Those whose human rights have been violated can also use them to assert their moral claims. Activists can employ them as a tool to monitor policies or do advocacy work in order to advance the effective reach of acknowledged human rights. Public debate, political campaigns and collective organizing around human rights are also important means to question discriminatory social norms, unequal power relations and unequal distribution of resources and to encourage poor and marginalized women to see themselves as rights holders. Work with marginalized communities must begin with the realities of women’s lives and create the space for critical reflection and sharing of experiences. In doing so activists may not always use the language of human rights as their starting point, preferring to employ notions of fairness and dignity that resonate better with grassroots women.86
Going back to the issue of legal rights with which this chapter began, the reason for putting women’s economic and social rights into law is not only to make them justiciable in court; it can also create the political and societal momentum to ensure that women’s rights can be enjoyed in practice. When economic and social rights are recognized in constitutions and enshrined in laws, it helps build political legitimacy behind them. It can also create a horizon of societal expectations and spur public action. It can help women engage with those who administer the laws and programmes that shape their lives, be they land registration officers, health service providers or public school teachers and administrators.87
SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN: A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION As the previous sections have shown, a key challenge around the world is transforming formal rights into reality to enable women’s practical enjoyment of their human rights. This is how substantive equality can be achieved. Public action is fundamental to support this process. Based on the work of Sandra Fredman and elaborated by Fredman and Goldblatt (2014), this section proposes a framework, derived from human rights treaties as well as the work of the treaty bodies, to support governments and other key actors to make this change happen.88 The framework identifies three interconnected dimensions along which actions need to be taken in order to transform existing structures and institutions so that all women are able to enjoy their rights:
Redressing women’s socio-economic disadvantage Addressing stereotyping, stigma and violence Strengthening women’s agency, voice and participation.89 This Report puts the spotlight on the first dimension—redressing socio-economic disadvantage—and the achievement of women’s economic and social rights. But as Figure 1.4 shows and the following chapters make clear, women cannot enjoy these rights without action to address stereotyping, stigma and violence and strengthen women’s agency, voice and participation.