Question 7 ‘The recognition of “women’s rights” in International Human Rights Law and
the adoption of documents and mechanisms to that end means that “men’s rights” must
now also specifically be protected.’ Discuss.
For a coherent understanding of the statement in question, the below discussion will shed
light onto the stipulated ‘documents and mechanisms’, and the reason for their existence,
both statistically and historically. Differing views of human rights advocates will be explored
to enable the reader to have a clear understanding of the reasons that ‘special’ measures
exist which address the gender specific injuries that are faced by women. It was suggested by
D.Otto that the existence of such documents affirms the ‘maleness’ of the universal subject
of human rights as, according to her, ‘men need no special enumeration for their gender-
specific injuries’.
Before examining the above statement in detail, it is pertinent to first understand the reason
for the adoption of such gender-specific documents and mechanisms for women. Women,
consisting of half the population of the world, have always been subject to human rights
abuses. According to the 2014 Human Development Report, about one third of the world’s
women will experience sexual or other physical violence in their lifetime, usually from an
intimate partner. The WHO estimates that every day 830 women and girls die of preventable
complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Looking at the statistics of different countries, every 1.5 minutes a woman is raped in South
Africa. In a detailed family planning survey of 733 women in the Kissi district of Kenya, 42
percent said they were beaten regularly by their husbands. Furthermore, some
traditional/religious practices worsen the situation. According to the WHO more than 80
million women have undergone sexual surgery (“female circumcision”) in Africa alone. Sexual
cleansing of women in Southeast Africa is yet another example.
However, this does not mean that women suffer only due to traditional practices in
developing countries. Surveys show that women in all parts of the world work longer hours
but are paid less than men. Even when it comes to inheriting properties, all the societies have
discriminated against women. Countries like USA or Canada are no strangers to women rights
abuses. In Canada, a government commission estimated that 1 in 4 female children and 1 in
10 male children will be sexually assaulted prior to the age of 17 years. 22 to 35 percent of
women who visit emergency departments in the USA are there for symptoms related to on-
going abuse.
As half of all humankind is female, protecting their rights can have a positive impact on most
of the challenges that the world is facing (even poverty, as feminists suggest). Prospering
countries have shown commitment towards universal health care and education. Common
sense would highlight the point that, if women are given equal opportunities as men, a
country could take full advantage of the talent pool it has, as opposed to only relying upon a
maximum of one half of it. Educating women also helps reduce malnutrition, even more than
improving food availability.
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