Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in view of the affirmation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the inadmissibility of discrimination, promotes equal rights for men and women. The CEDAW defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” Temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women are not considered discrimination, but should not entail the maintenance of unequal or separate standards. 

The rights enumerated under CEDAW cover women’s rights in the political and public life of the country such as the right to vote, the right to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies, the right to participate in the formulation of government policy, and the implementation thereof; the right to hold public office; the opportunity to represent their governments at the international level; and the right to acquire, change or retain their nationality. It likewise covers economic and social rights of women in the fields of education, employment, health and other areas of economic and social life, including special protections for rural women; and women’s personal and family rights, such as the right of equality with men before the law, including a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity; and the same rights as men relating to marriage and family relations, including the right to enter into marriage, the right to freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent, the rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution, the rights and responsibilities as parents, and the right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children. The CEDAW further states parties are obliged to take “all appropriate measures” including legislation, in all fields, to guarantee the full development and advancement of women on the basis of equality with men.