A Lack of Progress Even though it has been has been over thirty years since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women are still facing some of the exact same issues as they were back then. These include social exclusion, honor killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, poverty, and early marriage. Many women across the globe still do not have equal rights recognized by law.
A Safe World for Women is working to make women's rights recognized by law across the globe. Deaths from Childbirth and Pregnancy Approximately 529,000 woman die each year from complications in pregnancy or childbirth itself. 90% of these deaths happen in developing countries. In developing countries, the maternal death rate is three hundred times higher than in developed countries such as Canada, United States and Europe.
This is due to the fact that women in developing countries just do not have the same access to medical supplies and facilities as we do. Medical attention is expensive, and even if it is available, many women cannot afford it. "Honour" Killings The term honour killing is used to describe the murder of a woman who has somehow dishonoured her family. These horrendous acts are often times performed by men.
Ways that women could "dishounour" the family include dressing in a way that is deemed unsuitable, wanting to end an arranged marriage, preferring to marry a man that is deemed inappropriate by the family, having sex outside of marriage, or being homosexual. It is suspected that between 5,000 and 20,000 women are killed in the Middle East and Southwest Asia each year because of honour killings. It is a truly horrendous and barbaric tradition that has somehow escaped the eyes of the media for so long. Many of these women are either doused in acid, stoned, burned, buried alive, stabbed, shot or beaten to death. A large majority of the men are never held responsible for these murders because they stage the murder as a suicide. To find out more, follow this to the links tab on our webpage! |
Human Trafficking
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