Nzano Kikon
Assistant Professor
St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous)
Jakhama, Kohima
Women’s rights refer to the freedom inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, rights which are entitled simply by nature of being human.
The Issues which are commonly associated with concepts of women’s rights include the right to vote, right to live free from violence, right to hold public office, to follow any profession, to fair wages or equal pay, to own property, right to education, etc. Today, women in most countries can vote, own property, can access education, work in different professions, and hold public office. Some of these rights of women became possible after waging long crusades to win the same rights as men and be viewed as equals in society.
Human rights reflect the moral conscience of the world and the highest common aspiration that everyone should live in liberty, free from want and fear. Human rights are inherent. Every man, woman and child is entitled to enjoy their human rights simply by nature of being human. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted by the UN on 18th December 1979 aims at ending all forms of discrimination against women in political and public life. The Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 reflects the commitment made by governments in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights, that “the human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights”.
Despite all the efforts we find that even today there are violations of rights of women in many ways. There are various cultural and traditional discriminations existing against women. Even today in many societies a male child gets better opportunities with regard to education, economic and political participation compared to a girl child. The common prevailing notion is that the main responsibility of women is to produce offspring and take care of her family. Most of women’s labour at home is unrecognized because a traditional value comes in. Women get fewer wages compared to men workers, even when they work equally. Let us cite an example of how female athletes earn less than men across most sports. There is a stark contrast in pay between professional male and female athletes.
There has been atrocities and rampant violence against women in all aspects of life. Violence against women includes rape, molestation, kidnapping, acid attack, dowry-deaths, domestic violence, sexual harassment, etc. Victims of rape have to bear stigma, without any fault of theirs. Their characters are being questioned, their clothes are being questioned. The world witnessed a worst kind of heinous act committed on 16th December, 2012 in Delhi when a 23 year old physiotherapy student dubbed Nirbhaya- the fearless one was savagely gang-raped and murdered by six men. Nirbhaya was given justice though delayed on 20th March, 2020 where all four convicts were hanged to death. This is just one incident of the many cases of rape which take place in our country some of which are not even reported because of the social stigma. There is trafficking of women and girl child for forced prostitution and sex trade. Dowry practice has been one of the major reason responsible for subordination and deaths of numerous women. Domestic violence is the most common form of gender-based violence. Most domestic violence involves male anger directed against women which not only affects the mental health of women but also causes low self esteem, fear and anxiety. The recent “Me Too” movement has brought to light a number of sexual harassment and sexual assault incidents faced by women around the world.
Promotion and protection of women’s rights has been a major concern for international community in recent years. Accordingly a number of initiatives have been taken over the years for the advancement of women by international instruments. In India women’s rights are recognized in the Constitution of India. Women should be empowered because no healthy and democratic society can grow by depriving women from their due. To create a just society, one of the most urgent needs is to change the mindset of people and the society. Let us teach our sons and daughters that no gender is inferior or superior, let us teach our sons to love and respect women, to treat their woman like the way they want their sisters and daughters to be treated. All form of violence against women should be recognized as violation of human rights of women that should be seriously taken care of. In addition to commitment by numerous international and national bodies and NGOs for women’s rights, there is a need of a moral responsibility and commitment on part of each one of us to achieve the aim of gender justice and gender equality.
