Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Article 11. 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in
particular:
(a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;
(b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the
application of the same criteria for selection in matters of
employment;
(c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to
promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service
and the right to receive vocational training and retraining,
including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent
training;
(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal
treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of
treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work;
(e) The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement,
unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity
to work, as well as the right to paid leave;
(f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working
conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of
reproduction.

2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of
marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States
Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the
grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in
dismissals on the basis of marital status;
(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social
benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social
allowances;
(c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social
services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work
responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular
through promoting the establishment and development of a network of
child-care facilities;
(d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of
work proved to be harmful to them.

3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall
be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological
knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary.

Article 12. 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care
services, including those related to family planning.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, States
Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connexion with
pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services
where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and
lactation.

Article 13. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life in
order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights,
in particular:
(a) The right to family benefits;
(b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial
credit;
(c) The right to participate in recreational activities, sports and all
aspects of cultural life.

Article 14. 1. States Parties shall take into account the particular
problems faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women
play in the economic survival of their families, including their work in
the non-monetized sectors of the economy, and shall take all appropriate
measures to ensure the application of the provisions of this Convention to
women in rural areas.

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis
of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from
rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right:
(a) To participate in the elaboration and implementation of development
planning at all levels;
(b) To have access to adequate health care facilities, including
information, counselling and services in family planning;
(c) To benefit directly from social security programmes;
(d) To obtain all types of training and Education , formal and non-formal,
including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter
alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order
to increase their technical proficiency;
(e) To organize self-help groups and co-operatives in order to obtain
equal access to economic opportunities through employment or
self-employment;
(f) To participate in all community activities;
(g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing
facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and
agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes;
(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to
housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and
communications.

PART IV

Article 15. 1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men
before the law.

2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity
identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that
capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal rights to conclude
contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally in all
stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.

3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private
instruments of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at
restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.

4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard
to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose
their residence and domicile.

Article 16. 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage
and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality
of men and women:
(a) The same right to enter into marriage;
(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage
only with their free and full consent;
(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its
dissolution;
(d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of
their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all
cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and
spacing of their children and to have access to the information,
Education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;
(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship,
wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar
institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in
all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to
choose a family name, a profession and an occupation;
(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership,
acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of
property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.

2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect,
and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify
a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an
official registry compulsory.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Education.