The Gulf state is the new chair of a UN women’s commission. That reflects a bigger issue as governments attack or fail to prioritise gender equality
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration, a landmark blueprint for advancing women’s rights. It marked the mainstreaming of feminist concerns, with 189 states signing up to the text at a conference in China, where Hillary Clinton, then first lady of the US, declared that “women’s rights are human rights”.
Yet when the United Nations celebrates that achievement, its commission for promoting and evaluating progress on gender equality will be steered by Saudi Arabia. A country known for its abysmal record on women’s rights was chosen unopposed this week to chair the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Even the personal status law it brandishes as a sign of progress in fact enshrines discrimination including male guardianship over women, and gives immunity to perpetrators of “honour crimes”. Women’s rights advocates have been jailed and there are multiple allegations of their torture.
