Women still unequal before the law
By Olivia H. Tripon
Women's Feature Service
New York, March 4 (WFS) – Ten years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, laws in 32 countries still discriminate against women. At the ongoing review of the Beijing Platform for Action here, Equality Now, a non-government organization based in the U.S. and Africa reported that out of 45 countries in 1995 found to have laws that discriminated against women, only 13 have repealed or revised those laws.
“Why focus on the law? Although equality in law does not automatically translate equality in life, with discriminatory laws women will have no formal recourse to justice and are officially second class citizens,” began Meryl Streep, member of Equality Now Advisory Council who moderated the panel discussion co-sponsored by the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women.
In Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uruguay and Lebanon, the criminal responsibility of the accused will be voided through the legitimate marriage of the victim with the offender. There is no such thing as marital rape in India, Malaysia or Tonga.Women cannot vote in Kuwait, can't drive in Saudi Arabia, can't work at night in Bolivia and Madagascar; women cannot own land in Lesotho. Men can kill their wives or sister committing adultery in Syria. These are just some of the laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.
The Philippines is included in the list of Equality Now for its Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code which defines prostitutes as women only. There are several bills pending redefining “prostitute” to include any person, not just women. The law should also punish those who buy the services of prostitutes, already in House bill 471, pending with the Lower House Committee on Justice.
Ten years ago, 189 countries pledged in the Beijing Platform of Action to “revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.” In 2000, at the 5-year review, the Outcome Document of the Special Session of the General Assembly established a target date of 2005 for revocation of all discriminatory laws. Equality Now calls on governments to honor this commitment by ensuring that all women are equal before the law.
However, even if laws are nondicriminatory, implementation is another matter.
Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas, founder and director of the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling in East Jerusalem, revealed that in some countries, there are two justice systems. There's the legal system and religious laws. Although women can choose to work under the law, religious law says that if the woman's work is opposed by the husband, it can be a ground for divorce. Honor killings are allowed; vaginal penetration must be established to be considered rape. In Yemen, women are not allowed to leave home.
Sapana Pradhan-Malla, founder and president of the forum for Women, Law and Development in Nepal asked, “ Are we not human beings? Are we not citizens? Why give priority to sons? Why are daughters for give away?”
Jessica Neuwirth, co-founder and president of Equality Now reiterated the call for an appointment of a Special Rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), now on its 49th session to facilitate the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action, as well as fulfill the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).