|
Human Rights, Poverty and Women   
Dec. 8, 2006—Today, nearly half of all people living in the world are struggling to get by on less than two dollars a day. A life of poverty is precarious, and is more than just a lack of income and food. Without shelter, education, healthcare and security, people living in poverty are often denied basic human rights and dignity. This is even more true for women, who are the majority of the world’s poor.
Poverty is the focus of this year’s International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), which commemorates the date nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations in 1948. This year’s campaign recognizes that poverty is both a cause and a result of human rights violations. “Poverty eradication is an achievable goal,” says Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and should be tackled as a “human rights obligation.” Globally, women are often denied equal rights and opportunities that contribute to poverty. Women are the majority of the world’s unpaid labor. When they are paid, they earn on average just over 50 percent of what men earn worldwide. In families living in poverty, women and girls often eat last. They also are denied access to healthcare as women’s health problems are considered less important than other family priorities. And, girls are often taken out of school to perform household chores, take care of sick family members or earn income for the family. In a pledge to improve the human rights of women and girls, more than 185 nations have ratified the Treaty for the Rights of Women, formally known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The CEDAW Treaty encourages governments to address areas of discrimination against women and ensure that women and girls have equal access to health, education, employment and legal systems—giving women the tools to move out of poverty. The United States is among a small number of countries, including Iran and Somalia, that have not ratified the treaty. To strengthen worldwide commitments to women’s human rights, CEDPA strengthens the advocacy skills of women leaders and works hand-in-hand with them to mobilize women’s organizations and communities worldwide. 
CEDPA sponsored the largest non-governmental delegation to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo to help forge a consensus on the need for nations to invest in the health and well-being of women and girls. In 1995, CEDPA mobilized 26 partners from every region to Beijing for the UN Fourth World Conference on Women to ensure that the outcome reflected women’s needs and priorities. And, most recently in 2005, CEDPA alumni and partners argued at the first ever civil society hearing at the United Nations that advancing women’s health was essential to ending poverty. Learn more about the CEDPA’s work to increase women’s voices in advocating for their rights. |
|
