CEDAW
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1979 and entered into force on 3 September 1981. This core human rights treaty "establishes not only an international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda for action by countries to guarantee the enjoyment of those rights."
reproductive rights
CEDAW is the only human rights treaty that explicitly mentions family planning. Although the Convention never refers specifically to contraceptives or abortion, CEDAW emphasizes women's right to reproductive choice. Article 16.e states that women have the right to "decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education, and means to enable them to exercise these rights."
FAMILY PLANNING EDUCATION
Beyond just promoting reproductive choice and access to family planning services, CEDAW emphasizes the importance of education to accompany family planning services. Article 10.h states that State parties should guarantee "access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning."
Cultural practices
CEDAW acknowledges forms of gender discrimination based on longstanding cultural and religious standards, and in order to address these issues, Article 5 States:
"State Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
(b) to ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases."
"State Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
(b) to ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases."
- According to the UN, all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, except for Sudan & Somalia, have ratified, succeeded, or acceded CEDAW.