Women's Rights

In 1979 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), described as an international bill of rights for women. The first 16 Articles call on states to take appropriate measures to ensure women's civil, political, economic and cultural rights, and their legal equality. *1

-Many middle-eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Qatar, Sudan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, have completely ignored the Convention. *1 Mostly due to religion and tradition, gender discrimination is common in these countries, where woman are even punished by law if seen in public.

- Other countries, such as Australia and Belgium, have expressed objections to the Convention. In Belgium, a bill is being passed which prohibits women to use "burkas". *2

-The United States has not ratified the convention because of right-wing Congressional opposition. 1* Job discrimination is still latent in this country.

I believe that every human being, regardless of his/her age, sex, race, or religion, should be treated equally. Woman shouldn't be discriminated anywhere in the world, and women's rights should be put to practice in every single country.

Image: http://iheartdaily.typepad.com/.a/6a00e553a9bcad88330120a527f390970b-pi

1*http://web.archive.org/web/20040423160533/http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/mar98/unwomen.html

2*http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/31/belgium-public-ban-burqa-niqab