1. Introduction

The Convention was regarded as an essential international human rights document formulated by the United Nations with the purpose of eliminating discrimination against women and striving for gender equality. The Convention was operated in 1981 and made a great positive influence in feminism and society. The Convention is made up of 30 articles which indicates the thirty- years enormous effort by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women who aims to promote the reform of feminism. The agreement of the document is anchored in the United Nations' objectives: to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and the quality between men and women. The Convention clearly illustrates the definition of quality and provides diverse methods for how to achieve it. By doing so, the Convention not only establishes a global charter of women’s rights but also ensures an agenda for action by States parties to guarantee the enjoyment of such rights. The Convention outlines regulations to protect women's rights in politics, the law, the workplace, education, medical services, business, activities, and family relationships. It establishes a comprehensive norm for the defense of women's rights. These precise laws establish a legal foundation for the abolition of gender discrimination. Women would rather suffer than be numb in the pursuit of justice. Except for the reality, it demonstrates that women's efforts are not in vain. Liberation, freedom, and development of women is a feminist development trilogy that boils down to the development of women and the creation of female culture in order to contribute to the development of the entire human race out of the crisis situation and obtain broad prospects for development

2.  Background

In order to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, and provide protection for women a formal organization was in need. Therefore, the CSW was foundend.  It was formerly a component of the Commission on Human Rights. However, it immediately granted the status of full commission due to the pressure exerted by activists of the Commission. The CSW's mandate included developing ideas to implement suggestions for pressing concerns in the field of women's rights that needed to be addressed immediately in order to realize the notion that men and women should have equal rights. Between 1949-1959, the Commission proposed a series of reforms which related to political and marriage of women. Each of these accords protected and promoted women's rights in places where the Commission believed they were most vulnerable. But It was believed that, except in those areas, women’s rights were best protected and promoted by the general human rights treaties.

Although the Convention reflected the growing sophistication of the UN system of protection of women’s rights. A comprehensive convention which is able to protect women’s rights is urgently needed. Therefore, the General Assembly, on 5 December 1963, adopted its resolution 1921 (XVIII), in which it requested the Economic and Social Council to invite the CSW to prepare a draft declaration that would combine in a single instrument international standards articulating the equal rights of men and women. The whole process received support from women activists within and outside the UN system. The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women eventually was being adopted by the GA in 1967. After publishing the Convention for 5 years, the Economic and Social Commission decided to make the Convention more binding, thus, they requested the Secretary-General to call upon UN Member States to transmit their proposal. In 1974, in order to eliminate the discrimination against women, the twenty-fifth session decided to prepare a single, comprehensive and international Convention. In 1980, the CEDAW was adopted by the General Assembly which an organization that is set up in the UN meets every year in September by votes of 130 to none, with 10 abstentions and requested the Secretary- General to present the text of the convention to the mid-decade World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women.

3.  Main provisions and rights

The Convention strengthens the understanding of the concept of human rights, since it solemnly recognizes that cultural and traditional influences limit the enjoyment by women of their fundamental rights. The forces of culture and tradition constrains the improvement of women legally, politically and economically. In the response, the preamble highlights that” in order to achieve equality between men and women, the traditional tasks of both men in society and in the family need to be changed”.

Article X (c) calls for the change of textbooks, curriculum, and teaching methods in order to eliminate certain educational prejudices. The Convention issues a comprehensive challenge to the mechanisms that produce and sustain sex discrimination. Beside the civil rights, the Convention places a high value on a fundamental problem for women: the freedom to reproduce. The prologue sets the tone: "Women should not face discrimination because they have children." All sections of the Covenant include provisions protecting maternity and child rearing as essential rights, with no exceptions for employment, family law, health, or education. Society has an obligation to provide social services. Allowing individuals to reconcile family duties, career, and public activity. Special safeguards for motherhood are also advocated, which "shall not be considered discriminatory" (art. 4). In addition, the Convention recognizes a woman's freedom to choose her own child.

4.  Implementation and execution

The Committee on the CEDAW is a non-governmental organization that plays an important role in stimulating the state to advance in the elimination of all types of prejudice. Both directly and indirectly, by making states aware of the amount of their commitment and incentivizing public policies, and by providing civil society with means to exert pressure on public authorities to fulfill their duties and advocate for normative and policy reform. The Optional Protocol to the Convention mandates the Committee to:

1)  Receive communications from individuals or groups of individuals presenting accusations of infringement of rights guaranteed by the Convention to the Committee

2)   Launch investigations into serious or systemic abuses of women's rights. These procedures are optional and are only available where the State concerned has accepted them.

3)   The Committee also has general suggestions. These are recommendations and clarifications to States regarding articles or themes in the Conventions.

The Convention provides a great guarantee for the women who make up nearly half of the world’s population. As more and more countries start to propel this Convention, more and more women know the concept of feminism and gain their rights.

5.  Influence and significance

The Convention might be regarded as a milestone in the history of feminist. Its unifying character enables it to encourage feminist reform. Individuals, communities and society benefited enormously and significantly from the Convention. It awoke women’s minds to anti-discrimination and anti-oppression, demonstrating that it is their right to pursue women’s dreams. Furthermore, both women and men should be responsible to parenting. In parallel with reforms being implemented, individuals were exposed to a new viewpoint that affected both men and women. prior to the adoption of the legislation. In a patriarchal culture, women face discrimination and oppression. The treaty is a cornerstone and a turning moment for women to discover their other, more valuable values because before it, they were only defined in terms of two values: procreation and sex (stated by Marie Sklodowska Curie). The Convention inspires women to live in diverse ways.

6.  Recommendations and conclusions

The Convention has come under fire for just symbolically upholding these standards and ideals, despite the fact that it is crucial for protecting women's rights. A deep lack of commitment to the core values and ideas upon which the international system for women's rights is based can be seen in the numerous objections to the essential standards. There is little doubt that more needs to be done to link the fundamentally admirable ideals and objectives of the Convention to the eradication of the particular forms of discrimination that women continue to face. The Convention's capacity to improve women's status in society over the long term depends on how these principles are promoted in various real-world situations.

References

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

UN (1979).  Retrieved July 26, 2023 from

https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw

An Analysis of the CEDAW (3rd July 2019)

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https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/international-law/an-analysis-of-the-cedaw.php

The role of the CEDAW Committee in the implementation of public policies on gender issues: analysis through a study of the protection of girls’s rights in Spain

Ruth, A. (2019) Taylor Francis Online. Retrieved July 26, 2023

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642987.2019.1603144

Baidu. Retrieved July 26, 2023  from

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