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January 28, 2025

Challenges and Difficulties in Protecting Women’s Rights at the United Nations Conference / Elaheh Amani

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Goddess Amani

The sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) (1) was held from 11 to 22 March at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The main theme of this session was “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure” and the review theme of the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2016 was “Women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development”.

In this conference, which was attended by 10,000 people from all around the world (2,000 of whom were official representatives from 193 countries), 280 sessions were organized by member countries of the United Nations and affiliated organizations. Additionally, 1,030 non-governmental organizations, 400 roundtables, and workshops were held. The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, established in 1946, is the largest commission in United Nations conferences, held annually in New York.

BuzzFeed reported on the issue of women’s exclusion from Middle Eastern and African countries – particularly those on the list of six countries with travel bans to the United States, including citizens of Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan, as well as Zimbabwe – due to visa restrictions. The International Human Rights Service, a UN-affiliated organization, announced that at least 41 women were unable to attend this meeting due to visa denials. The majority of those who were unable to attend due to visa denials were women who had been invited by non-governmental organizations to this conference. This is despite the fact that, according to a treaty that has been in place for 70 years, the United States is committed to “not restricting the presence of individuals and non-governmental organizations from attending UN meetings.”

Tense negotiations.

According to the annual procedure in February, the “zero draft” is prepared based on the chosen theme and research by the United Nations, the provisions of conventions and international documents – which have been prepared by this organization in previous years – are made available to official representatives and non-governmental organizations – who hold advisory positions with the Commission on the Status of Women. Taking into account the opinions received from member countries of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, a second draft is prepared and then discussed at the official meeting.

The official negotiations of this summit regarding the final document (Agreed Conclusion) were managed by Koki Muli Grignon. The tensions of this summit started from minor issues such as grammar and gradually shifted to the downplaying of positions adopted in previous documents regarding women’s rights and the language used in these documents, including the final document of the Beijing Conference on Women’s Rights.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iran have taken positions on sexual and reproductive health and abortion that do not recognize and violate these rights, similar to previous years. In this conference and negotiations, they found new allies, including the United States and to some extent Russia. The Russian representative said in an interview with Passblue that it is not a problem if the phrase “sexual and reproductive health” is not repeated in every paragraph.

Backward forces are demanding the reclaiming of women’s achievements at the global level – reflected in resolutions, treaties, and international documents – and the violation of women’s equal rights. In contrast, the positions of Canada, the European Union, and Latin American countries have been in line with preserving the language and what has been achieved in 63 years of activity by the Women’s Commission and non-governmental organizations.

This tension was so intense that even negotiations continued until the early hours of the morning, according to Ms. Cookie Moli Greenignon, who was managing the negotiations. She received over a thousand messages in support of her efforts to preserve and advocate for the rights and language of the document, which were under attack, protested, and even threatened by forces seeking to diminish and reclaim women’s rights.

The Vatican and the United States of America requested the removal of the phrase “sexual health” from the final document; as it “encourages sexual activities among girls and abortion”; however, their request was not taken into consideration. The term “women’s empowerment” also faced opposition from conservative and reactionary forces. They demanded that instead of this phrase, “dignity” be used, which refers to the feminine characteristics and traditional ideas of gender roles. American representatives also tried to replace the term “gender” with “women and girls”; as “gender” is a broader term than the concept of “woman, man, girl, and boy” and includes “sexual-gender diversity”. Additionally, America had theoretical issues with the language used in the final document regarding migration, technology applications, and climate change. Official representatives from China, who were not heavily involved, also had problems with the positions of the final document on “human rights”.

One of the words that sparked discussion was the word “family” and “families”. When the term “families” is used instead of “family” in international documents, it encompasses the diversity and variations of modern families; because the concept of family in today’s world is not only limited to the traditional form – consisting of a father, mother, and children. Families can also include single-parent families and families headed by grandparents. It also includes families that encompass a wide range of gender diversity (LGBTQ).

Despite all the challenges faced in approving the final document of this summit, the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women took a step forward in the areas of women’s rights, access to public services, social security, and sustainable infrastructure, which are crucial and key factors in achieving gender equality.

The sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women and Global Realities.

This conference, which was discussed for the first time in an international session, responds to the difficult situation that women and girls face around the world. Based on United Nations research and the Secretary-General’s report on the theme of 2019:

  1. 740 million women participate in the informal economy to support their livelihoods. They have limited access to social support for employed women in the formal sector, such as maternity leave, education, illness, retirement benefits, and other benefits of participating in the formal labor market. They are deprived of public services and infrastructure that can increase their security and productivity, and these should be prioritized.

