Women's rights in the last year

Reproductive rights are directly tied to a woman's ability to protect herself and participate fully in society. Barbara Crossette makes convincing arguments for the necessity of the UN to address the continuing lack of reproductive rights in many countries.
In other parts of the world, women continue to stand up for their rights. Women were outraged in Malaysia when it was proposed that they would need a signed letter from their families to travel anywhere. Speaking to Al Jazeera Ivy Josiah, executive director of Malaysia's Women's Aid Organisation, said the suggestion was "very alarming" and a "sad reflection of the paternalistic values of our society".
In Bangladesh in April there were riots over women's rights. When the government granted women property rights over 5000 men protested. Here again we see the conflict between traditional Shariah law and equal rights for women. This will be a major hurdle for the committee to overcome.

Engendering development through gender equality in rights, resources, and voice

The World Bank has published a comprehensive report on why gender inequality makes bad economic sense and how countries can institutionalize change. It's suggestions are instructive and the arguments will be useful for those who are trying to convince recalcitrant governments to enforce cultural change. The report is long so for those of you who don't wish to read the entire thing I would recommend you focus in particular on section 3 which deals with social norms, laws and economic institutions as well as the recommendations found in section 6 (particularly thouse found on pages 239-240 of the report). However, there are lots of useful statistics, graphs and economic arguments throughout the report and I encourage you to skim sections 1, 2 and 6 if you have the time.

International Day for Elimination of Women Violence

Here is a little brief on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's latest speech on violence against women. Key regions in this topic are highlighted, and there are some resolutions on the topic mentioned as well.

The economics behind supporting women

Here is a link to a comprehensive essay for those unconvinced of the benefits of promoting Women's rights from the American magazine Foreign Affairs. The article discusses the economic benefits of empowering women and the dramatic impacts on overall living standards that result from even small increases in access to education, health care and finances.
The Payoff from Women's Rights - Isabel Coleman

Updates on Legal Status of Women

Hey guys! I'm Jessica Liu and I'm part of the dias staff for SOCHUM. This is my first year in both university and the HSMUN Council and I'm currently in General Arts with plans to apply for Business. Uni life is turning out to be awesome and I'm sure that the conference will too!

To make this easier and more fun for you guys, here's a couple links that give the latest news reports on some major issues in the legal status of women: The Right to Life (dealing with abortions and sexuality) and the Legal Rights of Divorce in Islamic countries.

Remember to check back every week for updates! We encourage you to do your own research outside of the blog as well so that you can get an idea of your country's stances and who your allies are. Good luck!