girls' right to equality is fully recognized, respected, protected, fulfilled and promoted.

The role of women in the family has generally been under patriarchal control in cultures and religions that subject women and girls to forced and/or early marriage and discrimination in a number of areas of family life, such as consent to enter into marriage, dowry obligations, the right to possess and manage property, sexual relations, requirements regarding modesty and freedom of movement, guardianship and custody of children, divorce and division of matrimonial assets, the punishment of adultery, the right to remarry following dissolution of the marriage or death of the husband, the status of widows and inheritance. In addition, women and girls are generally not treated equally in families with regard to the division of rights and responsibilities. Discrimination against women and girls in the family and in marriage affects all aspects of their lives.

The present report aims to clarify the meaning of equality in the area of health and safety, identify discriminatory practices, expose the instrumentalization of women's bodies in violation of their human dignity and reveal the barriers to women's autonomous, effective and affordable access to health care. Instrumentalization is defined as the subjection of women's natural biological functions to a politicized patriarchal agenda, which aims at maintaining and perpetrating certain ideas of femininity versus masculinity or of women's subordinate role in society.

States are obliged to secure women's rights to the highest attainable standard of health and safety, including their underlying determinants, and women's equal access to health-care services, including those related to family planning, as well as their rights to privacy, information and bodily integrity. The obligation to respect, protect and fulfil women's right to equal access to health-care services and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women with regard to their health and safety is violated by neglecting women's health needs, failing to make gender-sensitive health interventions, depriving women of autonomous decision-making capacity and criminalizing or denying them access to health services that only women require. In some situations, failure to protect women's rights to health and safety may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or torture, or even a violation of their right to life.

Substantive equality in the area of health and safety requires differential treatment. Throughout their life cycle from childhood to old age, women have health needs and vulnerabilities that are distinctively different from those of men. Women have specific biological functions, are exposed to health problems that affect only women, are victims of pervasive gender-based violence and, statistically speaking, live longer than men, resulting in their greater need to access health services frequently and into older age. Hence, women and girls experience the negative effects of insufficiencies in health-care services more intensively than men.

Women face a disproportionate risk of being subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment in health-care facilities, especially during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period. Furthermore, they are especially vulnerable to degrading treatment in situations where they are deprived of liberty, including in migrant detention facilities or mental institutions. They are subjected to humiliating treatment within the health-care system because of their gender identity and sexual orientation, sometimes expressly in the name of morality or religion, as a way of punishing what is considered "immoral" behaviour.

Women prisoners show high rates of mental health problems owing to violence and trauma to which they had been exposed and which are exacerbated by imprisonment. Concerns about their children also have a significant impact on the mental health of women prisoners, especially when they are breastfeeding; separation from their children creates anxiety and guilt, resulting in great suffering. Women are more likely to harm themselves or attempt suicide while in detention than men. Extensive reliance on preventive use of psychotropic medication for "safety" reasons in such situations is an example of overmedicalization.

The instrumentalization of women's bodies may result in conditioning women's access to medical assistance on the consent of a spouse or male guardian, causing withholding or delay of treatment, curtailment of women's autonomy and denial of respect for privacy and obstructing their access to health care, particularly reproductive and sexual health care. Patriarchal negation of women's autonomy in decision-making leads to violation of women's rights to health, privacy, reproductive and sexual self-determination, physical integrity and even to life.

Stigma is a deeply entrenched social and cultural phenomenon which lies at the root of many human rights violations and results in entire population groups being disadvantaged and excluded, as the Special Rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation has noted (A/HRC/30/39). Women are exposed to harmful gender stereotypes or taboos regarding natural and biological functions such as menstruation, breastfeeding and menopause. Diagnosis of mental illnesses in women is biased so as to stigmatize them and has been used as a justification for institutionalizing women unnecessarily against their will.

Menstruation is surrounded by stigma, resulting in the ostracism of and discrimination against women and girls. In some cultures menstruating women and girls are considered to be contaminated and impure and restrictions and interdictions during menstruation are imposed on them. Women and girls may continue to harbour internalized stigma and are embarrassed to discuss menstruation even where there are no restrictions. They live with a lack of privacy for cleaning and washing, a fear of staining and smelling and a lack of hygiene in school toilets or separate sanitation facilities.

The stigma and shame generated by stereotypes around menstruation have severe impacts on all aspects of women's and girls' lives, on their dignity and well-being as well as on their right to education and to employment, as they may feel obliged to stay home from school or work every month because of appropriate facilities and hygienic items are not available. Characterizing women's menstrual pain as "neurotic" tends to make women reluctant to seek help, which can delay diagnosis of, for example, the severely disabling disease of endometriosis, in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows in an abnormal anatomical location.

Women migrant workers, especially those in irregular situations, have greater difficulty in accessing almost all forms of health care, including maternal care, emergency care and treatment for chronic diseases and mental health problems, because they are often denied these rights legally and/or they fear arrest and deportation. In some countries, while legal access to health care for migrant women has been expanded, they still do not receive needed medical services because health-care providers often refuse treat them.