1.

Chapter Title International Movements and Treatises

2. Intended Learning Outcomes

2.1. Explain the international movements and treatises
2.2 Understand the role that they play in promoting gender equality and women
empowerment.
3. Content
3.1 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
• International human rights treaty that focuses on women’s rights and
women’s issues worldwide.
• It is governed by the following principles: Substantive Equality, Non-
discrimination, and state obligation.
• Most countries around the world signed the CEDAW convention. This
means that they have given their commitment to protect, respect, promote,
and fulfill the rights of women in their respective countries.

3.1.1. Substantive Equality: In reality, both of them share the same traits except for
reproductive capability. Men and women are different but ultimately, we are equal.
o Inequality is reinforced by the patriarchy system that sees men as leaders.
o Some argue that men should have greater rights to economic resources
because they have the responsibility to provide for the needs of the family.
But this does not match reality. Today, women are unmarried, divorced,
widowed and become the sole providers for their family.
Equality for women can be viewed in three approaches
1. Formal: Society ignores that men and women are actually
different. It follows the male standards.
Ex: A factory allows men and women to take night shifts. But if a
factory is not well lit, it could lead to assaults which may discourage
women to take night shifts.
2. Protectionist Approach: Women are seen as vulnerable and
prohibited from participating certain activities.
Ex: The factory has a policy of not employing women at night
shifts to protect them from being assaulted. But this does not address
the problem and denies women of extra income.
3. Corrective Approach: Priority is given to correct the
environment in order to benefit both men and women equally
Ex: The factory could install more lights and provide a
transport for women to create a safe environment for them to work
at night shifts.
Corrective approach leads to Substantive Equality: Recognizes differences but
affirms equality, places obligation to correct environment, makes playing field even,
require laws and policies to take gender perspective into account.
o This ensures women to have equality in opportunities, equality in accessing those
opportunities, and equality in getting results and benefits.

3.1.2. Non-Discrimination: Discrimination is defined as an unfair treatment of a person

or group for any reason such as being a girl or a boy, belonging to a particular race
or religion or having different abilities, and so on. When people are discriminated
 against, they cannot enjoy their rights. Discrimination can either be direct or
indirect.
• Direct Discrimination: Many countries practice nationality laws that
directly discriminate against women and children.
This type of discrimination is generally easier to recognize as the discrimination is
quite obvious.
Ex: In some countries, women cannot legally own property; they are forbidden by
law to take certain jobs; or the customs of a community may not permit girls to go
for higher education.
• Indirect Discrimination: This type of discrimination can be difficult to
recognize: It refers to situations that may appear to be unbiased but result
in unequal treatment of girls and women. This can be observable thru
gender neutral laws and policies that seem to provide equal opportunities
and access for both men and women. But in practice, women are placed at
a disadvantage. The following are examples of indirect discrimination:
• A job for a police officer may have minimum height and weight criteria which
women may find difficult to fulfill. As a result, women may be unable to
become police officers.
• There may be a secondary school that equally gives admission to both girls
and boys but is situated far from the community in which they live. If parents
in the community feel that it is unsafe for their daughters to walk the long
distance to go to school, they may choose to only send their sons to school.
In this way, girls may be stopped from going to secondary school despite it
being available for their enrolment.

3.1.3. State Obligation

• Every four years, states have to report to the CEDAW committee on the
measures taken to respect, promote, protect, and fulfill the rights of women
in their countries.
• The state has to respect the rights of women and must not do anything to
violate women’s rights such as enact discriminatory laws, engage in
discriminatory practices, and the state must repeal discriminatory laws.
• Protect the rights of women and ensure that there are mechanisms for
complaints, regulate institutions and individuals (such as the private
companies, business sectors, and individuals to ensure that they do not
violate women’s rights, prohibit discriminations and provide sanctions
against discriminatory acts
• The state has to promote the rights of women and must raise the
awareness of women’s rights in the country.
• The state has to fulfill the rights of women and must take steps to provide
enabling conditions, develop capacity of institutions, build women’s ability
to ensure equality, and remove hurdles that women face
The state has the obligation to take temporary special measures. These are
measures taken to provide temporary advantages to women in order to promote women
equality and address discrimination.
For example: Despite of schools being equipped with teachers in rural areas, it
was found that girls were not coming to school. Since majority of teachers are men and
due to cultural practices, families were not allowing their daughters to be around men.
Secondly, family relied on the labor of female children to take care of household
responsibility such as taking care of their siblings, cleaning the house, and cooking
food. In rural areas, families feel that girl’s education are not as important as household
chores and that she will be later married to another family. They feel that it’s a waste of
resources to send girls to school
Thus, the state has to ensure that the education of girls is as important as
household chores. As a temporary special measure, the government should put in place
a policy to recruit more female teachers in rural schools and to give the family a stipend
to compensate the family for the loss of labor of the female children. They can pass
laws to make it compulsory for girls to attend school. If women make up half of the
population, women’s voices must be represented in decision making positions so that
their voices are not left out.
3.1.4. Why Care About CEDAW?
• Helps girls and women of every age to claim their rights. If a girl learns how
to claim her rights while she is still a child, she is more likely to be able to
enjoy her rights as a woman.
• Calls upon governments to take action to end discrimination of girls and
women CEDAW demands that governments change laws and customs in
their country so that girls and women are not discriminated against in any
way.
• Protects girls and women from discrimination in areas such as education,
health, work, marriage and family life.
• Being aware of girls’ and women’s rights is the first step towards ending
discrimination faced by girls and women. When girls and boys take time to
learn more about girls’ and women’s rights and what governments should
do to stop discrimination of girls and women, they are already helping.
• Girls and boys should know they have the same rights.

