Report of the South Asia Plus Consultation on Culture, Women and Human Rights, September 2-3, 2010, Nepal

With culture being such a contested terrain, particularly as it relates to equality claims of women and minorities, the development of cultural rights offers new understandings on culture and cultural diversity that reinforce the indivisibility of cultural rights with other human rights. This report explores the intersections of the developing field of cultural rights in relation to advancement of women’s equality.

This Guide provides information on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Di

The concept of nondiscrimination and equal rights for both men and women in all spheres of their lives as enshrined in the CEDAW Convention (1979) and all other Human Rights Frameworks generated a new realization and discourse in the Islamic world. The Universal Declaration on human Rights (1948) states in Article one that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’. By ratification of these International human rights frameworks States parties are in obligation to domesticate these human rights standard in their own legal system.

At present about 187 states parties have ratified the CEDAW convention which is almost a universal ratification for the Convention. Except Iran, Sudan and Somalia all other Muslim countries have ratified or acceded to the CEDAW convention. Many of these  Muslim  countries  imposed reservations under Article 28 of the convention on certain core Articles, such as Article 2, 16, 9 etc of the convention in the name of Islamic Sharia law.

There are many reasons why Violence Against Women is possibly the most widespread and intractable human rights violations in human history: It is embedded in social structures; It is part of cultural customs; It is due to gender inequality; It is due to gender-based economic inequality; It is due to patriarchal strictures… the list of factors goes on and on and many have expounded on it.

1. Approach gender violence as a MEN’S issue involving men of all ages, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.

   
   

2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner – or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general – don’t look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don’t know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counsellor. DON’T REMAIN SILENT.

Contrary to modernist predictions that religion would retreat into a private zone of worship and practice, recent decades have seen religion become increasingly salient on the political stage worldwide. Does this matter? From the point of view of women’s rights and gender equality, much is at stake. UNRISD research shows that politicized religion impinges on women’s rights in problematic ways.

"Decade" was made by students of Punjab University, Lahore for Shirkat Gah's film festival "Violence Is Not Our Culture". The film highlights the struggle of a brave woman who decides to open a school despite intense pressure from the men of the village. Her hard work pays off when in 10 years, hence the name Decade, the whole village is transformed. Watch the video.

Equal Opportunities (Tajikistan), LGBT Organization Labrys (Kyrgyzstan) and The Sexual Rights Initiative submitted report on Sexual Rights in Tajikistan for the 12th Round of the Universal Periodic Review in October 2011.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a new and unique mechanism of the United Nations which started in April 2008 and consisting of the review of the human rights practices of all States in the world, once every four years. For more details please visit web site .