The United Nations is known for its declarations and conventions – they’ve even got one on the rights of women called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).  CEDAW

“is often described as an international bill of rights for women…it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.”

But what does a document like this mean for the lives of individual women? I asked guest blogger Tania Khojasteh, a law student at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England, to share with me her thoughts on why an international convention like CEDAW is so important:

An international convention like CEDAW is really important because it officially addresses the need to recognize women’s marginalization and oppression through gender inequality around the world. In other words, it brings to the attention of both men and women that there is a problem in the way we have been treating women historically, and that this is no longer acceptable.  According to the UN,

“By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms.”

How does this make a difference in women’s lives? An official recognition of women’s inequality issues by organizations such as UN help empower women everywhere, knowing that their issues are acknowledged and taken into consideration when making international policies and laws for human rights. This in turn then helps empower women to stand up for what they believe is their inherent rights. It also allows men to get on board, and recognize that when women (as members of the human world) are affected negatively, so are they as their male counter halves. After all, as Maya Angelou put it, “We are more alike than we are unalike.”

In a workshop I did for men on gender equality in Ethiopia, one of the young men bravely told me in front of twenty other young men that he

“truly understands that women’s issues are men’s issues” and that “there is no benefit from focusing on our differences too much, because at the end of the day what is my right is your right – one is not more special than the other and really our goal should be to live happily as partners in life.”

Since we are more alike then unlike in our desire for justice and peace,, my problem as a woman is everyone’s problem. So, we all need to work together to resolve this problem, so that we can all live healthier more fulfilling lives. We can help do this in part by knowing the guidelines for women’s rights through CEDAW, helping live out its rules in our daily lives, and critically question anything outlined on the CEDAW mandate that may not reflect exactly what it is that we hope for women’s rights and gender equality around the world. By fighting for our rights to have a document like CEDAW, we are also fighting for the rights of every other woman in the world that can benefit from it.