3.1.5. Why should boys and men care about CEDAW?

• When girls and women exercise their rights, it benefits everyone, including
boys and men.
• Boys and girls could be given the opportunity to come together to build a
better future for themselves, their families, communities and nations.
• Boys and men can support girls and women in realizing their rights in many
ways. In their homes, schools and communities, boys and men can change
attitudes and behaviour towards girls and women. Boys and men can also
make girls and women feel safe, encouraged and supported to assert the
rights that CEDAW says they have.
According to the Philippine Commission of Women, CEDAW is the only human
right treaty which affirms the reproductive right of women and targets culture and tradition
as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. The Philippines is the first
ASEAN country that ratified CEDAW on August 5, 1981. It also ratified the Optional
Protocol to the CEDAW on November 12, 2003. The Philippine Commission of Women
accounted that the country’s participation to CEDAW has contributed massively in the
advancement and empowerment of the Filipino women. CEDAW paved the way to
legislation of Republic Act 9710, the Magna Carta of Women and other landmark
legislations that protects women from discrimination and violence.
Please read the following article below:

Gender stereotyping in a rape trial a violation of CEDAW

Karen Tayag Vertido v. Philippines
In 1996, Karen Vertido an Executive Director of the Davao City of Chamber and Industry filed a
criminal case of rape against Jose Custodio the then President of the Chamber. She accuses that
the Mr. Custodio offered her a lift home but instead he forcefully raped her in the hotel. 8 years after
the trial, Judge Europa acquitted the accused on the grounds of insufficient evidence. In her decision
to acquit the Judge cited that court cannot understand why she did escape when she appeared to
have had so many opportunities to do so and that Karen does not appear to be a timid woman who
could be easily cowered and as such she had the opportunity to resist the advances made by the
accused.
In 2006, Karen Vertido filed a communication / complaint under the Optional Protocol of the UN
CEDAW/ OP CEDAW. She alleged that the acquittal of Mr Custodio breached the right to non-
discrimination, the right to an effective remedy, and the freedom from wrongful gender stereotyping,
in violation of articles 2(c), 2(d), 2(f) and 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
In her communication, Karen and the Women’s Legal Bureau alleged that the Philippine
government failed to comply with its obligation as State Party to the CEDAW to address gender-
based stereotypes that affect women particularly in law and in legal institutions. They further alleged
that Judge Europa’s decision is a clear gender biased which violates women’s rights against
discrimination, as enshrined in the CEDAW and from which the OP (Optional Protocol) derives its
mandate.
On July 16, 2010, the CEDAW committee decided favorably on the November 2007 complaint
filed by Karen Vertido. The CEDAW Committee concluded that, in failing to end discriminatory gender
stereotyping in the legal process, the Philippines had violated articles (2)(c) and 2(f) of CEDAW. In
its statement the CEDAW Committee said that stereotyping affects women’s right to a fair and just
trial and that the judiciary must take caution not to create inflexible standards of what women or girls
should be or what they should have done when confronted with a situation of rape based merely on
preconceived notions of what defines a rape victim or a victim of gender-based violence, in general.
In finding violations of articles 2(f) and 5(a), the Committee affirmed that CEDAW requires States
Parties to ‘take appropriate measures to modify or abolish not only existing laws and regulations, but
also customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women.
The committee also made a number of general recommendations aimed at redressing the systemic
nature of many of the violations. These included taking effective steps to ensure that decisions in
sexual assault cases are impartial and fair and not affected by prejudices or stereotypes.

Post Assessment: Quiz Time:

1. What does CEDAW stand for?

a. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
b. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
c. Convention on Ending Discrimination against Women

2. CEDAW applies to:

a. Women only b. Girls and women of all ages. c. Adolescent girls and women only.

