Women’s Rights Foundational Beliefs of Church Women United

Biblical References:

In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:28 The Message

The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don’t run aground. I Peter 3:7 The Message

Issue:

Women’s rights are human rights, fully protected in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.¹ Women constitute half the world’s population and are entitled to all human rights on an equal basis with men. The focus here is on the rights to: education; equality in marriage and family life; an adequate standard of living; access to food, water and sanitation; employment; and occupation.

Rationale:

Right to Education

The right to education is recognized by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner² in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Besides calling for non-discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to education and free universal primary education, human rights law also requires States to address the particular obstacles that girls and women face in accessing education, such as early marriages, pregnancies, child labor and violence. Ensuring equality in education requires financial resources as well as continued awareness-raising about the importance of girls’ education.

Right to Equality in Marriage and Family Life

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women³ requires State parties to take “all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.”⁴ The right to equality between men and women in marriage and family life is also recognized in various human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, and the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages. Women nevertheless lag behind men in the enjoyment of rights related to equality in marriage and family life.

Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights mentions the right to adequate food, clothing, housing and the continuous improvement of living conditions as part of the right to an adequate standard of living for oneself and one’s family.⁵ Women’s rights to own and inherit land and property, as well as work at a living wage including security in retirement, are intrinsically linked to the right to attain an adequate standard of living. All these rights are guaranteed under international human rights law, including the right to enjoy these rights on an equal basis with men, without discrimination.

Food, Water and Sanitation

The rights to food, water and sanitation are crucial for women’s well-being, dignity and enjoyment of other human rights.⁶ Poor female nutrition early in life reduces learning potential and productivity and increases reproductive and maternal health risks. This undermines attempts to eliminate gender inequalities throughout a woman’s lifespan, thus having an effect on issues such as women’s access to resources. Investing in women’s nutrition improves the overall development capacity of a country, considering the role women have in the household with regard to food production, food preparation and childcare.

Employment and Occupation

Discrimination based on gender denies women the right to equal opportunity and treatment regarding employment and choice of occupations. Numerous International Labour Oganization conventions are relevant from the perspective of gender equality, including conventions on employment promotion and working conditions as well as on specific categories such as persons with HIV/AIDS, indigenous and tribal people, migrant workers and domestic workers.⁷ The Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100 (1951) sought to assure equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.⁸ The Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention No. 156 (1981) recognized that both “men and women workers with responsibilities in relation to other members of their immediate family who clearly need their care or support” experience restricted “possibilities of preparing for, entering, participating in or advancing in economic activity” and called for an end to discrimination of workers with family responsibilities.⁹ The Maternity Protection Convention No. 183 (2000)¹⁰ called for employment protection and nondiscrimination of women who were pregnant or on leave after childbirth that included health protection for pregnant and breastfeeding women, adequate maternity leave, leave in case of illness or complications and guarantee of the right of a woman to return to the same or equivalent position at the end of maternity leave.

CWU Position:

As part of the CWU Core Value of Social Justice, which states, “We work for a fuller implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” CWU supports the rights of women as recognized in the many statements cited above, including the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. CWU members are encouraged to monitor legislation affecting women at all local, state and national levels of government and speak out against any legislative action that discriminates against women and families. CWU members are also encouraged to collaborate with others in developing legislation at local, state and federal levels of government that will improve the status of women by guaranteeing the rights of women. CWU also supports the efforts of organizations that work for women’s rights across the globe.

1 United Nations, https://www.un.org, accessed August 10, 2023, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universaldeclaration-of-human-rights

2 United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, accessed August 10, 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-us/high-commissioner

3 Ibid., https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-formsdiscrimination- against-women

4 Ibid., https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-formsdiscrimination-against-women

5 Ibid., https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-andcultural-rights

6 Ibid., https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2011/10/women-and-girls-and-their-right-sanitation

7 International Labour Organization, accessed August 10, 2023, https://www.ilo.org

8 Ibid., https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C100

9 Ibid., https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C156

10 Ibid., https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C183