Women’s Rights & SDGs: Concepts, Tools and Practical Action Points

1. Women’s Rights & SDGs: Concepts,
Tools and Practical Action Points
Ranjani K Murthy
Independent Researcher and
Consultant

2. Objectives (three sessions)
At the end of the session the participants would
be familiar with:
• Women’s rights
• A critique of gender-specific SDG Goal and
gender specific SDG targets/indicators
• Tools for monitoring gender-specific
targets/indicators at state and local levels

3. WOMEN’S RIGHTS
All rights spelled out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
by the two Human Rights Covenants (on Civil and Political Rights as well
as on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) are the rights of every
woman. The same applies to all other Human Rights treaties
http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/women_definition.html.

4. Women’s rights Convention and
Declaration
• 1979 Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (in force 1981)
-Four parts
• 1993 Vienna declaration
“Women’s rights are human rights”
“Gender-based violence is a human rights
violations”

5. Part I: What is discrimination and what needs to
be done?
1. Discrimination is any exclusion or restriction
made on the basis of sex which has the effect of
impairing the exercise by women of their rights
2. States Parties condemn discrimination against
women…pursue policy of eliminating same
3. States Parties shall take in all fields appropriate
measures, including legislation, to ensure the
full development and advancement of women

6. Part I: What is discrimination and what
needs to be done?
4. States Parties adopting temporary special
measures aimed at accelerating equality shall
not be considered discrimination
5. a) Eliminate stereotypes of sex roles …. b)
recognize the common responsibility of men
and women in the upbringing of children
6. Stop all forms of trafficking and exploitation
of women.

7. Part II-political and public life
7. Elimination of discrimination in political and
public life (voting, contesting, policy form.)
8. Equal representation and participation of
women at international level.
9. Equal right to nationality… states Parties shall
grant women equal rights with men to acquire,
change or retain their nationality

8. Part III: Elimination of discrimination:
social economic field
10. Elimination of discrimination in education (equal access,
same curricula, no drop out, career guidance, sports, no stereotype etc.)
11.Equal right to employment and elimination of
discrimination (right to work, equality in recruitment, remuneration,
occupational health, security, marriage and maternity protection)
12. Equal access to health care, including family planning; special
care during pregnancy and lactation .
13. Elimination of discrimination in social and economic
benefits- family benefits, sports/recreation, bank loans and mortgages.
14. Protection of rural women …. equal access to health,
education, housing, sanitation, electricity, self help groups and cooperatives.

9. Part IV
Equality before the law
15. Equality with men before the law and in civil
matters (equal rights in contracts and to administer property, non
discrimination in such matters, and right to mobility and freedom of
residence).
16. Elimination of discrimination in matters
relating to marriage and family relations (1.same
right to enter into marriage, choose partners, contraception, bringing up
children, guardianship/custody, property, name after marriage, 2. registration
of birth and marriage etc.)

10. Ratification status –India
India
• Signed; 30 July 1980, Ratified: 9 July 1993
Declarations:
i) With regard to articles 5 (a) (elimination of prejudices/stereotypes) and
16 (1) of CEDAW- rights within marriage and family - will abide if in
conformity with constitution
"ii) With regard to article 16 (2) of the CEDAW- registration of marriage-
is not practical in a vast country like India with its variety of customs, religions
and level of literacy
Reservation:
With regard to article 29 of the CEDAW , Indian government does not
agree to another state questioning the interpretation of the state
Optional protocol
• India – not ratified. No individual and group can complain to the
Committee

11. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
GOALS (WITH MERCY KAPPEN)

12. Look back and ahead: MDG
Achievement
Proclaimed to be achieved:
Reduce extreme poverty and hunger by half (Goal 1)
Universal access to safe water (part of Goal 7)
Combat malaria (part of Goal 6)
Achieve gender parity in primary education (part of
Goal 3)
Proclaimed not achieved:
Gender parity -women in non agriculture and
parliament (part of Goal 3)
Combat HIV/AIDS (part of Goal 6)
Reduce maternal mortality ratio by 2/3rd (Goal 4)
Universal access to safe sanitation (part of Goal 7)
Murthy with Kappen, 2017, Gender, Equality and SDGs: A training manual, Visthar,
Bangalore