3. CEDAW says:
a. All discrimination against girls and women must end.
b. There should be equality between girls/women and boys/men.
c. Girls have a right to participate without any discrimination in all aspects of life.
d. All of the above

4. CEDAW says:
a. Girls should not go to school when they have housework.
b. Girls can go to school, but only boys should get professional training.
c. Girls and women have a right to education on an equal basis with boys and men.

5. Based on CEDAW, it is enough for governments to:

a. Make laws and policies to end discrimination faced by girls and women.
b. Change customs and traditions that discriminate against girls and women.
c. Take all actions required so that girls and women actually experience equality in their lives.

6. Which human rights agreements describe girls’ rights:

 a. Convention on the Rights of the Child
b. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
c. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

7. Boys and men should:

a. Know about girls’ and women’s rights.
b. Support girls and women to claim their rights.
c. All of the above

4.1.1. The Beijing Platform for Action

From September 4th to 15th, official representatives from over 180 countries
gathered in Beijing, China, for the Fourth World Conference on Women. For ten days,
they worked in legislative sessions and focused working groups, refining the document
that would reflect the issues and concerns of the world’s women at the end of the 20th
century, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This platform was the
product of the Fourth World Conference on Women that was participated by 189
governments, 17,000 participants and 30,000 non-governmental activists in Beijing .
• The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action identified 12 key areas to have needed
urgent action, to ensure greater equality and opportunities for women and men,
girls and boys. It also laid out concrete ways for countries to bring about change.
• In response to the platform, the UN Women works with governments and
partners to ensure such change is real for women and girls around the world.
o UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and
the empowerment of women.

12 Areas of Concern

1. Women and poverty: Poverty and deprivation of rights are twins.

When women are poor, their rights are not protected and they face double
discrimination, on account of their gender and economic situation. As a result, a lot of
women, including their families, communities and economies will suffer.
Hence, UN Women runs a myriad of programs to provide training, loans and practical
skills to empower women economically, give them a voice, strengthen social services and
increase awareness of women’s rights.
A UN Women-supported project is training the families of migrant labourers and rural
women’s groups to start their own businesses and fostering their economic
empowerment. They are given opportunities to attend specialized workshops on how to
run their own business and how to manage the household budget and use the money
available effectively. Some of these women are survivors of violence. So far, more than
5,000 families in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have received training, resources and loans
to become self-reliant entrepreneurs.
2. Education and training of women: Education is a basic human right and is an
essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development, and peace.
Educated women benefit entire societies, contributing to flourishing economies and
the improved health, nutrition and education of their families.
UN promotes women’s right in education across all fields. It supports educational
programs to promote gender equality and women’s rights, revises formal school curricula
and policies, and helps train teachers, students and parents.
Through a partnership between UN Women and The Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla
Clubs teach web literacy skills to women and girls in Cape Town and Nairobi. Joy uses
her expertise to teach girls in Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi, basic coding and digital
literacy skills. The club gives us the opportunity to teach digital skills to women and girls
who may not get the opportunity to learn these skills anywhere else.
3. Women and Health: Women have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health. But a major barrier to this right is inequality.
Women need to be healthy in order to realize their full potential. This include proper
nutrition, sexual and reproductive rights, mental health, and freedom from violence.
UN advocates for States to better coordinate the provision of health services for
women and girls –including for survivors of violence– and supports non-governmental
partners providing essential services. They act to ensure that women’s needs are met
during medical humanitarian crises, and support and empower women living with HIV and
AIDS.
Through the Fund for Gender Equality, more than 1,300 poor women living with
HIV/AIDS have received health counselling and home based care, as well as livelihood
skills-training and grants to start their own businesses.
4. Violence Against Women: Violence against women can be physical, sexual, and
psychological. Ending violence against women is one of UN Women’s key priorities.
UN Women supports expanding access to quality multi-sectorial responses for
survivors covering safety, shelter, health, justice and other essential services. It
advocates for laws and help guide policies and action plans to help step-up investments
in prevention—the most cost-effective, long-term means to stop violence against women
by addressing its root causes.
• In Thailand, it opened its One-Stop Crisis Centre in April 2013, as well as a hotline
that provides social assistance to women experiencing violence.
• The Shadow Pandemic: One in three women worldwide experience physical or
sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner. UN Women is providing up-to-date
information and supporting vital programmes to fight the Shadow Pandemic of
violence against women during COVID-19.

