CEDAW and the Rights to Non-discrimination and Equality

This article analyzes the way the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (the Committee) has interpreted CEDAW in response to cases of individual women under CEDAW's Optional Protocol. The author examines the analysis and results in these cases to show that the Committee has responded differently to claims based on reproductive rights and violence against women than it has to claims based on civil, political, or economic matters. The Committee has consistently condemned discrimination in cases based on the former, but has been more hesitant to take such strong action in cases based on the latter. The author argues that the Committee should take a more holistic and critical view of gendered problems to effectively address structural gender inequities.