Reflections on CEDAW

• Author: Radhika Coomaraswamy
• Pages: 195-196

195

Part IV: Afterword

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15. Reflections on CEDAW

Radhika Coomaraswamy1

The adoption of CEDAW in 1979 was the culmination of activism on the part of women

from all over the world. Women fighting for equality before the law, women struggling

for justice for rural women, women workers fighting for benefits, women challenging

inequality in the family, united to bring forth this Convention that would create an

international normative framework for the protection of the rights of women.

CEDAW has also adapted to new developments and important trends as they have

evolved over the years. At the time CEDAW was drafted, violence against women was

still a taboo subject for nation states. By the 1990s, the discourse had changed, and

the CEDAW Committee acted swiftly to adopt a General Recommendation. This has

since become the basis for reporting on violence against women.

The CEDAW Committee is strong and active, with powerful members who question

member states with the diligence of true independent experts. They draft comprehen-

sive and useful conclusions and recommendations that form the basis for much of the

follow-up within the nation state concerned.

CEDAW has also spawned activist NGOs and scholars who watch the formal, govern-

mental process with close attention and who submit shadow reports to the Committee

so as to ensure that it has access to all the important information. This enables the

Committee to do its work objectively and impartially.

An anniversary is a time for celebration, but also a time to reflect on what needs to

be done. CEDAW puts forward the ideal of equal and empowered women with all the

rights and freedoms available to men. For many throughout the world this is still only

an ideal, perhaps a far away dream. But the Convention and its activist Committee is

seeking to make this dream a reality by engaging constructively with national govern-

ments, questioning their political will and by making recommendations for future action.

By creating a universal standard it strives to help women everywhere lead true and

meaningful lives.

Nonetheless, the challenges are also manifold. How do we struggle against relativist

tendencies that have begun to challenge this universal standard? How do we implement

1. Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy is currently the Special Representative of the Secretary-

General for Children and Armed Conflict and former Special Rapporteur on Violence Against

Women. The views expressed herein are those of Ms Coomaraswamy and do not

necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.