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Photo: Lena Stein

Words & Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing+20 Review

In 1995, at the historic United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, governments from around the world agreed on one of the most progressive plans to advance women's rights and achieve gender equality – the Beijing Platform for Action. In it States committed to "revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex." 20 years later, this goal is far from being met.

http://www.equalitynow.org/beijing20/progress

Progress

There has been progress in removing legal discrimination against women. Equality Now is pleased to report that more than half of the countries highlighted in all three previous reports have repealed or fully or partially amended the discriminatory laws indicated. Among these countries are:

Countries	Legal provision repealed or amended since 2000
Algeria	Wife obedience is no longer mandated
Argentina	A sexual abuser is no longer exempt from punishment by agreeing a settlement with the victim
Australia, Switzerland	Women are now allowed to apply for all jobs in the army Bahamas
Bahamas	Women now have equal inheritance rights to men
Bangladesh, Kenya	Women can now pass citizenship to their children on the same basis as men
Bolivia, France	Women are no longer prohibited from working at night
Colombia, Mexico, Romania, Turkey	The minimum ages of marriage for males and females are now the same
Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay	A rapist can no longer avoid punishment by marrying the victim
Haiti, Jordan, Morocco	There is no longer an exemption from penalty for men who murder their wives and/or female relatives in certain circumstances
India*, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Serbia and Montenegro, Tonga	Marital rape is now a crime
Iraq	Women can now obtain a passport without having to get approval from a male guardian or a husband
Kuwait	Women now have the right to vote
Latvia	Women are no longer prohibited from working overtime and travelling for work during pregnancy and one year after childbirth
Lesotho	Property can now be registered in the name of women married in community property
Mexico	Women are no longer prohibited from remarrying for a specified time after divorce or widowhood
Kenya, Monaco, Venezuela	Women can now pass their nationality to their foreign spouse on the same basis as men
Nepal	Certain restrictions on women’s property rights have now been lifted
Pakistan	Discriminatory evidentiary standards applied to proving rape under the Zina Ordinance have been removed
Poland	Women are no longer restricted from passing their surname to their children
Republic of Korea, Turkey	Men are no longer designated as head of the family
Swaziland	A woman married in community of property can now register property in her own name

* Although India’s domestic violence law of 2006 gives women the option to bring a civil case for marital rape, India continues to exempt marital rape from its criminal law.