5. Women and Armed Conflict: Peace is inextricably linked with equality between
women and men, and with development. Women and girls are seen to be more
vulnerable and are seen to be in horrible situations during wars and armed conflict.
Likewise, it was found out that sexual violence is seen widespread during this crisis.
• In response to this, UN Women’s programs on women, peace and security
engage women in all aspects of negotiations, peace-building and
reconstruction to build inclusive societies. It trains peacekeepers to detect,
address and stop conflict-related sexual violence, while also supporting the
reform of justice and security institutions and ensuring that public services
that are fully responsive to women’s needs.
• At age 12, Evelyn Amony was abducted by the Ugandan rebel group
known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, which for 30 years has committed
numerous atrocities. Today, she chairs a women’s advocacy network of war-
affected Ugandan women. With funding from UN Women, it encouraged the
Ugandan Parliament to adopt a landmark resolution addressing war-affected
women.
6. Women and The Economy:
Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on
farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or through unpaid domestic or care work at home.
But women often end up in low-wage jobs, and they constitute a small minority of those
in senior positions. With this, gender discrimination is apparent.
UN Women supports the follwoing:
• Building Entrepreneurship. Promoting women's business ownership,
microfinance efforts, and financial markets
• Asset-Building. Financial empowerment through women’s land rights and
property ownership
 • Financial Literacy. Improving women’s financial literacy and providing
training
• Better Jobs. Strategies to improve wages, working conditions, labour
standards, benefits, and training opportunities for women workers

In Kenya, a livelihood project is helping Somali women refugees make a living and
prevent sexual and gender-based violence.

7. Women in Power and Decision-Making: History tells us, women can be great
leaders too.
But in reality, women are under-represented in top positions, whether in elected
office, the civil service, corporate boardrooms or academia. Overall, women are under-
represented at most levels of government
UN Women advocate for reforms to ensure women’s fair access to decision-making.
Its programs on leadership and participation provide training for women political
candidates to help build their skills, as well as voter and civic education and sensitization
campaigns on gender equality. It works with the UN country teams, unions and civil
society to ensure that elections uphold women’s rights, including to vote and campaign
for freedom from violence. Through the Fund for Gender Equality, UN also support
women’s grass-roots groups and help give women a greater voice on a range of issues.

8. Institutional Mechanisms: Institutions play a very important role in implementing

laws, policies and programs that may advance gender equality.
UN Women work with governments to develop informed national action plans, ensure
gender-responsive budgeting, and strengthen coordination among diverse actors for
sustained and meaningful action. It partners with governments, UN agencies, civil society
organizations and other institutions to build capacity and increase awareness. It supports
and advocates for evidence-based policymaking. To this end, UN Women stresses the
need for sex-disaggregated data and played an important role in the development of 52
gender indicators.
9. Human Rights of Women: Human rights are for everyone. Women and girls are
entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of all of their human rights. The protection and
promotion of human rights are the first responsibility of governments and core to the
work of the United Nations.
UN Women promote international treaties, such as the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), help and influence decision-
makers to ensure that adequate laws are passed and work with partners to train and
educate the law enforcement and justice officials who must implement them.

10. Women and the Media: In the past decades, women had been portrayed in media
as second-class citizens: weak, dependent, etc.
This is crucial because media plays a significant role in perpetuating and challenging
social norms that condone discrimination or violence against women. It can objectify
women but also showcase strong women leaders and protagonists who can become role
models for their audience.
UN Women collaborate closely with the media as a key ally in advancing women’s
rights. They also undertake research regarding the portrayal of women in news, media,
and the entertainment industry. Lastly, they conduct special workshops and trainings with
journalists globally to encourage gender-sensitive reporting.
11. Women and the Environment: Women and the environment are closely related.
 They are among the most affected by climate change and any alterations in the
environment. Meanwhile, their voices are often ignored in environmental planning and
management. They also have less access to land and productive resources.
UN Women seek to ensure that women are involved in environmental decision-making
at all levels, integrating their concerns in policies and programs, and establishing ways to
assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women.
12. The Girl Child: Girls are often treated as inferior and are socialized to put themselves
last, undermining their self-esteem.
UN Women work to empower girls and young women to pursue their dreams, confront
discrimination, and prevent violence of all kinds. It conducts awareness campaigns on
girls’ rights and supports programs that work with educators, parents and fathers in
particular, and with religious leaders.
To advance girls' education, health and well-being, they advocate with governments
and other partners. Striving for a world where girls can live free from fear, violence, and
discrimination.
4.1.2. Importance of the Beijing Platform for Action
The Platform for Action imagines a world where each woman and girl can exercise
her freedoms and choices, and realize all her rights, such as to live free from violence, to
go to school, to participate in decisions and to earn equal pay for equal work. Still, the
Platform for Action envisioned gender equality in all dimensions of life—and no country
has yet finished this agenda.