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Introduction – Women and Poverty: A Human Rights Perspective

Introduction – Women and Poverty: A Human Rights Perspective Despite a renewed global commitment to reduce extreme poverty and achieve gender equality, women throughout the world continue to disproportionately live in poverty.1 Women in low- and middle-income countries are more likely than men to die, have unequal access to economic opportunities and are marginalised in the home and society.2 Throughout the world women perform an unequal share of care work within the home which is neither valued nor remunerated, leading to lower levels of education and inability to seek financial independence in the formal labour market or break negative prejudices and stereotypes on the role of women.3 These gaps are pronounced when gender and poverty combine with other factors of exclusion: ethnicity, caste, remoteness, age, race, disability and sexual orientation. The causes of women's poverty are complex and interlocking. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food noted that `social norms or customs, linked to certain stereotypes about gender roles', contribute to women's limited access to productive resources and economic opportunities.4 It is also crucial to appreciate the role of law in women's poverty through discriminatory personal laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance.5 It is the combination of legal, customary and social norms based on the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of International and Comparative Law Edinburgh University Press

Introduction – Women and Poverty: A Human Rights Perspective

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press 2016
Subject
Articles; African Studies
ISSN
0954-8890
eISSN
1755-1609
DOI
10.3366/ajicl.2016.0168
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Despite a renewed global commitment to reduce extreme poverty and achieve gender equality, women throughout the world continue to disproportionately live in poverty.1 Women in low- and middle-income countries are more likely than men to die, have unequal access to economic opportunities and are marginalised in the home and society.2 Throughout the world women perform an unequal share of care work within the home which is neither valued nor remunerated, leading to lower levels of education and inability to seek financial independence in the formal labour market or break negative prejudices and stereotypes on the role of women.3 These gaps are pronounced when gender and poverty combine with other factors of exclusion: ethnicity, caste, remoteness, age, race, disability and sexual orientation. The causes of women's poverty are complex and interlocking. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food noted that `social norms or customs, linked to certain stereotypes about gender roles', contribute to women's limited access to productive resources and economic opportunities.4 It is also crucial to appreciate the role of law in women's poverty through discriminatory personal laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance.5 It is the combination of legal, customary and social norms based on the

Journal

African Journal of International and Comparative Law – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Nov 1, 2016

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