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\nEmbedding women's rights into constitutions\n

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\nThomson Reuters Foundation. In countries of the Arab Spring, new constitutions offer an opportunity to embed women's rights in the very fabric of the state. But many rights activists have expressed concern that, despite women's major...\nThomson Reuters Foundation. In countries of the Arab Spring, new constitutions offer an opportunity to embed women's rights in the very fabric of the state. But many rights activists have expressed concern that, despite women's major role in the Arab Spring uprisings, they are being kept out of the political discourse and their fundamental rights are threatened as conservative and religious forces, gaining influence after the overthrow of repressive rulers, push for new constitutions to reflect their thinking. A key focus of the inaugural Trust Women conference, co-hosted by Thomson Reuters Foundation and the International Herald Tribune in London in December 2012, was to find solutions to enshrining women's rights in national constitutions. This video opened a session at the conference devoted to making sure women's rights were included in constitutions being drafted. More on www.trust.org 2012 © Thomson Reuters Foundation Transcript: In countries of the Arab Spring, new constitutions offer an opportunity to embed women's rights in the very fabric of the state. Legally, nothing is more solid than constitutional law. Constitutions set out the principles on which countries are based. They're much more difficult to change than other laws and may require a referendum. But enshrining rights in constitutions is not always straightforward -- and is often controversial. Just look at Tunisia and Egypt, where governments are struggling to find a balance between Islamist movements and secularists. Tunisia's draft constitution sparked outrage with language that seems to define women as second-class citizens. And Egypt recently dropped a controversial clause that guaranteed women's rights only as long as they didn't conflict with Sharia law. Libya is appointing a committee to draft its new constitution, which it hopes to put to a referendum next year. Yemen is also in the early stages of setting up a drafting committee. When it comes to protecting women's rights, there are four kinds of provisions that can go into constitutions. The first is a general guarantee of the right to equality and freedom from discrimination. Worldwide, 139 constitutions provide broad guarantees of gender equality. The second sets minimum levels of representation for women in government. In Iraq, women must make up at least 25 percent of the Council of Representatives. In Rwanda and Kenya, the quota is 30 percent of posts in \"decision making organs\". The third guarantees specific rights -- marriage rights, property rights, the right to freedom from violence... 125 countries outlaw domestic violence in their constitutions. 115 give women equal rights to own property. 93 ensure inheritance rights. Finally, it's important to clarify what happens when constitutions conflict with customary or religious law. Kenya goes so far as to declare customary law invalid when it's at odds with the constitution. Such \"conflict provisions\", as they're known, are a big issue in countries where Shariah law applies. Saudia Arabia has a constitution-like charter, but it doesn't override Islamic laws and makes no mention of women. Bahrain's constitution bans discrimination against women, so long as it's compatible with Sharia law. How can Arab Spring countries make the most of the blank slates before them? What are the essential lessons from other nations? Can we imagine a checklist or toolkit to help them get it right?\n
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9th - 11th
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All Subjects
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Instructional Videos
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2019
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