Civil Society Representatives brief CEDAW on situation of women in Kyrgyzstan, Eritrea, Maldives and Denmark

23 February 2015

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon met with civil society representatives to hear information on the situation of women in Kyrgyzstan, Eritrea, Maldives and Denmark, whose reports will be considered by the Committee this week.

Representatives of civil society organizations from Kyrgyzstan expressed concern about the gradual withdrawal of women from public and economic life, accompanied by a rise in the numbers of religious marriages, and impunity for the practice of bride kidnapping and for violence against sex workers. Migrant women from Russia suffered systematic human rights violations.

Representatives of civil society organizations from Eritrea said the Eritrean Government imposed indefinite military service upon the entire population, which was enforced labour, and conscripted women were subjected to sexual violence by their superiors, who were beyond the reach of the law. The resulting enforced migration of hundreds of thousands of Eritreans led to cases of extreme violence against migrants, particularly in transit and Middle Eastern countries. Eritrea had no functional democratic institution and was in danger of becoming a failed State.

Representatives of civil society organizations from Maldives said child marriage was a growing problem and was often endorsed by ‘Islamic scholars’ at State-organized public events and on radio and television. That increase was part of the larger context of increasing Islamic fundamentalism in Maldives, linked to the re-emergence and endorsement of female genital mutilation, the removal of girls and boys from the Maldivian school system and the increase in barriers to sexual and reproductive health services.

Jonas Christoffer, Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, said key issues included differentiation in practice of police assistance to violence against women victims, a lack of data concerning gender issues, particularly in Greenland, and stereotypical domestic roles for mothers of young children.

Ahmed Tholal, representing the Human Rights Commission of Maldives, said there had been a regression in the number of women in political positions and an increase in the numbers of unregistered marriages and women who faced violence in their everyday lives.

The NGO Council, the NGO Coalition, Labrys, the Eritrean Law Society, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Hope for Women were among non-governmental organizations speaking today. Representatives of the national human rights institutions of Denmark and Maldives also took the floor.

When the Committee reconvenes in public on Tuesday, 24 February at 10 a.m., it will begin its consideration of the eighth periodic report of Denmark CEDAW/C/DNK/8.

Discussion with Non-Governmental Organizations

Kyrgyzstan

The NGO Council regretted the institutional weakness of the National Women Development Mechanism as well as the lack of national funding for gender parity. The number of women representatives in rural councils fell sharply in the last election. There was a gradual withdrawal of women from public and economic life, accompanied by a rise in the numbers of religious marriages.

The NGO Coalition said women who had been abducted for the purpose of marriage did not have access to justice, and those guilty of ‘bride kidnap’ enjoyed impunity because of police inaction. Migrant women, particularly those from Russia, endured systematic violations of their human rights. The State did not recognize the reality of violence against sex workers, said another representative, and perpetrators again enjoyed impunity. Furthermore the Government planned to criminalize sex workers. Women drug addicts could not access methadone or indeed often general health services.

Labrys said Kyrgyzstan had "a history of violence and discrimination" against transgender and inter-sex persons, a situation which would worsen following the likely adoption of a particularly restrictive law, warned a representative.

Eritrea

The Eritrean Law Society said the Eritrean Government imposed indefinite military service upon the entire population, which was in effect enforced labour. Conscripted women were subjected to sexual violence by their superiors, who were beyond the reach of the law and acted with impunity. The resulting enforced migration of hundreds of thousands of Eritreans led to cases of extreme violence against migrants, particularly in transit and Middle Eastern countries. Eritrea had no functional democratic institution: no other country in the world was confronted with so many structural problems. Eritrea unfortunately symbolized a ‘frozen State’ and was in danger of becoming a failed State, said the representative.

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said agriculture and pastoralism were the main source of livelihood for about 80 per cent of Eritrea’s population, with women playing a vital role as farmers and producers. While women’s land and property rights were generally protected by law there were de facto violations of their rights, for example, due to Sharia law governing inheritance rights. Women farmers in Eritrea also faced discrimination in terms of access to agricultural programmes, services and technologies.

Questions from the Experts on Eritrea

In the ensuing discussion an Expert noted that Eritrea was a very closed country that was a source of global concern, and said despite many interventions nothing seemed to change. How did non-governmental organizations operate in the country? Experts expressed concern about high levels of violence imposed on women across Eritrea, access to abortion, the high numbers of asylum seekers and about trafficking in persons.

Many people remained in the army considerably longer than the 18 month period of military service – often even for decades – said an Expert, asking about that impact upon women, such as the widespread fear of sexual violence in the military which led many young women to opt to, or be forced by their families, to drop out of school to enter an early marriage in order to avoid the military.

Response from Non-Governmental Organizations on Eritrea

A representative noted that civil society organizations working on Eritrea operated in exile and did not have access on the ground. In answer to the question on military conscription, the Eritrean army was said to be 600,000 strong. Eritreans, including women, were conscripted into the army in different ways and served without any wage, a salary, or pay. In effect, it was slavery. There were some exceptions from military service for breastfeeding or newlywed women, but the military police conducted frequent ‘round ups’, seizing young people from the streets in the capital city Asmara and other towns and forcing them into the military. Once a round-up had happened nothing could save the person.

