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Equal rights

Nov 30,2016 - Last updated at Nov 30,2016

The just-concluded two-day Euro-Med Beirut conference discussing women’s rights called, yet again, for total abidance by the stipulations of international human rights conventions, particularly those regarding women’s rights, and work towards ending the gender gap in the labour market, promoting gender equality, ending all forms of violence against women and fighting the prevailing stereotypical image of women.

The conference, organised by the Euro-Med Feminist Initiative, was attended by over 100 participants from 22 countries in the region, representing state and non-state actors. Its purpose was to discuss and finalise policy recommendations, as well as to create favourable conditions for monitoring the implementation of the ministerial conclusions in several areas related to discrimination against women, education and gender stereotyping.

The minister of political and parliamentary affairs, who took part in the meeting, said that the government will adopt or apply the recommendations that “benefit women and society as a whole”, thus drawing a line between women’s rights and those of the society at large, as if there were a difference or conflict between the two.

He also said that the government will apply “some” of the recommendations of the conference, meaning not all.

The participants’ recommendations called for drafting policies that would ensure the full implementation of international conventions and legislation on human rights to better safeguard women’s rights in their respective countries.

The goal is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and promote gender equality. There is simply no room for selectivity here.

The Jerash deputy bluntly pointed the weak point: “Our Constitution still discriminates against women because it does not clearly call for gender equality or incriminate gender inequality.”

Moreover, she said, women issues are always at the bottom of the agenda, which can only point to the fact that women are considered as an afterthought, are treated as second-class citizens.

There is no such thing as rights for women and rights for the society as a whole. To think so means to discriminate, and that is not accepted in any developed society. 

 

As long as the country fails to abide fully by international norms on gender equality or to end all forms of discrimination against women, it will be considered discriminatory in all human rights fora.

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