Introduction
Human rights are rights that belong to every human being and such rights should be respected, observed, and applied without any form of distinction. However, the observance of human rights as they affect women has been of special concern to everyone. There has been a wide range of violations. of the rights of women around the world despite numerous international, regional, and national legal instruments prohibiting them. This has been largely attributed to socio-economic, cultural, and religious practices which subordinate women to men, thus making women vulnerable to domestic violence, rape, sexual exploitation and trafficking. This paper will examine various aspects of the rights of women, their abuse, and the efforts of the international community to stem the tide.
Forms of Violations
The violations of the rights of women often take different forms and violations:
- Slavery:
This essentially involves institutions and practices that do not fall into the traditional notion of slavery but which subject women to the arbitrary will
of other persons. Some of these include institutions and practices whereby (The Supplementary Slavery Convention, 1956).
a. A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or kind to her parents, guardian: or
b. The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise: or
c. A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person.
Apart from the issue of forced marriages and wives, in some areas being treated as a piece of property, women have also been forced into prostitution against their will. Whitaker describes a situation whereby a woman is owned by another person, or forced to engage in sexual acts against her as amounting to sexual slavery.
- Acts of Violence
Acts of violence meted out to women constitute a serious violation of their rights. They are often raped, sexually abused, assaulted, harassed and exploited.
Rape is among the brutal or cruel forms of treatment meted out to women. It is a type of sexual violence. The practice is widespread, occurring everywhere in the world. It is not easily quantified because women do not report it due to the stigma associated with it (Kuenyelua, 1998:251). Often rape is committed by people known to the victims. According to some experts:
Rape cases involving adult women are usually perpetuated by men in whom they have put their trust, such as religious priests, teachers, bosses, and others exercising authority over them (Kuenyelua, 1998:251).
Rape cases involving adult women are usually perpetuated by men in whom they have put their trust, such as religious priests, teachers, bosses, and others exercising authority over them
(Kuenyelua, 1998:251).
The rape of a female detainee has been held to amount to torture. In the Aydin Case (Eur. Court HR, Aydin v. Turkey, Judgment (Grand Chamber) of 25 September 1997, Reports 1997 – vi, p. 1891) the applicant, a 17-year-old Turkish citizen of Kurdish extraction was detained by the security forces. She was raped and ill-treated during her detention. The European Court of Human Rights held that:
Rape of a detainee by an official of the state must be considered to be an especially grave and abhorrent form of ill-treatment given the case with which the offender can exploit the vulnerability and weakened resistance of his victim. Furthermore, rape leaves deep psychological scars on the victims which do not respond to the passage of time as quickly as other forms of physical and mental violence. The applicant also experienced the acute pain of forced penetration, which must have left her feeling debased and violated both physically and emotionally (para. 83)
The Court therefore concluded that the “cruel act of rape to which she was subjected amounted to torture in breach of Article 3 of the Convention” (para. 86). In a Peruvian case of rape by military personnel of a woman who was not a detainee but a helpless victim, the Inter American Commission of Human Rights held that:
Current international law establishes that sexual abuse committed by members of security forces, whether as a result of a deliberate practice promoted by the state or as a result of failure by the state to prevent the occurrence of this crime, constitutes a violation of the victim’s human rights, especially the right to physical and mental integrity (A Comm. HR, Report no. 5/96, Case 10.970 V Poru, Maroh, 1996, in OAS doc. OEA/ser.L/V/11.91., doc 7 rev., Annual Report, Inter American Commission on Human Rights 1995:158-159).
Other forms of sexual violence against women include indecent assault which involves the physical assault of a woman or girl to sexually abuse her, and defilement which occurs when an adult sexually abuses a young girl. Sexual harassment involves troubling women and attacking them with words, gestures, and taunting remarks. This is often committed by their workmates, male relatives, and friends as well as by bosses against their female members of staff.
Physical violence against women takes different forms among which is assault and battery. This involves actual striking or unlawful laying of hands-on or doing corporal hurt to a woman. Men are the perpetrators of this form of violence. It may be directed at women from their children or siblings and other relatives. The bashing of wives by their husbands is also a common practice. Cases of assault on girl children, intolerable widow rites, female genital mutilation; assault on mothers, grandmothers, and old women on accusation of witchcraft are other pathetic forms of violence. Some children are misled by witchdoctors, herbalists, and occultists to believe that old women are responsible for their failures in life According to some researchers:
Grown children who have magico-religious beliefs and have suffered multiple misfortunes in life are led to believe by spiritualists that relatives especially mothers and grandmothers are responsible for their misfortunes (Kuenyelua, 1998).
