Human rights are women’s rights. Women’s rights are human rights
Raising awareness about equality for all should be a priority for every family and community in a world where many women and girls are still oppressed
● Forty-two years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), often described as an international bill of rights for women, many women and girls still do not have equal opportunities to realise rights recognised by law. This is in spite of the convention’s adoption by 188 states.
March is a Human Rights Month in SA, in recognition of the sacrifices by ordinary men and women for the attainment of political freedom in 1994. However, it is concerning that for women and girls, by virtue of their gender, human rights are still elusive. Gender inequality persists whilst genderbased violence and femicide (GBVF) is escalating.
All humans aspire to live in a world where everyone’s dignity and self-worth is respected, a society and community in which there is an adequate standard of living and a decent home for everyone, where no-one is disadvantaged at home, in social settings or the workplace because of their gender and indeed where violence has no place.
But by virtue of their gender, women and girls have not enjoyed their human rights, as seen from escalating GBVF and their exclusion from leadership positions in most sectors of society. Although all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, many women struggle daily to have their most basic rights protected.
To be effective, human rights need to be supported by law and a culture that embraces diversity and equity across all social identities.
The South African government has demonstrated its commitment to address the human rights of women through legislation and financial commitments.
There are also various initiatives that seek to address the gender-based violence pandemic, including the 2020 Gender-Based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan, the interministerial committee to investigate the root causes of violence against women and children, the National Child Care and Protection Forum and the National Domestic Violence inter-sectoral committee, among others.
But the truth is that we can have as many bills, committees, conventions and partnerships as we want, but sustainable progress is not possible unless we fix the failures of systems in our society so that women have equal access to opportunities and their rights are respected in all aspects of their lives.
So why is it difficult to deliver human rights for women? Gender-based violence and femicide can be directly linked to the unequal distribution of power and to the asymmetrical relationships between men and women in our society, perpetuating patriarchy, toxic masculinity and the devaluation of women and their expected subordination to men.
Gender is socially constructed, it is a cultural phenomenon, underpinned by behaviours that are relearned and therefore can be unlearned. That is why society has an important role in the socialisation of boys and girls, from families, schools and church, among other agents of change.
With the same process and through the same agents, everyone, particularly men and boy children, can be taught behaviour deemed appropriate for their gender or just for humanity. They can be taught that human dignity is something that is equal among all humans, that to afford women their dignity is to preserve one’s own self-esteem, self-regard and selfrespect.
The most urgent need is to deconstruct the social and cultural structures that permit the power of male domination and the continued subordination of women expressed through beliefs that women are inferior to men and that it is acceptable to discipline women and girls with beatings, threats or coercion.
Improving the situation for survivors and their access to services, respectfully and confidentially granting non-discriminatory access to services and not blaming them for what happened, when those to blame are the perpetrators, should be a priority.
As a nation we need healing. Only a sick nation kills its children and its women. Accountability and recourse, while essential for the perpetrators, has to be followed by healing intervention for all those that are affected by GBVF. That has the power to stop the circle of violence.
Services should be comprehensive to cover health needs, psychological, legal support and economic empowerment, regardless of the background and the circumstances of the incident.
As part of the healing process, public-private partnerships are important in tackling national challenges. The government alone cannot help in addressing the twin pandemics. That is why the International Women’s Forum SA (IWFSA) facilitated the birth of the private sector-led Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund 1 (GBVF Fund1), in partnership with the presidency. It raised more than R128-million in pledges from business at its launch in February.
The success of this collaboration, which seeks to help in the eradication of GBVF through the implementation of the six pillars of the National Strategic Plan, will depend on partnerships with the different relevant government departments, civil society, faith-based organisations, philanthropists, traditional leaders, activists’ groups, community-based organisations and nongovernmental organisations. The task is too big for one group.
Gender-based violence, all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation, and inequality are incompatible with human dignity and must be eliminated. And it is everyone’s responsibility. Women are the pillar of society, children are its future — protecting their rights is protection of the future of any society and human dignity.
As former US first lady, feminist and former presidential candidate Hilary Clinton rightly stated, “Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” Awareness of human rights is one of the most important ways to enforce them — recognising that the fundamental principle of human rights is to provide human dignity to women too.
But sustainable progress is not possible unless we fix the failures of systems in our society so that women have equal access to opportunities