Often, when issues of women rights are discussed, many people believe that people advocating such are extremists who are for some reasons, distorting the order of things. To them, such advocates are trying to erode the superiority of men over women and are working against the ordinances of religion and scripture.
However, this is part of the misconceptions that make it difficult to protect women in today’s society; many people misunderstand the concept of women rights and protection and see those that advocate it as feminists or their apologists that are working against men and teaching women not to be submissive, especially to their spouses.
The truth however is that women have rights which are peculiar to their gender and for the society to move forward, women need to be protected and their rights enforced.
Women rights are fundamental human rights which should not be treated as excesses. Indeed, the former first lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, confirmed this during the 1995 Beijing Conference when she stated that, “Human rights are women’s rights. Women must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure.”
And in recognition of the rights of women as fundamental, the United Nations in 1979 through its General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination which is today known as the international bill of rights for women in order to eliminate gender discrimination and promote equality in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
And in 2000, the United Nations Security Council further passed a resolution on “Women, Peace and Security” to further affirm the rights of women in conflict zones and in war.
These laws had been domesticated in many countries of the world, including Nigeria but the enforcement is affected by cultural and religious beliefs and had made the vision of empowering women sluggish.
There is a need to educate the society that women’s rights are human rights. Women face many pressing issues that erode on their rights, productivity and quality of life. They face discrimination and diverse forms of violence in the public and private spheres, including trafficking sexual harassment, deprivation, harmful cultural practices, infringement of reproductive rights and other types of exploitation.
Sexism, gender stereotyping and gender discrimination are infringements of women fundamental rights which are used to silence feminists by delegitimizing their claims, harassing them verbally, publicly and privately as well as misleading the society from understanding the concept of feminism and presenting is as a bad influence on the society.
Men find it easy to fight for their rights in today’s society while women are subjected to attacks when they stand for their rights; they are subjected to hate speech, derogatory remarks and given terrible names to stigmatise them. Not only are such words an attack on women’s right to freedom of expression, they also violate women’s human rights to privacy, dignity, non-discrimination and life free from violence.
Though, all over the world, activists are doing a lot to bring attention to women’s rights as fundamental human rights, there is still much to be done to change the current situation by ensuring reorientation, social cooperation and awareness.
There is need for improved and more coordinated policy efforts among stakeholders through the creation of critical platforms for raising awareness and demanding action.
Demand for women rights is not a sin or excessive, women rights are human rights.