The fight for women's rights has been a great issue for centuries - only now with the advent of global organizations such as the United Nations are some underdeveloped countries reaching the progress they require. One of the most pressing issues regarding women's rights, as it pertains to the UN, is the creation of initiatives that grant women rights within the country while keeping the country itself financially and politically stable1. In many instances, the rise of gender equality is directly correlated to facilitating economic stability, as women must be able to access access secondary communication and sustainable energy, among other things. The women's conferences of the 1990s facilitated by the UN has brought a new fervor to the cause of women's rights, though it has not led to absolute success as of yet.
Many current issues of women's rights are of great interest to the United Nations, and initiatives have begun in order to facilitate the equality that is going unseen in these nations. Often, abuse perpetrated toward women is a common thread that is perpetuated in war-torn countries as a result of religious or social norms that oppress and harm women. "Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war whenever armed conflicts arise between different parties" in countries such as Rwanda, Kuwait, Haiti, Columbia, and others2. In addition to that, female circumcision and forced, arranged young marriages harm a great many women in developing countries both physically and mentally. Reports have indicated that three areas of concern in which women are vulnerable include the family, the community and the State - there are many ways violence and abuse towards women can be perpetrated on both personal and institutional bases within these areas3.
The statistics for women's rights abuses in the third world are astounding. Studies have shown that between 17% and 38% of women "have suffered physical assaults by a partner"4. Many countries do not consider sexual assault by a husband upon a wife to be a crime, making it difficult for women to prove or prosecute against sexual assault in many cases. The United Nations as a whole has been working to eliminate these systematic abuses of women on a worldwide scale. The United Nations Commission for Human Rights condemned all women-centric violence and violations of human rights in 1993, and has remained an active participant in advocating for women's rights ever since5.
The extent to which nongovernmental organizations like the UN is able to facilitate change is somewhat limited, due to the lack of political opportunity and available mobilizing structures that prevent them from having sufficient influence within the countries perpetrating the abuse6. Despite the lack of total success, the 'gendering' of the women's rights agenda in the UN has allowed for women to insert their perspectives on global rights issues, creating much greater advocacy within the UN than has existed to date in any other capacity7. However, there are those who argue that said gendering has permitted mainstream organizations to absolve themselves of the responsibility of caring for women's rights, robbing the cause of those resources8.
In conclusion, the United Nations has made it their express mission to positively impact the lives of women all over the world, by advocating for a stop to women's rights abuses and violence against women in underdeveloped countries. Despite its best efforts, a substantial number of women's rights abuses still occur; institutionalized structural blocks prevent an NGO like the UN from taking control of these situations. However, the UN continues to work on initiatives and means to create mobilizing structures that would benefit women throughout these impoverished and war-torn states. To date, the United Nations has had a tremendous impact on the exposure and prevention of women's rights abuses throughout the world - by increasing the public's awareness of human rights abuses through the 1990s women's conferences, further advocacy has been reached. The potential for further elimination of gender inequality has been made possible through these initiatives.
Bibliography
Bayes, J. H., & Tohidi, N. Globalization, Gender, and Religion: The politics of women's rights in
Catholic and Muslim Contexts. New York: Palgrave Publishers, 2001.
Clark, A.M., Friedman, E. J., & Hochstetler, K. "The Sovereign Limits of Global Civil Society:
A Comparison of NGO Participation in UN World Conferences on the Environment,
Human Rights and Women." World Politics, vol. 51, no. 1, October 1998, pp. 1-35.
Friedman, E.J. "Gendering the Agenda: The Impact of the Transnational Women's Rights
Movement at the UN Conferences of the 1990s." Women's Studies International Forum,
vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 313-331, 2003.
Friedman, E.J. "Women's Human Rights: The Emergence of a Movement." in Women's Rights,
Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives, ed. Peters, J., & Wolper, A.
Psychology Press, 1995.
Galey, M.E. "International Enforcement of Women's Rights." Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 6,
no. 4, November 1984.
Hernandex-Truyol, B.E. "Women's Rights as Human Rights - Rules, Realities and the Role of
Culture." in International Communication: A Global Reader. ed. Jandt, F.E. SAGE,
2004.
Joachim, J. "Framing Issues and Seizing Opportunities: The UN, NGOs, and Women's Rights."
International Studies Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 247-274, June 2003.
Reanda, L. "Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach." Human Rights
Quarterly, vol. 11, 1981.
Stamatopoulou, E. "Women's Rights and the United Nations." in Women's Rights, Human
Rights: International Feminist Perspectives, ed. Peters, J., & Wolper, A. Psychology
Press, 1995.
United Nations. "Global Issues - Women." UN.org. 2001, viewed on February 13 2012.
United Nations. Women and Violence. United Nations Department of Public Information,
1996.
United Nations. "Women's Empowerment is Central to Global Sustainability, Says New UN
Report. UNWOMEN.org, February 9, 2012, viewed on February 13, 2012.
West, L.A. "The United Nations Women's Conferences and Feminist Politics." in Gender
Politics in Global Governance. ed. Meyer, M. K., & Prugl, E. Rowman & Littlefield,
1999.
