WUNRN
http://www.equalitynow.org/beijing20
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countries highlighted in all three previous reports have repealed or fully or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provision repealed or amended since 2000 |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 |
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.