13. Why not achieved?
• Neo-liberal development paradigm
• Social norms and power relations not a target
• Conflicts and disasters
• From rights to development

14. SDGs
1) End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and
promote sustainable agriculture
3) Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
4) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
5) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all
7) Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy for all
8) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full
and productive employment, and decent work for all

15. SDGs
9) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation,
and foster innovation
10) Reduce inequality within and among countries
11) Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12) Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for
sustainable development
15) Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and
halt biodiversity loss
16) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels
17) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership
for sustainable development

16. Group exercise: 1
Break up into 15 groups.
Rate SDG and targets allocated to you:
• Women’s rights well integrated
• Women’s rights partially integrated
• Women’s rights not integrated
• Suggestions on targets from women’s
rights lens

17. Sum up
– Gender issues are not included in the targets of 6 out of 16 SDGs
(excluded SDG 5 on GEWE).
– Gender issues are excluded from targets pertaining to important
sectors of energy (SDG 7), infrastructure (SDG 9), sustainable
consumption and production (SDG 12), sustainable use of marine
resources (SDG 14), sustainable use of terrestrial resources (SDG 15)
and promoting peace and justice (SDG 16). Terms such as universal
access do not ensure gender equality in outcomes
– Amongst the other 10 SDG, integration of gender equality perspective
is strong in targets pertaining to SDG 4 on education, and weak within
targets on poverty, hunger, health, water and sanitation, inclusive
growth, clean energy, eliminating inequalities, promoting inclusive
cities, climate resilience and global partnership.
– Additional targets required

18. SDG 5 Achieve Gender Equality and
Empower All Women
1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls
everywhere
2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the
public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and
other types of exploitation
3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced
marriage and female genital mutilation
4. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the
provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection
policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the
household and the family as nationally appropriate
5. Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal
opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in
political, economic and public life

19. SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and
empower all women and girls
6. Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and
reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and Development
and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their
review conferences
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as
well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of
property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance
with national laws
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and
communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.c. Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the
promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls
at all levels

20. Critique of SDG 5
• Gender targets within SDG 5 are better than those in MDG
3. The only target pertaining to Goal 3 on GEWE was
restricted to eliminating gender disparity in education, with
an assumption that parity in education would help attain
equality in parliament and gender parity in non-agriculture
work.
• Nevertheless there are limitations of SDG 5 as it is set in
larger neo liberal paradigm of development, inequalities
between and within countries, does not seek to transform
religious institutions or traditional councils, treats women
as a homogenous groups, does not refer to issues of people
of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, does not
deal with attitudinal change, or promote work with men
and boys on gender concerns.

21. Group exercise: 2
• Group 1: Target 5.1 and 5.2 and indicators
• Group 2: Target 5.3 and 5.6 and indicators
• Group 3: Target 5.4 and 5.5 and indicators
• Group 5: Target 5.a and indicators
• Group 6: Targets 5.b and 5.c and indicators
• Rate progress of your district/state towards
targets/indicators and give reasons

22. Proposed SDG indicators
Target Indicator Comment on
indicator
Rating of
progress of yr
district (1-4)
5.1 End all
forms of
discrimination
against all
women and
girls
everywhere
5.1.1 Whether or not
legal frameworks are in
place to promote,
enforce and
monitor equality and
non-discrimination
on the basis of sex
5.2 Eliminate
all forms of
violence
against all
women and
girls in the
public and
private
5.2.1 Proportion of ever-
partnered women and
girls aged 15 years and
older subjected to
physical, sexual or
psychological violence
by a current or former
intimate partner in the
Higher
the
better