Responding to another question, a representative said the trouble was that the Government made promises which were never kept. The frequent excuse of the Eritrean Government was the so-called unresolved border conflict with Ethiopia. But for any reasonable person there was no such case of an unresolved border conflict. Basically the Government said it was in a state of emergency and so could do anything it wanted – suspend the constitution, restrict rights. But legally speaking no state of emergency was ever proclaimed. The lack of civil society space was a critical problem. There were now emerging, clandestine youth movements, such as the ‘Freedom Friday Movement’, who were operating at great risk to their lives. No country in the world could continue in the way the Eritrean Government was trying to rule the country, he commented, and in fact the President of Eritrea had now stated a wish to begin a consultation process on a new constitution, which was simply a way of buying time in order to continue the Government’s human rights violations.

Abortion was illegal but the Penal Code allowed it if a woman was impregnated as a result of rape, incest or if the pregnancy posed serious risk to the life of the woman. The migration route had now shifted from Sinai to Libya, which had an impact on trafficking in persons, said a representative, and was a major threat to Eritreans. Prison conditions in Eritrea were very problematic, said a representative, adding that there were many, many places of detention in which female and male prisoners were mixed and to which the courts had no access.

Maldives

Hope for Women spoke about the problem of child and unregistered marriage in the context of Maldives’ reservation of its right to apply Article 16 of the Convention ‘without prejudice to the provisions of the Islamic Sharia’. Data showed a steady increase in the number of child marriages, which were usually unregistered and often polygamous. Child marriage was often endorsed by ‘Islamic scholars’ invited to speak at State-organized public events and on radio and television. That increase was part of the larger context of increasing Islamic fundamentalism in the Maldives, linked to the re-emergence and endorsement of female genital mutilation, the removal of girls and boys from the Maldivian school system and the increase in barriers to sexual and reproductive health services.

The organization said violence against women and girls was an ongoing problem with low reporting rates and lack of implementation of the 2012 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. Women’s representation at policy level was particularly low in Maldives, where only 5.8 per cent of parliamentarians were women. Gender stereotyping, character assassination of women and financial constraints were serious deterrents affecting their political participation.

Discussion with National Human Rights Institutions

Denmark

JONAS CHRISTOFFER, Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, said one issue was differentiation in practice of police assistance to violence against women victims. Gender mainstreaming was in practice in many parts of society but there was a lack of data concerning gender issues. The tradition of mothers staying at home to care for children while fathers went to work and pursued a career was a factor in continuing gender inequality. The representative also talked about the lack of data about the situation of women’s equality in Greenland.

Questions from the Experts on Denmark

An Expert asked for clarification of roles between the National Human Rights Institute and the Gender Equality Board. Questions were asked about the Joint Custody Act, the family reunification law, about intersexual discrimination, and data collection. Did the Gender Equality Act apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland? Experts also raised the issue of statelessness of girls and women living in Denmark.

Response from the Danish Institute for Human Rights

Responding to the questions, the representative of the Danish Institute for Human Rights said there was no gender discrimination in the family reunification law, and it was hoped that the law helped young women defer early marriage. The Institute had no role in supporting individuals or taking cases to court, he clarified, but could assist people in bringing cases before the Equality Board or apply for legal aid for people. The representative said he was unaware of any problems regarding gender equality caused by statelessness so long as people had a Residence Permit. There was a ‘tug of war’ in terms of equalities and a heated debate, with a large proportion of Danish society believing they already had gender equality and there was nothing left to discuss. It was a heated subject, he said.

Maldives

AHMED THOLAL, of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives said discrimination against women in Maldives was not often seen as a serious issue and evidently was not a concern to the public, which created major problems. Often stereotypical attitudes were the widespread opinions of State officials who were tasked with implementing crucial policies to end discrimination against women. There had been regression in the number of women in political positions. Unregistered marriages posed myriads of problems for women. The number of women who faced violence in their everyday lives had increased. Three years since the ratification of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in 2012 there had been little proactive advocacy by the State and most law enforcement officials were unaware of the legislation. It was significant to note that a Gender Equality Bill was in the pipeline which, if implemented, would go a long way in realizing the concept of temporary special measures.

Questions from the Experts on Maldives

Problems of flogging and of violence against women in public places were raised by Experts, who also asked about reports that maternity leave provisions included weekends. An Expert asked about the growth in misperceptions about Islamic law and the perception of flexible application regarding family and social issues.

Response from Representative of the National Human Rights Commission of the Maldives

AHMED THOLAL, of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives emphasized that one of the few successes with regard to gender equality in Maldives was the amendment of maternity leave provisions to not include weekends. The largest category of human rights violations was in relation to health but there were many issues in relation to domestic violence, child abuse, migrant workers and employment. The impact of religious fundamentalism on human rights, and particularly women’s rights, was a huge, pressing and controversial one. The Commission was often viewed as a tool of Western countries working against Islamic Sharia, and it was difficult for it to speak openly about many issues, such as flogging. Other Islamic countries had been progressive in ensuring gender equality and Maldives should look at their example. Maldives had neglected its commitment to the Convention for far too long and despite its progressive constitution there was yet to be equality on the ground for women.
____________

For use of the information media; not an official record