Human Rights

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Introduction to Women’s Rights

• Examine this website: http://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights and select ONE article about Women’s Rights. Write down five key points the article presents and mention the specific human rights issues it focuses on.

View this video on Human Rights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNo9KJn5Hwg

Gender equality means women and men have equal opportunities to realise their potential, to contribute to their country's development and to benefit from their participation in society. Laws in Iran and Saudi Arabia treat women as legal minors under the guardianship of male family members, and deny them equality in marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. These laws ignore international human rights agreements, and highlight the need for individuals, groups and governments to take action for a better future for women in these countries.

Human Rights Agreements – Gender InequalityArticles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948• 2: Rights and freedoms to all people — cannot be taken away

because of your sex• 3: Right to life, liberty and security• 7: Right to be treated equally by the law• 17: Right to own goods, land and other property• 21: Right to take part in the government of your country and to

have equal access to services in your country• 26: Right to an education

United Nations agreements

• Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women 1979

• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women 1993

• Millennium Development Goals (2000)

Human Rights Agreements – Gender Inequality

Future strategies• Despite improvements in the status of

women, seventy per cent of the world's poorest people are female. The 2015 United Nations Millennium Development Goals aim to reduce female poverty (Goal 1), provide universal primary education (Goal 2), promote gender equality and empower women (Goal 3) and improve maternal health (Goal 5). AusAID and Women in Development (WID) responded to the challenge by integrating gender equality into development programs.• Despite advancements in women's

rights in Australia, such as the right to vote (1902), women still experience inequality in employment, leadership and political representation.

The 2008 Australian Plan of Action Towards Gender Equality aims to:

• increase the number of women in leadership positions

• balance work and family• reduce the incidence of sexual

harassment and the gender gap in retirement savings

• strengthen the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act

• promote progress in health and education.

In 2008, after a reduction of the gender gap in health and education, the global gender gap ranked Australia 21 out of 130 countries. Australia aims to improve political empowerment and economic participation of women, as 25 per cent of women and 21 per cent of men stated that women are not treated equally in the Australian workplace.

DO YOU TAKE YOUR EDUCATION FOR GRANTED?

Girls Rising – Film - EducationProduced with support from the foundation, “Girl Rising” tells the stories of nine girls from nine different countries who share a determination to attend school and improve their lives. From their homes in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru and Sierra Leone, the girls confront obstacles that limit their opportunity and restrict their potential, including early marriage, gender violence and discrimination, and lack of access to healthcare. Amid these challenges, the girls pursue education as a means to improve not only their own lives, but the lives of their communities and the world at large. Education is the single largest factor which determines change in culture and community for issues on Human Rights.

Watch the trailer for a new film on Girls Education and Womens Rights here: http://www.fordfoundation.org/issues/sexuality-and-reproductive-health-and-rights/protecting-womens-rights/news?id=755 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJsvklXhYaE

ACTIVITYFIND YOUR OWN IMAGE ONLINE WHICH DOES NOT HAVE ANY TEXT ADDED, SELECT A WOMEN’S ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN THIS LESSON AND CREATE YOUR OWN DIGITAL BANNER ADVERTISE THAT WOMEN’S RIGHTS ISSUE, SUCH AS THE ONE ON THE LEFT.