23. Proposed SDG indicators: Goal 5
Target Indicator Comm
ent on
indicat
or
Rating on
achievement
1-4
5.2 continued 5.2.2 Proportion of women and
girls aged 15 years and older
subjected to sexual violence by
persons other than an intimate
partner in the previous 12
months, by age and place of
occurrence
5.3 Eliminate
all harmful
practices, such
as child,
early and
forced
marriage and
5.3.1 Proportion of women aged
20-24 years who were married
or in a union before age 15 and
before age 18
5.3.2 Proportion of girls and
women aged 15-49 years who

24. Proposed SDG indicators: Goal 5
Target Indicator Comment
on
indicator
Rating
on
achiev
ement
1-4
5.4 Recognize and value
unpaid care and
domestic
work through the
provision of public
services,
infrastructure and social
protection policies and
the promotion of shared
responsibility within the
household and the family
as nationally appropriate
5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on
unpaid domestic and care work,
by sex, age and Location
5.5 Ensure women’s full 5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by

25. Proposed SDG indicators: Goal 5
Target Indicator Comment
on
indicator
Rating
on
achieve
ment
1-4
5.6 Ensure
universal access
to SRHR as agreed
in accordance
with the
Programme of
Action
of the
International
Conference on
Population and
Development and
the Beijing
5.6.1 Proportion of women
aged 15-49
years who make their own
informed
decisions regarding sexual
relations,
contraceptive use and
reproductive health care
5.6.2 Number of countries
with laws and regulations that
guarantee women aged 15- 49
years access to SRH care,

26. Proposed SDG indicators: Goal 5
Target Indicator Comment
on
indicator
Ratin
g of
achie
veme
nt
1-4
5.a Undertake
reforms to give
women equal
rights to economic
resources, as well
as access to
ownership and
control over land
and other forms of
property, financial
services,
inheritance and
5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total
agricultural population with
ownership or secure
rights over agricultural land, by
sex; and (b) share of women
among owners or rights-bearers of
agricultural land, by type of tenure
5.a.2 Proportion of countries
where the legal framework
(including customary law)
guarantees women’s equal rights

27. Proposed SDG indicators: Goal 5
Target Indicator Comment on
indicator
Rating of
achievement
1-4
5.b Enhance the use
of enabling
technology, in
particular
information and
communications
technology, to
promote the
empowerment of
women
5.c Adopt and
strengthen sound
policies and
enforceable
legislation for the
5.b.1 Proportion
of individuals
who own
a mobile
telephone, by
sex
5.c.1 Proportion
of countries with
systems to track
and make public
allocations for
gender equality
and
women’s

28. Critique of SDG 5 indicators
• Some indicators do not measure the target,
• Neglect of girls under 15
• Not capturing changes in gender division of
labour
• Not capturing inter-generation changes
• Not addressing broader inequalities.

29. SDG MONITORING – A GENDER
LENS

30. SDG 5 quantitative monitoring
Example from Tamil Nadu
Nature of violence and
discrimination
Performanc
e
2005-6
Performance
2015-16
Rate of
improvement
2005-6
between
2015-16
Comment on
whether the
state is likely to
achieve target
of elimination
by 2030
Sex ratio at birth 896 954
Women age 20
24 years married before
age 18 years (%)
21.5 15.7
Female method of modern
contraception to total (%)
3.83% 1.52%
Births delivered by
caesarean (%)
20.3% 34.1%
Married women
experienced spousal
violence (%)
41.9% 40.6%

31. Participatory monitoring
Caste and gender discrimination
mapping

32. Violence mapping

33. 24 hour clock
http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/resource
s/learning/mod5-online/edu-res/r1/r1.1

34. Gender and decision making matrix

35. Gender and diveristy aware social map

36. Body mapping/pictures

37. Gender and diversity aware resource
mapping (TN)

38. Gender based control over resources
(Overholt et al 1985)

39. What we can do?
• Negotiate nationally for better gender equality
indicators (SDG 5 and others)
• Monitor nationally, provincially and district
wise progress on SDG 5 and other gender
indicators
• Facilitate monitoring by marginalised
women/groups
• Advocate what could contribute to SDG 5