CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
/1
MAKING PROGRESS/STORIES OF CHANGE MAKING WOMEN’S RIGHTS REAL: Transforming women’s lives in north-eastern Brazil
SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN: THE CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC POLICY
10 18
22
IN BRIEF
24
INTRODUCTION
26
EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW: PROGRESS, SETBACKS AND LIMITATIONS
28
SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY IN HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORKS
35
SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN: A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
42
CONCLUSIONS
56
Progress in legal reform Persistent inequalities in practice
Who has obligations to uphold women’s economic and social rights? Demanding accountability for women’s rights
Redressing women’s socio-economic disadvantage Addressing stereotyping, stigma and violence Strengthening women’s agency, voice and participation Transforming structures and institutions for women’s substantive equality
MAKING PROGRESS/STORIES OF CHANGE OUT OF THE ASHES: Creating change from tragedy in Bangladesh’s garment industry FIGURES Figure 1.1 Number of countries with or without select women’s rights provisions, 2014 Figure 1.2 Gender equality in property ownership and inheritance law by region, 1990 and 2010 Figure 1.3 Percentage of countries with legal provisions and policies, 1975-2005 Figure 1.4 A framework for understanding substantive equality Figure 1.5 Ratio of the share of women to men of prime working age (20-59 years) in the poorest 20 per cent of households Figure 1.6 Ratio of net secondary attendance rates of girls in the richest wealth quintile to girls in the poorest quintile, 2000-2005 and 2007-2013 Figure 1.7 Ratio of skilled assistance rates of women in the richest wealth quintile to women in the poorest quintile 2000-2005 and 2007-2013 BOXES Box 1.1 Women’s collective action paves the way to legal reform in Morocco Box 1.2 Substantive equality as defined in the human rights system Box 1.3 State obligations under the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR): Accountability for what? Box 1.4 Gender and poverty: What do we know? Box 1.5 Gender stereotypes and punishment for nonconformity: The case of ‘corrective’ rape in South Africa Box 1.6 Challenging male dominance in agrarian movements: The case of Via Campesina
28 33
37 40 44 49 52 55
58
29 31 32 43 46 47 48 30 36 38 45 51 54