Women's Human Rights: A Challenge To The International Human Rights Community

The author discusses the continuing gaps in the human rights movement which result in many of the violations that women suffer as women being ignored. The author posits that the failure of the international human rights community to promote respect for women human rights has had a negative impact on the domestic front and, likewise, the pervasive and systemic discrimination against women in many countries around the world, has impeded international efforts to address the situation in a concerted manner. The paper takes a brief look at women's human rights and feminists' efforts to increase the responsiveness of the international community to violations of women's human rights. It draws upon the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, June 1993) in its discussion of issues such as: The Right to be Free of Discrimination; Indivisibility of Human Rights; Violence Against Women, Economic Structural Adjustment Policies; Women's Human Rights in Situations of Armed Conflict. The author relates some of the above issues to situations in African nations.