In my Spanish class at school, we’ve been reading the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among those outlined are the rights to life, liberty, and security of person, equal protection of the law, and the right to an education. (You can read the Declaration here.)
But unfortunately, a fair number of these civil liberties are not observed in other countries, especially with regard to women. Let’s look at some of the rights in the Declaration:
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
As discussed earlier this month, sex trafficking and forced prostitution is modern-day slavery. Yet we still permit slavery to continue. Women are denied the human right to live without being enslaved. And forced labor (for both genders) still exists: Check out the CNN Freedom Project here.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
According to the United Nations Rule of Law discussion on gender equality, there remain countries that discriminate against women, prohibiting them from testifying in court. Not only is this a violation of a basic human right to justice; it undermines the entire justice system, essentially giving males more credibility in court. Think about it: A woman may not even have the right to give her testimony of a crime committed against her. How is this, in any sense, “justice”?
Article 17
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Women are often denied the right to own property. The New York Times estimates that only 1% of women worldwide own property. This number seems somewhat backward: in some agrarian societies, according to the World Economic Forum, women may produce between 70% of agriculture and 90% of food, yet they are not given the right to own the land on which they work. A UN report attributes this phenomenon in part to the passing of land ownership to male relatives, not to his wife, when a landowning man dies. The woman may then be forced off of her husband’s land to seek work and shelter elsewhere, often without access to sanitation and income as she had prior (United Nations – Women’s Property rights).
Article 21
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
Political participation is a good indicator of the health of a country’s rights for women. Those countries that have greater female participation may have more representation as well. However, sometimes these percentages of female participation are only used as quotas, a figurehead of sorts: Women may be relegated from more serious issues to those deemed less-important or more female issues (Parlimentarians for Conflict Prevention, East-West Institute). Half the Sky suggests that there is even a correlation between countries with especially low female participation in government, and the high level of terrorism in those countries due to largely male-controlled government systems.
Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Developing nations face a high level of maternal morbidity, or injuries sustained in childbirth (Half the Sky). In Africa , one of these injuries, called obstetric fistula, is especially common, resulting from the tearing of the bladder or bowels during childbirth. Without control of these organs, women suffering from fistulas drip these excretory wastes constantly, and face ostracism from their families and from society. This is certainly a “circumstance beyond her control”; yet women suffering from fistula and that cannot afford surgery may be forced out of their homes, lacking “adequate living for health and well being”, as well as “medical care in the event of disability”.
Article 26 (This is a big one for this project!)
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
“Everyone has the right to an education”, regardless of gender. Girls have as much a right to an education as much as boys do. “Education shall be free”, guaranteeing children from the poorest areas the same right to an education. And “education shall be compulsory” – not dependent on whether a family determines whether or not their child should go to school or stay home to work. I understand that there are social factors that would necessitate a child’s staying home to earn money to help their family, but I support the idea of free education to make it more accessible for all students.
Article 29
Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
In countries that choose not to allow the education of half their population, the “free and full development” of women is not possible. By recognizing women through education, we can recognize – and encourage – their empowerment and their contributions to society.
And the most basic aspect of the Declaration:
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Women and men are born free and equal. Let us recognize this statement, not in theory, but in reality.
By providing a woman with an education, we are promoting gender equality: whether it may be in government representation, health, or simply in basic rights. And through the education of a woman, we are closer to realizing that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Janna
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