  2. More than 50% of urban women and girls in developing countries on three continents, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, live in conditions where at least one of their basic human needs is not met; including access to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities in schools, workplaces, and public spaces, suitable housing and living conditions that do not jeopardize their safety and health.

  3. Women perform 2/6 of the unpaid care and domestic work that men do, and only 41% of mothers in the world receive maternity benefits.

  4. Gender gap in retirement rights is 10.6%. In 2016, 68.4% of elderly men received retirement benefits, while this number was 57.8% for women.

  5. While according to numerous studies by the United Nations and specialized educational institutions, it is likely that one in three women will experience violence in their lifetime, urban transportation systems, mass communication tools, and public services are rarely planned with consideration for women’s safety.

  6. Important infrastructures such as health facilities and toilets are not available in 23% of schools around the world. This causes numerous problems for girls and their hygiene needs, especially during menstruation. It also leads to many girls missing school for several days each month due to the lack of these infrastructures.

  7. Access to women’s health care during pregnancy, sexual and family planning services, although has improved globally, is still lacking in many cases in terms of quality. For example, rural women have 20% less access to doctors or midwives during childbirth compared to urban women, and poor women have 19% less access to modern methods of contraception compared to wealthy women.

This year’s discussion of the Women’s Commission was focused on addressing these global challenges.

Changing discriminatory laws in 100 countries around the world by 2023.

2.5 billion women and girls around the world are deprived of various forms of legal support and their rights are violated by discriminatory laws. One of the important actions of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2019 is a long-term strategy and goal to accelerate the change of discriminatory laws regarding women and girls in 100 countries. This important action, supported by UN Women, the African Union, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the International Organization of La Francophonie, the Bero Americana Secretary-General, and other UN and non-governmental organizations, aims to achieve gender equality in the laws of various countries. The document drafted for this goal and strategy is called “Legal Equality for Women and Girls by 2030”.

This strategy and long-term goal focuses on 6 thematic areas.

  • Comprehensive reforms and legal amendments.

  • Empowerment of Women’s Economy.

  • Raising the minimum age of marriage for girls.

  • Putting an end to sexual and gender discrimination in matters of national citizenship.

  • Changing discriminatory laws regarding sexual assault.
  • Encouraging equality in family relationships.

The logical argument that has been raised in the field of implementing this strategy is that although the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – which was drafted in 1979 – provides a comprehensive action plan for equal rights for women and the commitments of governments to achieve equality in both law and practice, the legal equality of women and girls has still not been achieved. It is worth noting that Iran has not signed this convention and the United States, which has signed it, has not ratified it in the Senate. In fact, Iran and the US are among the 5 countries that have not signed or implemented this convention.

Iran is in .

Sixty-third.

Meeting of the Women’s Commission.

In this meeting, Vahideh Neghin, the advisor to the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare on Women and Family Affairs, and Farideh Oladghobad and Sakineh Almasi, two representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, participated.

Marlene Schiappa, Minister of Equality (of women and men) in President Macron’s cabinet, in her short speech referred to Macron’s decision on granting a seat at the G7 Council for gender equality, reminding of France’s decision to support Nasrin Sotoudeh, a imprisoned lawyer in Iran. This reminder was responded to by the sharp words of Ms. Farideh Oladghobad, who stated, “I suggest that instead of interfering in the affairs of other countries, she (Marlene Schiappa) should address the dissatisfactions in her own country.”

Vahideh Neghin also mentioned, according to a report reflected in the Iranian media, that “the social support system in the country includes social assistance, employment programs, and social insurance. Therefore, the services and actions provided at the level of social assistance are aimed at immediately solving problems, preventing social damages, and empowering the target community to exit vulnerability.” She also addressed the issue of social insurance for farmers and villagers, stating that the government pays two-thirds of the insurance premium. Finally, she announced that “in the Islamic Republic, all women and men have access to health insurance coverage.”

Furthermore, with the participation of Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, and Iran, a session titled “Muslim Women, Agents of Change and Breaking Negative Stereotypes” was held on March 15th, in which Ms. Vahideh Negin was present.

Among other issues mentioned in this conference regarding Iran, which was also reflected on page 13 of the United Nations Journal on March 13th, was Iran and Nigeria’s membership in the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women. It is worth noting that Iran was selected as one of the countries in the “Asia and Pacific” region to join this commission in 2015. Iran’s term in this commission will come to an end this year (2019) after a four-year period. As all United Nations member states have equal rights to participate in various commissions of the organization, a record of discriminatory laws or human rights violations in these countries does not prevent them from being present in these commissions.

The shocking realities of Iranian society in terms of social support, public services, and sustainable infrastructure.

