Wisdoms Inc

Shadow Report on Ethiopia’s 2015-2023 State Report on the Implementation of the Maputo Protocol: Progress, Successes and Challenges

Wisdoms Inc — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 07:59:19 +0000

The Shadow Report on the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s 7th to 10th Periodic Reports (2015-2023) on the Implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), submitted on April 23, 2024, highlights the country’s progress, successes and challenges in effectively implementing the Maputo Protocol. The report is a collaborative effort by Equality Now, the Ethiopia Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), the Network of Ethiopian Women Association(NEWA), the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC), Ethiopian Women Rights Advocate (EWRA), TIMRAN, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA). Equality Now provided technical guidance and support to the platform of organizations in the development of the Shadow Report and in its subsequent submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Consequences of Past and On-going Conflicts

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2018. However, it has placed reservations and interpretative declarations on the Protocol, limiting its full implementation. Ethiopia’s Constitution and various laws and policies provide for gender equality and protection against discrimination. However, legal and practical discrimination still persists, including in the case of conflict-related sexual violence. Among several other recommendations, the report calls for Ethiopia to put in place measures to ensure accelerated implementation of the transitional justice process, particularly for victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

The Reality of Sexual and Gender-based Violence

The report acknowledges that the Government has put in place laws and policies against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), but the implementation of these laws is weak. The issues highlighted include the lack of criminalization of marital rape, inadequate definitions of domestic and workplace violence, and problematic legal provisions that lay blame on victims of violence. Recommendations include amending laws to better protect women, adopting a comprehensive law addressing all forms of VAWG, improving the enforcement of laws, and ensuring accountability for crimes.

Issues concerning Family and Marriage laws and practices

The report also highlights issues pertaining to marriage and the family. It applauds the Government for stipulating the minimum age of marriage under the Revised Family Code as 18 years but expresses concern over the exceptions that authorize the Minister of Justice to reduce the age of marriage to 16. While the report welcomes the enactment of the Revised Family Code, it bemoans the fact that some regions of the country do not have codified family laws. The report further calls for the Government to consider the disproportionate effect of child maintenance decisions on women. Recommendations include lifting the reservations in relation to Article 6 (c), (d), (f), and Article 7 (a) of the Maputo Protocol on rights relating to marriage; setting the minimum age of marriage as 18 without any exceptions; enacting codified family laws across all the regions in the country, and accelerating the finalization and adoption of the draft guideline for Decisions on Child Maintenance.

Gender pay gap in the U.S. widens for the first time in 20 years

Wisdoms Inc — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 07:58:26 +0000

Women’s lost earnings due to pay inequality amounted to $1.7 trillion in 2023. How will the next administration address this stark gender inequality?

By S. Mona Sinha, Global Executive Director of Equality Now, and Zakiya Thomas, President and CEO of the ERA Coalition

New analysis from the National Partnership for Women and Families reveals that women lost $1.7 trillion in earnings in 2023 due to the gender pay gap, underscoring the persistent economic inequality they face.

With the 2024 presidential election approaching, what will the next administration do to close this gap and unlock the potential of trillions of dollars in economic growth by ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work?

A major reason why this pay gap persists is that women are not explicitly protected against sex discrimination in the U.S. Constitution, leaving them vulnerable to systemic legal bias and its far-reaching financial and social impacts.

One transformational way to rectify this problem is for the U.S. to enshrine gender equality in its Constitution by ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This proposed amendment would guarantee equal rights under the law by explicitly prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

Women need greater protection against discrimination

The U.S. has no federal law requiring businesses to provide paid family leave, making it the only high-income country without mandatory paid maternity leave, according to the World Bank. This forces new mothers to return to work soon after childbirth, risking their physical and mental health while balancing work and childcare. Additionally, the absence of guaranteed paid paternity leave reinforces traditional gender roles by placing the burden of caregiving on women and forcing many to choose between their careers and family responsibilities, often resulting in professional, financial, and personal setbacks.

The World Bank has highlighted that while women’s labor force participation has risen significantly in the last fifty years, they still remain overrepresented in low-paid, insecure, and unregulated jobs. Many face unequal treatment at work and limited access to career advancement opportunities.

The absence of constitutional safeguards means that women in the U.S. have less protection against discrimination in the workplace in relation to their gender, parental status, or pregnancy – making it harder for victims to access justice when they are mistreated in hiring, remuneration, promotion, and retention practices.

Reflections on UNGA79 and the Summit of the Future

Wisdoms Inc — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 07:54:20 +0000

little under a week since the end of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) – this year with the Summit of the Future taking place as well – it’s a good time to reflect on what we accomplished, what we learned, and what the next steps are. We cannot wait for 3 centuries to achieve gender equality. Women’s voices must be represented at leadership levels (including the next Secretary General of the United Nations) to bring our perspective to global agreements, critical frameworks and legal standards.

UNGA presents an important opportunity to speak with governments and other key stakeholders directly, and to connect and strategize with partners and allies. This year, there was a lot of anticipation in the air for the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact (GDC), as well as the fact that it is almost the 30 year anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. So where was Equality Now, and what came of all the anticipation?

A powerful mix: strategy collaboration, stakeholder advocacy, and network building

In the lead-up to our participation in the Summit of the Future, which took place during the middle days of UNGA, we took part in several key events and strategy sessions with civil society partners and government stakeholders. These included a panel on “The power of storytelling in the fight against technology-facilitated gender-based violence” and a civil society strategic discussion space hosted by the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi, of which Equality Now is a founding member) and other partners. In the discussion space, through facilitated group discussions, participants highlighted opportunities for collaboration and input into the ongoing monitoring of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) in action, as well as formulating a set of benchmarks against which the implementation of the GDC can be measured. This is a continuation of two years of work, collaborating with civil society partners to influence the language of the GDC around gender equality.

We were also proud to attend UN Women’s event “Towards and equal, just and secure world – Countdown to Beijing +30” where UN member states as diverse as Albania, Canada, China, Kenya, and Mexico spoke about their progress toward and commitment to achieving gender equality, and we also heard from youth leaders and UN officials. It was an important moment to build momentum for gender equality and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the commitments of the Beijing Platform for Action ahead of the 30th anniversary of Beijing – and 5 years to go until the SDG deadline of 2030 – next year.