The Equality of Women

Essay # 97617

Women Studies
Women Studies > Feminism

This paper discusses whether international human rights have contributed to feminist goals.

2,650 words () | 12 sources | MLA | 2007 France

Paper Summary:

The paper reveals that millions of women throughout the world suffer tremendous oppression and constant discrimination. The paper considers the present conditions of women in several different countries, including South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco and Guatemala. The paper explores what progress has been made towards gender equality over the past few decades and whether international law has enabled this progress.

Outline:
Introduction
Human Rights Are Women's Rights
Violence and Discrimination Against Women
The Response of the International Community
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"It was the creation of the United Nations, which immediately followed WWII that primarily helped to promote and advance feminist goals within an international dimension. In 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women was established, while two years later the UN presented its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protected "the equal rights of men and women" (High Commission for Human Rights, Online Article, 1948), and which also addressed both equity and equality issues. It wouldn't be until almost thirty years later, however, that feminist issues would begin to be seriously addressed within the international arena."

Sample of Sources Used:

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'Im, Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus. Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press. Place of Publication: Philadelphia. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 430. 1995
Diana Brown, The Misery Behind the Statistics. Magazine Title: Free Inquiry. Volume: 19. Issue: 2. Publication Date: Spring 1999. Page Number: 25+. COPYRIGHT 1999 Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, Inc.; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group
Gumisai Mutume, Online Article, RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Women Celebrate Gains, 1998. Information retrieved 06/16/2007. <http://web.archive.org/web/20040214022735/http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/aug98/15_17_044.html>
Human Rights Watch.org, Online Article, Women's Human Rights, 1999. Information retrieved 06/17/2007. <http://www.hrw.org/worldreport99/women/women3.html>
IFS. (International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres), Online Article, UN celebrating 30 years promoting gender equality, 2005. UN Commission Status of Women. Information retrieved 06/16/2007. < http://www.ifsnetwork.org/news/item.asp?id=148>