A/HRC/23/50 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.29 59. Women belonging to minority groups are often victims of dual discrimination, as they must address discrimination against minorities and within their own communities. Providing special measures of education, leadership training and economic assistance for women and awareness-raising for men in patriarchal communities are some of the good practices by which States can address such multiple discrimination. 60. 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.30 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. 61. 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),31 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 postcolonial State and communist regimes.32 2. Unequal caregiving responsibilities 62. 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. 63. 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 29 30 31 32 14 See Soo Yeon Lee, “Political Transitions in the 1990s and its impact on legislation of gender equality laws: the South Korean case”, paper submitted for the regional expert group meeting on political transitions and gender equality, Seoul, December 2012. See, inter alia, Musawah, CEDAW and Muslim Family Laws: In Search of Common Ground (Sisters in Islam, 2011). See A/HRC/20/28/Add.1. See Mala Htun and Laurel Weldon, “Sex equality in family law: historical legacies, feminist activism and religious power in 70 countries” (2011).