Daily Independent (Lagos)
Dolapo Oseni
17 November 2008
Lagos — Gender discrimination refers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to the gender of a person and such beliefs and attitudes are of a social nature and do not, usually, carry any legal consequences. However, the United Nations at its last convention on the 'Elimination of Discrimination Against Women', CEDAW, told the Nigerian government to adopt comprehensive measures towards addressing violence against women and girls in accordance with its general recommendation on violence against women by enacting comprehensive legislations on all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, as soon as possible.
This was made known by the National Coordinator of Gender and Constitutional Reform Network, GECORN, a network of civil society groups on gender interests, Mrs. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, at a post media briefing of the CEDAW convention held in Lagos.
Mrs. Akiyode-Afolabi said the UN Expert Committee made several observations and recommendations following the Nigeria report given by the Nigerian delegation led by the Minister for Women Affairs. She explained that though Nigeria recorded great improvements, the country still had a long way to go and the responsibility lay with every individual to bring about the desired change.
According to her, the Expert Committee also told Nigeria to set up a concrete timetable for amending all provisions in the constitution and in the federal and state legislations that discriminate against women while she should also continue to take measures to modify or eliminate traditional and cultural practices or stereotypes that discriminate against women in accordance with articles 2(f) and 5(a) of the convention.
The committee particularly frowned at the high incidence of female genital mutilations in some areas of the country and the absence of a national legislation prohibiting the act while also condemning the failure of Nigeria in her responsibility to undertake all necessary measures to ensure full implementation of the convention in a consistent and coherent manner across the country and her inability to domesticate the convention.
She told Daily Independent that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted on December 18, 1979, which guaranteed the right for all women to be free from discrimination and set out obligations for parties designed to ensure legal and practical enjoyment of that right.
According to her, the convention provides the basis for realising equality among women and men through ensuring women's equal opportunities in political and public life, including the rights to vote and to stand for election as well as education, health and employment. Stakeholders agreed to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women could enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The convention is the only human rights treaty, which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire and change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children. States parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of trafficking in women and exploitation of women.
Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations.
Violence and discrimination against women are global social epidemics, despite the progress of the international women's human rights movement in identifying, raising awareness about and challenging impunity for women's human rights violations.
"We live in a world in which women do not have basic control over what happens to their bodies. Millions of women and girls are forced to marry and have sex with men they do not desire. Women are unable to depend on the government to protect them from physical violence in the home. Our duty as activists is to expose and denounce as human rights violations those practices and policies that silence and subordinate women. We reject specific legal, cultural or religious practices by which women are systematically discriminated against.
"Cultural relativism, which argues that there are no universal human rights and that rights are culture-specific and culturally determined, is still a formidable and corrosive challenge to women's rights to equality and dignity in all facets of their lives," she said.
She added that the calls for an end to all forms of discrimination against women emphasised the need for a radical re-definition of the process and content of economic, social and political development.
"The issue stresses the need for a holistic orientation, which acknowledges the vital role of women in development and engineers their integration into development processes as equal partners with men. For this purpose, it is argued that legal and substantive protection at the domestic, regional and international levels must be coordinated for more meaningful enhancement of both the status and situation of women", she added.
According to her, the realisation of women's rights is a global struggle based on universal human rights and the rule of law. "It requires all of us to unite in solidarity to end traditions, practices and laws that harm women. It is a fight for freedom to be fully and completely human and equal without apology or permission. Ultimately, the struggle for women's human rights must be about making women's lives matter everywhere all the time. In practice, this means taking action to stop discrimination and violence against women," she argued.
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