| | On December 18, 1979 a step forward was taken at the international level towards the goal equal of rights for women when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the convention on the "Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women".
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1979. It entered into force on 3 September 1981. This convention represents the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to promote women's rights.
Among international human rights treaties, CEDAW takes an important place by bringing the female half of humanity into focus.
As such, it establishes an international bill of rights for women and an agenda for action by countries to ensure women enjoy these rights.
Among topics covered by the convention, the legal status of women receives the broadest attention. It also devotes major attention to reproductive rights.
The convention also gives formal recognition to the influence of culture and tradition on restricting women's enjoyment of their fundamental rights.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors the implementation of the convention. Countries that have ratified the convention are expected to submit national reports to this committee, indicating the measures they have adopted to implement the convention.
The Government of Egypt ratified CEDAW in 1981. Like many other states, the government had a number of reservations on some of the articles of the convention.
First, the Government of Egypt maintains a reservation on Article 16 concerning the equality of men and women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations during marriage and upon its dissolution.
Second, the Government of Egypt maintains the reservation contained in Article 29, paragraph 2, concerning the right of a state signatory to the Convention to declare that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph 1 of that article. It declines to be bound to submit to an arbitrating body regarding any dispute that may arise between states concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention.
Third, the Government of Egypt maintains a general reservation on Article 2 whereby it is willing to comply with the content of this article, provided that such compliance does not run counter to the Islamic Sharia.
Since 1981 the Government of Egypt has pursued policies, legislation and programs to ensure the implementation of CEDAW. In addition, a number of NG0s are currently drafting a shadow report to be presented to the CEDAW committee in parallel with the upcoming government report. Furthermore, a CEDAW Discussion Forum has been convened since mid-1999 in which NG0s actively discuss and debate implementation of the convention's articles and propose measures to overcome difficulties in implementation.
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