Filtering by: Women's Rights
Ensuring women’s property rights has long been seen as essential to ensuring their enjoyment of other human rights, from personal safety to economic development. The expert committee that interprets and seeks to enforce the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has over the years developed a unique body of jurisprudence interpreting the convention’s requirement that women enjoy property rights equal to those of men. What is surprising is that this jurisprudence – which encompasses the right to contract, administer property, access credit and government benefits, make use of agricultural land, access adequate housing, and more – has received very little attention from scholars. Law Professor José E. Alvarez, director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at NYU Law School, will explain what he calls CEDAW’s “progressive property jurisprudence.”
Since 2017, Japanese women have come forward one after another to publicly share their experiences with sexual harassment. Their bravery has made a difference: In 2020, Japan passed a law requiring large companies to take steps to prevent workplace harassment. Last summer, the penal code was revised to raise the age of consent to 16 and make it somewhat easier to prosecute accused rapists. Kazuko Ito, founder and vice president of Human Rights Now and a lawyer, will talk about the recent efforts to combat sexual harassment in the larger context of the women’s rights struggle in Japan. Questions to explore include the effectiveness of the recent legislative changes and what more needs to happen.
The women’s movement in the Republic of Korea has been one of the most active and impactful in the region. South Korea joined CEDAW in 1984 and ratified its optional protocol in 2006. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has led important reforms. But women activists are now facing a severe backlash, and the ministry itself is under attack. Korean feminist activist OH Kyung-jin will discuss the history and development of the women’s movement, the role played by CEDAW in its achievements, and the factors that have produced the current backlash against women’s rights activism.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is one of the most widely embraced international conventions, ratified by 189 states including states in East Asia. But what impact has it had on the actual lives of women in East Asia?
联合国《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》（CEDAW）是唯一一部全面保障妇女人权和防止性别歧视的国际条约。负责监督成员国落实、履行公约的机构名为联合国消除对妇女歧视委员会。众所周知，委员会的主要任务是跟进成员国在妇女权利方面取得的进展；而鲜为人知的是，通过发布各种文件，委员会也在积极阐释、发展CEDAW的规则体系。
Recent developments in the United States and Asia make this a good time to examine the state of women’s rights protection, with a particular focus on the interplay between domestic and international law and norms.