Gender equality

UNICEF (an agency of the United Nations) defines gender equality as "women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections.

These conventions have not been uniformly adopted by all countries, and include: Such legislation and affirmative action policies have been critical to bringing changes in societal attitudes.

[28] Personal, social, health and economic education, religious studies and language acquisition curricula tend to address gender equality issues as a very serious topic for discussion and analysis of its effect in society.

[29] UNFPA says that "research has also demonstrated how working with men and boys as well as women and girls to promote gender equality contributes to achieving health and development outcomes.

National policies and budgets in East Africa and Latin America, for example, have increasingly highlighted structural gaps in access to land, inputs, services, finance and digital technology and included efforts to produce gender-responsive outcomes.

[ix] By contrast, in countries with a high level of organized criminal activity and gang violence, murders of women are more likely to occur in a public sphere, often in a general climate of indifference and impunity.

[46] Richard A. Posner writes that "Traditionally, rape was the offense of depriving a father or husband of a valuable asset — his wife's chastity or his daughter's virginity".

One important point to note is that more of the types of violence inflicted on women are perpetrated by someone the woman knows, either a family member or intimate partner, rather than a stranger.

The Human Rights Campaign tracked over 128 cases[clarification needed] that ended in fatality against transgender people in the US from 2013 to 2018, of which eighty percent included a trans woman of color.

In the US, high rates of Intimate Partner violence impact trans women differently because they are facing discrimination from police and health providers, and alienation from family.

[xix] Family planning is the practice of freely deciding the number of children one has and the intervals between their births, particularly by means of contraception or voluntary sterilization.

Some countries have liberal laws regarding these issues, but in practice it is very difficult to access such services due to doctors, pharmacists and other social and medical workers being conscientious objectors.

[78] Other harmful traditional practices include marriage by abduction, ritualized sexual slavery (Devadasi, Trokosi), breast ironing and widow inheritance.

For instance, in northern Ghana, the payment of bride price signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control face threats, violence and reprisals.

Although the "pink tax" of different goods and services is not uniform, overall women pay more for commodities that result in visual evidence of feminine body image.

[xxvi][xxvii][xxviii][xxix] In the computer technology world of Silicon Valley in the United States, New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles has covered harassment and bias against women as well as a backlash against female equality.

[xxxi] In some countries, employers ask women to sign formal or informal documents stipulating that they will not get pregnant or face legal punishment.

States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile.

A 20 percentage point gender gap in access to upper secondary education is also observed in sub-Saharan African countries, including Chad and Guinea.

[136] Switzerland was one of the last countries in Europe to establish gender equality in marriage, in this country married women's rights were severely restricted until 1988, when legal reforms providing for gender equality in marriage, abolishing the legal authority of the husband, come into force (these reforms had been approved in 1985 by voters in a referendum, who narrowly voted in favor with 54.7% of voters approving).

However, in November 2016 the Turkish government cracked down on the HDP, jailing ten of its members of Parliament, including the party's male and female co-leaders.

[155] A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their sex.

[164][165] The United Nations Development Programme states that, in order to advance gender justice, "Women must know their rights and be able to access legal systems".

"[132] An integrated gender mainstreaming approach is "the attempt to form alliances and common platforms that bring together the power of faith and gender-equality aspirations to advance human rights.

"[176] For example, "in Azerbaijan, UNFPA conducted a study on gender equality by comparing the text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with some widely recognized Islamic references and resources.

[181] Gender equality is measured using a framework that evaluates four key areas: political empowerment, educational attainment, health and survival, and economic participation and opportunity.

[185] A criticism of the Western concept and policies of gender equality relates to the degree to which this approach is able to genuinely address in a successful way the problem of violence against women.

[192] These critics point out that women in Western countries often face similar problems, such as domestic violence and rape, as in other parts of the world.

[xlvi][xlvii][xlviii][xlix] Another criticism is that there is a selective public discourse with regard to different types of oppression of women, with some forms of violence such as honor killings (most common in certain geographic regions such as parts of Asia and North Africa) being frequently the object of public debate, while other forms of violence, such as the lenient punishment for crimes of passion across Latin America, do not receive the same attention in the West.

[205] In a 1975 interview, Simone de Beauvoir talked about the negative reactions towards women's rights from the left that was supposed to be progressive and support social change, and also expressed skepticism about mainstream international organizations.

Two Indian stamps which combine to make a human face. Left stamp is of the left half of a man's face. Right stamp is of the right half of a woman's face.
Two Indian stamps which combine to symbolize gender equality
From the documentary Ukraine Is Not a Brothel . Radical group Femen protest against the increase in sex tourism into Ukraine.
A composite data map showing the percentage of women aged 15-49 who have undergone FGM. The source is UNICEF (2016), and a number of additional studies for countries outside Africa (with the exception of Indonesia) not surveyed by UNICEF. There is no data for the countries in grey
Map of countries by fertility rate (2020), according to the Population Reference Bureau
A map of the world showing murders per 100,000 population committed against women, 2019
Anti- FGM road sign, Bakau, Gambia, 2005
An X-ray of two bound feet. Foot binding was practiced for centuries in China.
Global maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births (2010) [ 61 ]
In 2010, Sierra Leone launched free healthcare for pregnant and breastfeeding women
Placard showing negative effects of lack of family planning and having too many children and infants ( Ethiopia )
Anti-dowry poster in Bangalore , India
map
FGM in Africa, Iraqi Kurdistan and Yemen, as of 2015 ( map of Africa ). [ 37 ]
Road sign near Kapchorwa , Uganda , 2004
Poster against child and forced marriage
Bar graph showing the gender pay gap in European countries
Gender pay gap in average gross hourly earnings in the EU member states, according to Eurostat 2014 [ 93 ] [ failed verification ]
A government video: Why substantive equality is important in local government
Women in Afghanistan wearing burqas . Some clothes that women are required to wear, by law or custom, can restrict their movements.
Map showing countries which since independence have had (counting Governors-General as heads of state, but excluding monarchs):
Female head of government [ b ]
Female head of state [ c ]
Female head of state/government (combined)
Female head of state and female head of government
Three former sovereign states ( East Germany , Tannu Tuva , and Yugoslavia ) have also had a female Head of State or Head of Government
A world map showing countries governmental participation by women, 2010
Series of photographs lampooning women drivers
1952 portrayal of stereotypes about women drivers, based on the stereotype that women cannot drive well. Features Bettie Page .
There is controversy with regard to ideologies according to which Western culture and Western feminism should be considered the international standard to be followed by the developing world . [ 177 ]
An example of a Western European ideology responsible for persecution of women: [ 178 ] Malleus Maleficarum , a book endorsing the extermination of witches . The book was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer .
The Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden was the last jurisdiction in Europe, and one of the last jurisdictions in the world, to grant women's suffrage in 1990 [ 179 ]