GENDER EQUALITY

Gender equality is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender. According to UNICEF, gender equality "means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections.

It is the vision of United Nations that men and women should be treated equally in social, economic and all other aspects of society, and to not be discriminated against on the basis of their gender. Gender equality is one of the objectives of the United Nations Ubiversal Declaration of Human Rights. World bodies have defined gender equality in terms of human rights, especially women’s rights, and economic development.

Their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs.

 

The movement towards gender equality began with the suffrage movement in Western cultures in the late-19th century, which sought to allow women to vote and hold elected office. This period also witnessed significant changes to women’s property rights. The women’s movement gave them equal pay for equal work. 

Equal rights for women in marriage, divorce, and property/land ownership and inheritance are essential for gender equality. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has called for the end of discriminatory family laws. In 2013, UN Women stated that "While at least 115 countries recognize equal land rights for women and men, effective implementation remains a major challenge.

I sincerely hope that the 21^st century will open an era for further growth and development of new laws and regulations  in the realm of gender equality.

          

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

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