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Chapter 1

Women's Status and CEDAW

On This Page

Introduction to the Chapter

This chapter explores women’s status at the beginning of the 21st century and introduces the

reader to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

[CEDAW].  The Convention is the most comprehensive international treaty on women’s issues

and therefore the book's starting point.

Documents from the Chapter

Each document has its own box.  The box contains, on the top bold line, the name of the document. 

This is followed by the legal citation (not in bold).  Under these lines, the box contains one or more

sources for opening the document.  In the left-hand column (“HTML” or “PDF”), the reader can access

the official document copy, hosted on RossRights.  This permits rapid access to the document.  In the

right-hand column (“External Link”), the reader can access the same document on an official website. 

This link will often take more time to appear than the PDF or HTML copy, but should be used for

official legal citations. Where there is an asterisk (*) in the box, it indicates that there is an explanatory

footnote directly below the box, which tells the reader how to access/locate the document.

For all United Nations Treaties, the source marked "Original" contains the UN General Assembly

Resolution (G.A. res.) adopting the relevant treaty, which is found in the "Annex" following the

Resolution.  The source marked "UN High Comm'r for Human Rights" contains the relevant treaty,

without the G.A. res. When following a link that requires searching for a symbol, there are several

preliminary steps: first, copy the listed symbol and click the link, second; select a language; third,

clicking the "Simple Search" button; and fourth, paste the symbol into the "Symbol" blank and

click the "Search" button.

Key:
Map AvailableMap(s) Available
Photo AvailablePhoto(s) Available

         Against Women

         Crisis in Afghanistan (1998)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,

G.A. res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, entered into force Sept. 3, 1981.
Original PDF*
UN High Comm'r for Human Rights PDF

*Document begins at the bottom right of the first page.

 

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,

G.A. res. 54/4, annex, 54 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 5, U.N. Doc. A/54/49 (Vol. I) (2000), entered into force Dec. 22, 2000.

Original PDF
UN High Comm'r for Human Rights PDF

*Search for Symbol A/54/49

CEDAW [Committee] Rules for Complaints Procedure
United Nations PDF

UN High Comm'r for Human Rights

 

^Only includes Section III.

*Scroll down to Section III for the rules relating to the Complaints Procedure.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,

1155 U.N.T.S. 331, 8 I.L.M. 679, entered into force Jan. 27, 1980.

United Nations PDF

 

Treaty Reference Guide

U.N. Treaty Collection

United Nations PDF

 

Physicians for Human Rights, The Taliban’s War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan,

Boston (1998).

Physicians for Human Rights PDF

 

Afghanistan: Statistics
UNICEF  

 

Afghanistan Constitution (2004)
AsianLII PDF

 

The Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Women and Girls in Afghanistan,

U.N. Doc. E/CN.6.2003/4 (2003).

Original PDF

*Search for Symbol: E/CN.6/2003/4

 

Links from the Chapter

Related Maps and Photos

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is located in Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran.

       Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%

Afghan Woman in Burqa

An Afghan woman shopping in a burqa.
Attribution: babasteve. License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Afghan Women in Blue Burqas

A crowd of Afghan women in burqas.
Attribution: lakerae. License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

NoDerivs 2.0.

Afghan Woman in Burqa

Afghan women sitting with their burqas.
Attribution: N_Creatures. License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0.

Afghan woman covered by a burqua carrying a package.

Attribution: Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. License: Creative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0.

Other Developments

Further Update: The following article is in reference to the Note, "Women in Politics,"

on page 11:

 

Four Women Win Seats in Kuwait Parliament,

Robert F. Worth, First Women Win Seats in Kuwait Parliament, N.Y. Times, May 18, 2009, at A4

New York Times Company

 

Below is an article from Human Rights Watch which details the subjugation of women

as second class citizens in Saudi Arabia. As detailed in the article, women still

must be accompanied by a male guardian to do normal tasks like receiving medical care.

Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Promises Being Broken,

Human Rights Watch: Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Promises Being Broken, Human Rights Watch, July 9, 2009, available at http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/07/08/saudi-arabia-women-s-rights-promises-broken

Human Rights Watch

 

Update: Below is a new report from the United Nations Office of High Commissioner

for Human Rights detailing the rampant abuse of women in Afghanistan.

Silence is Violence: End the Abuse of Women in Afghanistan,

U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (8 July 2009), available at http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/vaw-english.pdf

United Nations High Comm'r for Human Rights