Often these old people are banished from their homes and villages and may be attacked by stone-throwing children.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is another form of physical violence against women and girls. FGM refers to the removal of the prepuce or foreskin. The practice is common in Africa and it is estimated that about 80 million women are affected ((Kuenyelua, 1998). This has caused a lot of psychological harm to women.
Other Forms of Violations
One of the worst forms of violations of the rights of women is discrimination against them on the grounds of their sex. This has prevented women from realizing their full potential as human beings. They are denied certain kinds of jobs simply because they are women. In Nigeria “women are restricted from entering into certain contracts of service or doing certain jobs as the case may be. Section 55 (1) of the labour Act prohibits the employment of women in night work in a public or private industrial undertaking or agricultural undertaking except where the woman is employed as a nurse or is holding a responsible position of management in such undertakings (Worugji, 1999:40).
Apart from employment matters, women have been discriminated against in the political, social, economic, educational, and cultural fields. In some Islamic countries, Kuwait for example, women cannot vote or be voted for. In others, including Nigeria, they are marginalized politically and are grossly under-represented in government. Educationally, some parents prefer to educate the male child to the female. In fact, on many occasions, young girls are withdrawn from schools and given out in marriage. They get pregnant in their teens and are vulnerable to complications during childbirth.
In the religious field, some Christian denominations have denied women a place on the pulpit because only men are allowed the revered priestly status. Complaints and agitations against this practice have fallen on deaf ears. In some traditional religious practices, women have been subjected to religious bondage. Young women are committed to shrines of certain deities mainly as reparation for the crimes of members of their families. In other words, they are given away as ‘gifts’ to oracles and shrines to pacify gods.
Women have suffered serious discrimination in the area of ownership of property. In many countries across Africa, women are not allowed to own property, especially land, because of unfavourable laws and cultural practices. In the Gambia, for example, very few women own properties because of laws that do not favour the accumulation of property by women. The Gambian land tenure system, under customary law, does not recognize the right of women to inherit land. Indirectly, it denies them access to credit facilities since land is usually required as collateral security.
The UN and Concerns for the Rights of Women
There have been concerns for the rights of women over the years. An international agreement to suppress the traffic of persons and exploitation of the prostitution of others dates back to 1904. The UN era has however witnessed increased activities and efforts towards the promotion and respect for human rights generally and protection of the rights of women in particular. The UN Charter provides, among other purposes, for international cooperation ” … in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion” (Art. 1 (3); also, Arts. 13(1), 55(c), 56).
Various articles in the Charter prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sex which is directed principally at women. They are often subjected to discrimination as well as various forms of violence. The UN has taken steps to redress this ugly situation. In 1946, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of its principal organs, established the Commission on the Status of Women as part of its mandate to promote human rights (Arts. 62 (2), 68 of the Charter). The functions of the Commission include:
a. to prepare recommendations and reports to the council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social, and educational fields, and
b. to make recommendations to the council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights, with the object of implementing the principle that men and women shall have equal rights, and to develop proposals to give effect to such recommendations.
This Commission has been instrumental in initiating UN programmes designed to eliminate discrimination against women, including the drafting of treaties dealing with the rights of women. The commission in the first few decades of its existence concentrated on these normative activities. In recent years, however, it has been able to concentrate more on matters relating to the role and needs of women in contemporary societies. According to Buergenthal (1995:85-86):
By serving as the preparatory committee for increasingly more important UN world conferences on the subject, the commission has gradually gained the political influence it needed but lacked in the past to make a significant impact.
It should be noted however that the Commission’s activities are promotional. It does not act on specific violations of the rights of women.
In 1948, the General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (G.A. res. 217A (111) of December 10, 1948) which guarantees to all human beings “all the rights and Freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex….” (Article 2; see also art. 16 of the Declaration).
In 1949, the General Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. In this Convention, the procurer rather than the prostitute is the target. States parties are required to adopt measures that would prevent prostitution as well as rehabilitate prostitutes (United Nations, Contemporary Forms of Slavery, 1992:5). The General Assembly Declaration of 1974 on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency (Res. 3318) is another giant stride in the protection of the rights of women as well as the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women adopted by the General Assembly on December 20, 1993.
