Gender Equality and the Rights of Women and Girls (original) (raw)

A gendered rights and life cycle approach Gender discrimination is of central importance to human rights because it affects more than half of the human race: without women's rights there is therefore no full recognition of human rights. The essence of a gender approach is the recognition of the structural inequalities between men and women, boys and girls, and the disparities in their enjoyment of rights. This implies implementation of policies to address such disparities. Gender discrimination is not the only form of discrimination, inequality and denial of rights faced by women and girls. Gender interfaces with other forms such as discrimination based on ethnicity, culture, class, tribe, caste and religion. In order to adequately address the rights and development needs of women, the interface of gender with other forms of discrimination needs to be addressed. For example, women's right to income remains theoretical if investment in their communities is minimal because of racial, cultural or political discrimination. Differences such as those of class, race, economic and political power between populations and between women and girls themselves will influence both the definition of the problems to be addressed and the design of strategies to address them, even if the primary objective is to address gender issues. Groups of women who face multiple forms of discrimination require responses that recognize the interrelated transformations necessary for the effective exercise of their rights.

Sign up for access to the world's latest research.

checkGet notified about relevant papers

checkSave papers to use in your research

checkJoin the discussion with peers

checkTrack your impact