ON International Women’s Day we need to be vigilant against a worldwide backlash against women’s rights.
Women are being denied the right to live in safety, says one UN special rapporteur. Photograph: Laura Dodsworth/Scottish Women's Aid, Richard Bennett, and Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, chair of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, indicated that the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan was the worst globally.
The authors of the parliamentary report share the concerns expressed to the UN Human Rights Council. We hope that our recommendations, ranging from enshrining gender apartheid as an internationally recognised crime to the provision of humanitarian visas for Afghan women to come to the UK, will be listened to and acted upon. If not by this UK Government, then by the next.Last month the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, completed a 10-day visit to the UK.
According to Reem Alsalem, while governments across the UK have high ideals, their ability to realise the full potential of their legislation and policies on violence against women is undermined by a number of factors.
She also expressed concern about the degree to which the burden of fighting VAWG is falling on grassroots organisations and specialised frontline service providers working with women and girls who fall through the cracks, and are not covered by statutory service providers. Such organisations face a struggle to survive in the context of rising living costs, a deepening housing crisis and a critical lack of funding.
Her report reminds everyone that discrimination on the grounds of sex and sexual orientation are prohibited in international law. There are times where it will be necessary, legitimate, and proportionate to give primacy to rights based on sex – and for such considerations to be reflected in current and future policy and legislation, including on self-identification of gender identity, health care, and hate speech.
Whether that desire comes from a twisted version of religion or a twisted belief that the rights of men or any other group should be placed above the rights of women, we must be vigilant to make sure these desires do not become embedded in our institutions. There is no hierarchy of rights.We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories.
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