Conferences have also been held under the auspices of the UN to promote the rights of women. The Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and their Contribution to Development and Peace 1975 expressed the principle of the equality of women in marriage. The Beijing Conference of 1995 dealt extensively with issues relating to the rights of women.
By serving as the preparatory committee for increasingly more important UN world conferences on the subject, the commission has gradually gained the political influence it needed but lacked in the past to make a significant impact.
It should be noted however that the Commission’s activities are promotional. It does not act on specific violations of the rights of women.
In 1948, the General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (G.A. res. 217A (111) of December 10, 1948) which guarantees to all human beings “all the rights and Freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex….” (Article 2; see also art. 16 of the Declaration).
In 1949, the General Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. In this Convention, the procurer rather than the prostitute is the target. States parties are required to adopt measures that would prevent prostitution as well as rehabilitate prostitutes (United Nations, Contemporary Forms of Slavery, 1992:5). The General Assembly Declaration of 1974 on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency (Res. 3318) is another giant stride in the protection of the rights of women as well as the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women adopted by the General Assembly on December 20, 1993.
Conferences have also been held under the auspices of the UN to promote the rights of women. The Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and their Contribution to Development and Peace 1975 expressed the principle of the equality of women in marriage. The Beijing Conference of 1995 dealt extensively with issues relating to the rights of women.
Legal Instruments for the Protection of the Rights of Women
There are many international, regional, and national legal instruments designed to protect the rights of women. The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 1950 stipulates that the parties agree to punish any person who, to gratify the passions of another,
(1) Procures, entices, or leads away, for the purposes of prostitution, third person, even with the consent of that person, or
(2) Exploits the prostitution of a third person, even with the consent
of that person (Article 1).
This Convention is a consolidation of four previous Conventions, of 1904, 1910, 1921, and 1933, for the protection of women from white slave traffic. Supplementary Slavery Convention 1956 prohibits institutions and practices which, though not falling within the traditional notion of slavery, effectively subject a person to the arbitrary will of another person (The Supplementary Slavery Convention, 1956 Article 1(c)).
The Conventions regulating armed conflicts prohibit compelled prostitution as well as rape. Article 27 of 1949 Geneva Convention lV21 provides among others that women shall be especially Protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault (Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949; also, Article 764) of Additional Protocol T; and Art. 4(2) of Additional Protocol 11).
The human rights-related provisions of the Charter of the UN prohibit discrimination based on sex and a great number of multilateral-related instruments dealing with human rights. The instruments include the 1966 Human Rights Covenants, Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the constitution of UNESCO, and the constitution of ILO.
On subjecting women to marriage without their consent Article 23 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and Article 17 of the American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 provide that no marriage shall be entered into “without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages, 1962 states that no marriage shall be legally entered into without the free consent of both spouses. Various other conventions offer protection to women namely the Equal Remuneration Convention 1951, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women 1952, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women 1957, and the Convention Against Discrimination in Education 1960.
The most prominent of the international instruments on the rights of women is the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women which was adopted by the General Assembly on December 18, 1979, and entered into force on September 3, 1981. By 1993 116 countries including Nigeria had ratified it (Okagbue, 1996:6). This Convention has been described as “the most comprehensive and prominent international instrument embracing the special concerns of women” (Okagbue, 1996:6). The existence of the numerous conventions listed above did not appear to deal decisively with the problem of discrimination against women. According to the preamble to the 1979 Convention, “despite these various instruments, extensive discrimination against women continues to exist.” Article 1 defines discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made based on sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women irrespective of their marital status, based on equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” The Convention (Article 2) stipulates that states agree to pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:
a. to embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not vet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;
b. to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women:
c. to establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;
d. to refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;
e. to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
f. to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations customs, and practices that constitute discrimination against women;
g. to repeal all national penal provisions that constitute discrimination against women.
Measures shall be taken in all fields, “to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on the basis of equality with men” (Article 3). It should be noted also that “temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention,” provided they in no way entail unequal or separate standards; such “measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved” (Article 4).
States parties further undertake the following obligations to eliminate discrimination against women. Article 5 provides that appropriate measures
shall be taken:
a. to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, to achieve the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
b. to ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, It is understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.
The Convention requires state parties to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women (Art. 6), eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life (Arts. 7 and 8), in the fields of education (art. 10), employment (Art. 11) and health care (Art. 12); in the areas of economic and social life (Art. 13); as well as against women in rural areas (Art. 14(2)). Article 15 provides for equality with men before the law. Discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations is prohibited (Art. 16(1)). The betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, while a minimum age for marriage shall be specified by legislation (Art. 16(2)).