Despite what representatives of the Islamic Republic claim in international conferences, the shocking realities of Iranian society, especially for women and girls, cannot be hidden. Discriminatory laws, including family laws, compulsory hijab, and the consequences of protesting against them (such as arrests, harassment, and abuse of those who dare to speak out), and the minimum age of marriage – which is one of the lowest legal ages even among majority Muslim countries – have not only violated the human rights of women and girls for over 40 years, but also hindered their ability to participate in the economy and benefit from society, and hindered the potential of women in the development of the country.

Masoumeh Ebtakar, the Deputy President for Women and Family Affairs, stated in an interview with IRNA in February 2019 that “a document for improving the status of women is being prepared for each province, with the aim of promoting resilience and strengthening the capabilities of women.” She continued, “The document for improving the status of women paves the way for implementing resilience programs by increasing local comprehensive capabilities and advantages against social harms, and in this regard, the capabilities of women are strengthened through holding educational workshops.”

The shocking reality is that the number of women heading households has doubled in the span of 20 years from 2016 to 1996. 70% of these women are unemployed and only one-third of them receive benefits and assistance from the Welfare Organization. The age of prostitution has also reached elementary school age (according to the affiliated authority of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution of Iran). Additionally, 40,000 girls under the age of 14 get married annually in Iran (it should be noted that this is an official statistic and does not include the shadow of unofficial marriages) and there are 15,000 widows under the age of 15 in Iran. All of this is happening while the bill to combat child marriage did not pass in the parliament and there was significant opposition to it; from making video clips to approve of underage marriages, to expressing opinions that efforts to raise the marriage age are a war against God, the opponents of this bill have made various efforts. K

The civil laws in Iran, which were passed in 1313, set the marriage age at 15 for girls and 18 for boys. In 1353, this age was increased to 18 for girls and 20 for boys. However, in 1982, the marriage age was reduced to 9 for girls and 15 for boys, and in 2002 (after 20 years of challenging the marriage age of 9 for girls), the marriage age for girls in Iran was increased to 13 in the laws.

Iran also has significant shortcomings in terms of women’s capabilities and economic participation compared to other countries in the region. In the formal job market, only 3 million women are employed, which shows a staggering 50% difference between the employment levels of men and women (with women only having a 14% economic participation rate) (5). This issue is highlighted by the heavy presence of women in higher education, which is a clear example of Iran not utilizing the potential of educated women for development purposes. The reason for this is not only the lack of political will to create encouraging conditions for women’s presence in the public sphere, but also the policies and decisions made in the past 40 years indicate a dominant discourse aimed at creating obstacles for women’s social and economic participation.

What was mentioned above is only a very small example of the numerous and countless cases that indicate the lack of social support, services, and discriminatory laws for women and girls. Sustainable infrastructure in urban planning and creating public spaces for the benefit of women and girls and addressing their needs and safety is not fundamentally a priority. For example, the Women’s Safety Bill in the judiciary has been delayed (6). This bill, which includes 5 chapters and 92 articles, has been drafted by the Center for Women and Family Affairs of the 11th government. This bill, which considers violence a crime and states that no one has the right to harm women in family, private, public, or government relationships, is considered by the judiciary spokesperson to have “many problems that may not even be fixable”! One of these problems, according to him, is “heavy imprisonment and punishments for some crimes against women.” Ashraf Geramizadegan, legal advisor of the Office of Women and Family Affairs

The Islamic Republic, in the past 40 years, has not only taken steps towards changing discriminatory laws against women and girls, but also bears the heavy burden of social and economic hardships that weigh on Iranian women and girls more than ever before. The intersection of economic classes, crushing poverty, national, religious, sexual, and gender discrimination presents a very disturbing image of the conditions and challenges faced by Iranian women to the global community. As mentioned, this image cannot be concealed by the words of representatives of the Islamic Republic in the Women’s Affairs Commission.

Despite all of this, Iranian women and girls will not stop their efforts for their rights and gender equality in both public and private spheres, and for changing discriminatory laws. They will continue to fight and be active until they achieve their human rights and have equal access to social support, suitable job opportunities, and a rightful place in Iranian society.

Footnotes:

  1. For more information, go to: the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women page of the United Nations, and the United Nations Women website.

  2. Report of the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Women’s Affairs Commission, Women and Family Affairs Deputy’s website, 26 Esfand 1397.

  3. “A document is prepared for the improvement of women’s status in each province, IRNA, 4 Esfand 1397.”

  4. Open letter from a member of the Women and Family Cultural and Social Council to the President, Mehr News Agency, July 11, 2018.

  5. For more information, visit the website of the Deputy of Women and Family Affairs for the status of women’s economy.

  6. The Women’s Security Bill is on the desk of the head of the judiciary, April 13th, 2019.

Created By: Elahe Amani
April 21, 2019

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