Overview
In every country, some form of legal inequality exists – either the law itself is sex discriminatory, the impact of the law is discriminatory, or laws are not effectively implemented enabling an environment of inequality and allowing violence and discrimination to be perpetrated with impunity.
A country’s laws set the tone for how it treats its people, and how its people treat each other. When its laws are unfair – when they discriminate on the basis of sex – cultural inequality and violence against women and girls are legitimized, and become endemic.
At Equality Now, we use a unique combination of legal advocacy, regional partnership-building, and community mobilization to encourage governments to adopt, improve and enforce laws that protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world. This involves:
- Urging governments and policymakers to enact and enforce laws that promote equal rights for all women and girls
- Holding governments accountable to international human rights standards
- Making the justice system works for women and girls
- Elevating cases to national, regional and international courts and bodies
- Inspiring people around the world to fight for equality
In May 2020, the European Parliament Think Tank produced an in-depth analysis of Discriminatory Laws Undermining Women’s Rights, detailing the ways that legal reforms have taken place with the aim of accelerating gender equality in the law around the world, citing Equality Now’s efforts.
Equality Now’s work on achieving legal equality at a glance
Reforming discriminatory laws. Almost 60% of the discriminatory laws we’ve highlighted since 1999 have been fully or partially reformed
Campaigning for equal nationality rights. We are a founding Steering Committee member of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, and several countries we’ve highlighted since 2013 have made full or partial reforms
Demanding equality in the family. We are a founding Coordination Committee member of the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, which despite the COVID-19 pandemic, has mobilized international attention around the issue since launching in March 2020
We are committed to holding governments accountable for changing or removing their unfair laws, in line with the Beijing Platform for Action and other international laws and commitments, including reforming laws covering:
Protection from violence
Sex discrimination in laws purporting to address violence against women, including domestic violence and rape, or silence on the issue within the law, can actually promote violence against women and girls.
Economic status
Sex discrimination in economic laws restricts women from being economically independent, limiting access to inheritance and property ownership as well as employment opportunities, and reinforces gender stereotypes.
Marriage and divorce
Sex discrimination in marital laws, including those covering divorce and polygamy, renders women subordinate in many aspects of family relations before, during, and after marriage. It also permits girls to be married when they are still children.
Personal status
Sex discrimination in personal status laws negatively impacts the ability of women to conduct various aspects of their daily lives. The discrimination goes beyond family law and marital relations to prohibit rights to confer citizenship, to travel, to participate in public life, etc.
In addition, constitutional equality is essential at the national level as constitutions are the highest law of the land – and sometimes constitutions, or other laws, allow exceptions for customary or religious law which may be sex discriminatory. Or, as in the case of the United States, no constitutional sex equality provision exists, with negative consequences for all.
Equality and equal protection under the law are fundamental to creating a happier, fairer, more just, and more prosperous world for everyone.
Our work
Learn more
Key resources
Statements to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights – 71st Session, May 2022
Equality Now’s statement during the 71st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights made note of important trends and developments on the …
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Zambia – Committee On The Rights Of The Child – 90th Session, May 2022
This submission details our concerns with regard to laws related to sexual violence and the right to education for girls in Zambia. Submitted by: Equality Now, Women and Law in Southern Africa …
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Lebanon – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Submission – 81st Session, 2022
The legal provisions and practices detailed in this submission highlight the failure of the State to comply with its duty to provide equal protection …
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Explore the Full Resource Library
Discriminatory laws
More than 25 years ago, governments around the world pledged to change or remove their existing unfair laws and make legal equality a reality. But that goal is far from being realized. Equality Now is committed to holding governments accountable for their promises, creating a better world for women and girls.
DR Congo – Law 87-010 on the Family Code
Article 444 of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Family Code of 1987 provides that a husband is head of the household Country: Democratic Republic of CongoLaw status: Discriminatory law in forceLaw Type: Marriage, …
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Syria – The Penal Code
Country: Syria Law status: Repealed Law Type: Honor Killings Article 548 (amended in 2009 and 2011) of Syria’s Penal Code allows for a lesser punishment, capped at 7 years’ imprisonment, for men who kill their wives, sisters, mothers or …
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UAE – Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 of the UAE Personal Affairs Law
Article 334 of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 of the UAE Personal Affairs Law prescribes that males inherit twice as much as females where there are both male and female heirs. Country: United Arab …
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Join
None of us can afford to sit back and wait for equality to arrive – we need to act now. Only by working together will we achieve the legal and systemic change needed to address violence and discrimination against women and girls.
Get involved
Social change begins with legal change and people like you — raising your voice against injustice — play a vital role in our collective success.
Take action to demand legal equality
Eliminate the ERA Deadline
Surprisingly, women are not protected by the U.S. Constitution. Join our campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment by calling on your Senators to support the elimination of the ERA deadline. Take action today and tell Congress there is #NoDeadlineOnEquality …
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Lebanon: Give women equal citizenship rights to men under the nationality law
Lebanese nationality laws discriminate against women, preventing them from passing on their nationality to their children and spouses on an equal basis with men. This law has caused Lebanese women …
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Jordan: Give women equal citizenship rights to men
“(My mother is) Jordanian & her nationality is my right.” 28 MARCH 2018 UPDATE: “My children are in deep depression, despair and stress all the time. My 23 –year- old son is planning to immigrate to Canada after he …
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