Friday | 17 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Friday | 17 January 2025 | Epaper

CEDAW spurs transformative change for women in workforce rights

Published : Friday, 3 May, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 496
Humaira Adiba Kotha
While significant strides have been made towards gender equality in the workplace, challenges persist, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) remains a crucial tool in this ongoing struggle. CEDAW outlines key rights for women at work, including non-discrimination, maternity leave, and equal pay. However, despite progress, issues such as the gender wage gap, biased recruitment and promotion practices, limited training opportunities, and sexual harassment still plague many workplaces.

A legislative framework for attaining gender equality in all spheres of life, including the workplace, is established by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It lists particular rights that women ought to have at work, like nondiscrimination, maternity leave, and equal pay for equal work.Women still experience harassment at work despite progress. This can manifest itself in a number of ways, including the gender wage gap, implicit prejudice in recruiting and promotion, restricted access to chances for training and career progression, and even sexual harassment.While many countries have ratified CEDAW, enforcement and implementation vary greatly. The articles of the Convention have not been enacted into robust national laws by certain nations.The resources available to NGOs and advocacy groups to efficiently monitor and enforce CEDAW compliance are frequently insufficient.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a global human rights treaty designed with women in mind, was ratified by Bangladesh in 1984. All people, regardless of gender, are entitled to some inalienable rights.In accordance with Article 2.1(d) of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Bangladesh has reserved the right not to abide by these two treaty articles. As a result, the government has reservations regarding two of the treatys provisions. The international commitment to guarantee womens equality and nondiscrimination has been contradicted by Bangladeshs adoption of the qualified right of reservation as an absolute right.

Bangladesh had early doubts about Articles 2, 13(a), 16.1(c), and 16.1(f) Through the prism of CEDAW, Bangladesh should examine its objections to the Convention, amend its domestic legislation to promote gender equality, and bolster its enforcement systems in order to guarantee womens rights in the workplace.It has been noted that historically, the welfare and interests of the populace as well as civilization have been taken into consideration when interpreting and accepting different religious rules. To reach an agreement on this issue, productive discussions between religious organisations and the government would be crucial in this regard. Bangladesh may also take the lead from other nations with a majority of Muslims and work with them to ratify CEDAW without any objections, if needed. This might improve relations between nations as well.

Clear non-discrimination policies and options for work-life balance should be implemented by businesses, and quotas or objectives for women in leadership roles might be investigated. It is essential to gather data, report publicly on initiatives towards gender equality, and assist organizations that fight for womens rights. By empowering women via leadership development, mentorship initiatives, and legal literacy campaigns, we can strengthen their rights and provide the foundation for a more just future.

In order to protect womens rights at work, Bangladesh must adhere to CEDAW. Bangladesh can fortify the legal framework by eliminating reservations on CEDAW articles, amending discriminatory personal laws, and putting strong enforcement measures in place. Companies need to assume accountability by implementing unambiguous anti-discrimination guidelines, providing options for a work-life balance, and perhaps setting goals or quotas for the proportion of women in senior positions. In order to gather information, promote open reporting on gender equality, and empower women through legal awareness campaigns and leadership development, cooperation between the government, non-governmental organizations, and civil society is required. Bangladesh can only close the gap between the objectives of CEDAW and the reality for women working in Bangladeshi workplaces by working together.

The writer is a Law Student, University of Asia Pacific


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