The CEDAW provides for measures of implementation which consist of periodic reports by the state parties on “the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the convention (art.18(1). The reports are reviewed by a committee of 23 experts who are elected by state parties but serving in their capacities. The committee reports on its activities to the state parties, the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and the General Assembly.
The work of the committee is made difficult due in part to the fact that Article 20(1) of the Convention provides that “the committee shall normally meet for not more than two weeks annually.” This is not enough time to carry out its responsibilities to review state reports and interpret the convention (Buergenthal, 1995:71). This is a real setback because the meeting times of other treaty committees have not been limited by the respective treaties.
Another problem with the CEDAW has been the absence of an inter-state or individual complaint mechanism the existence of which will strengthen the Committee’s authority (Buergenthal, 1995:71). Text writers have called for some of these issues to be addressed (Buergenthal, 1995:71) Meron (cited in Buergenthal, 1995) recommended the adoption of the additional protocol to the CEDAW establishing an individual communication system. This recommendation was supported by the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action 1993, para 40).
There has been a new development respecting individual communications since 1999. The General Assembly adopted an Optional Protocol to the CEDAW on October 6, 1999. The protocol entered into force on December 22, 2000. With this protocol, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has the competence to receive and consider petitions from individual women and groups of women who have exhausted local remedies. Petitions can also be submitted on behalf of, individuals or groups of individuals, with their consent, unless it can be shown why consent was not received (art. 2). The optional protocol also entitles the committee to conduct confidential inquiries into grave or systematic violations of the convention (Art. 8).
Regional instruments also prohibit discrimination based on sex. These include the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (art. 2), the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (art. 14), and the American Convention on Human Rights (Art. 1).
This normative standard is also found in most national instruments. The Nigerian Constitution 1999 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex (Section 42). Nigeria has also incorporated the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, 1981 into its domestic law by an enactment of the National Assembly (African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap 10 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990). The effect of such incorporation is that “it becomes binding and our courts must give effect to it like all other laws falling within the judicial powers of the courts” (Abacha v. Fawehinmi (2000) 6 NWLR (pt 660) 228 SC).
Interestingly, the Cross River State House of Assembly has taken giant strides in matters concerning the rights of women (Law No. 8 (2004), Titled A Law to Prohibit Domestic Violence against Women and Maltreatment of Widows).
The Impact of These Instruments on the Rights of Women
Despite these numerous Conventions and Declarations aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of women, the sad fact remains, however, that the female half of humanity remains subject to distinctive and continuous forms of abuse, in justice and violence as well as an enormous range of legal disabilities and discrimination simply because they are female and that these practices have either been ignored or have not generally been viewed as violations of human rights and freedoms of women (Okagbue, 1996)
In a situational analysis of some key issues affecting women in four English-speaking West African countries published in 1988 (Kuenyelua, 1998). There is ample evidence to show that not much has changed in the ways and manner women have been treated or their rights violated. In other words, gross violations against women’s rights, such as discrimination, trafficking, and sexual and physical violence, continue regardless of these conventions.
In the Gambia young girls are still being given out in marriage leading to child marriages. A Muslim Woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man for fear that her husband might convince her to convert to Christianity (Kuenyelua, 1998). Girls are withdrawn from school to be given in marriage. “Sometimes this minor becomes a third or last wife among women who are old enough to be her mother. Most of these marriages end in divorce and the poor women become single parents with no jobs and no education (Kuenyelua, 1998). In the Gambia, there exists the practice of inheriting widows by brothers, nephews, etc. of a deceased man. The Gambian society and their men commit acts of violence against their women sexual violence like rape, defilement, indecent assault, and sexual harassment occur frequently (Kuenyelua, 1998). Physical violence in the Gambia takes the form of battery and assault, wife bashing, female genital mutilation, abortion under duress, and allegations of witchcraft resulting in assault on them (Kuenyelua, 1998).
Child marriage also takes place in Chana and does not augur well for the status of women. Ghanaian women are vulnerable to violence by their sex. “Violence is thus used as an instrument for reinforcing social control in a context where women are socialized to be passive and dependent on men for decisions affecting their lives” (Kuenyelua, 1998) Bride price is often seen by men as a transaction that transfers ownership of the woman to them as perhaps one might acquire property.
The Ghanaian society subjects their women and girls to sexual and physical violence and harmful cultural practices. This involves rape, sexual harassment and assault, incest, wife-beating, female genital mutilation, and fetish slavery (Kuenyelua, 1998).
In Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the story is the same (Kuenyelua, 1998). There is widespread violation of the rights of women, from that of inheritance to ownership of property and from sexual to physical violence, from discrimination to trafficking, and from forced prostitution to harmful widowhood practices. Stories abound of trafficking in young Nigerian girls. Many are transported to Italy for forced prostitution in return for little or nothing. In respect of widowhood rites and practices in Nigeria, Uka states that:
At the death of her husband, a spouse feels helpless, hopeless, and lonely. sorrowful, sad, and pitiable. Her condition is utterly hopeless if she is barren or has no male child or children, or if her children are small. She is overtly or covertly rejected and neglected by her in-laws who often accuse her of killing her husband, of being wicked, and being a witch. She is kept under some form of punishment, she is not to touch any of her husband’s property and she is taboo to males.
The activities of rapists have been on the increase. They have devised several new methods for hunting and overpowering their victims. Even children, including the case of a four-month-old baby, have not been spared the wrath of these depraved minds (Chizoba, 2003:13-15). These practices, especially violence are not peculiar to these countries. In fact, “Gender violence is widely believed to be a prevalent problem worldwide touching all aspects of women’s lives from the home to the workplace, to the streets” (Kuenyelua, 1998).
Reasons for Continued Violations
Isabella Okagbue has identified factors responsible for the continued violation of women’s rights. She sees the overwhelming male domination of the structures of the international legal order as a factor. In all aspects of public service, women are virtually invisible. They are vastly under-represented in decision-making positions, ministerial positions, parliament, and UN human rights bodies Okagbue, 1996:10).
Another factor is the failure to focus on acts or violations committed by private individuals. These are not usually the concerns of human rights law as they are expected to be dealt with by the criminal law of the land. Traditional human rights theories focus on violations committed by the state against individuals, ignoring those committed by private persons. According to Okagbue (1996:12):
The customary laws, cultural practices, traditional institutions, and conceptions of family life which are primarily responsible for the subservient position of women, have generally remained outside the purview of human rights discourse.
She therefore attributes violations to “inherent limitations of the traditional human rights approach” Okagbue, 1996:13).
The barriers of culture and religion are also responsible for the lack of attention or interest in matters concerning the human rights of women.
“Sensitivity to cultural arguments has resulted in human rights discourse ignoring violations of the human rights of women ” (Okagbue, 1996:14). Even where the criminal law provides redress often the victims, especially of rape and other sexual violations, are afraid to report to the police for fear of stigmatization or are discouraged by police inaction.
The problems with the implementation of the CEDAW are also responsible for the continued violation of the rights of women. The numerous reservations to the convention by state parties constitute a serious impediment to the realization of the goals and objectives embodied in the instrument. Also, there is great difficulty in getting countries to report on compliance with CEDAR/provisions Okagbue, 1996:8). “The CEDAW is further marginalized by the fact that it receives less staff and a smaller budget and is required to complete its work within a shorter period than comparable human rights bodies” Okagbue, 1996:8).
Conclusion
The foregoing has analyzed the rights of women, the attempts to protect them, and how these rights are witnessing continued violations and invasions on account of culture, religion, and other factors. The question now is: What is the way forward? The answer, first and foremost, lies in the acceptance or acknowledgment that women’s rights are human rights. If that is the case, then the issue of selective treatment will not arise and states would accord the same respect and protection to both men and women.
Once states acknowledge that so-called women’s rights are human rights, the cultural and religious prejudices against them will be dropped or minimized. Women will no longer be seen as child-being objects whose roles and relevance are only in the kitchen and bedroom. All the reservations contained in the CEDAW will be withdrawn. The state will also be willing to prosecute individuals and groups who violate the rights of women as against the present lukewarm and compromising attitude.
There are so many international, regional, and national instruments prohibiting the various violations of women’s rights. Some of the prohibitions have attained a peremptory character in international law. According to Haunikainen (1988:453):
The universal prohibition of discrimination against women embodied in numerous multilateral instruments, Is a weighty additional proof that institutions and practices similar to slavery and discrimination against women, constituting the grossest category of offenses against women, are prohibited in a peremptory manner in contemporary international law.
States therefore have no excuse to continue to perpetrate or ignore such violations.
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