ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Views On Human Rights: Viewpoints of Iranian Scholars International Rules For Women's Rights: A Challenge Of Values Dr Nasrin Musaffa Introduction One of the most important social characteristics of the present century may be the efforts carried out at national and international levels to ameliorate women’s conditions and to obliterate sex inequalities.

While the constructive role of women and governmental measures cannot be denied, the United Nations Organisation played no small part in earning international support for women’s rights which can be evaluated.

Fifty years after signing the United Nations Charter as the first international agreement which considered sex equality as the fundamental principle of human rights,[^1] the UN has created a collection of historical heritage including conventions, strategies, standards, practical programs and international conferences for women’s advancement.[^2] The United Nations Charter approved the equal rights of men and women and provided that the activity of the Organisation should be done without discrimination of any kind due to sex, language, race and religion.

However, this, in practice, has never been sufficient. Therefore, decades of fighting to mobilise the words of the Charter in respect to women’s rights and to achieve a proper status were required, so that the issue of women together with poverty, unemployment, population growth, violation of human rights, and the destruction of the environment gained universal attention and the role of the United Nations Organisation became significant with respect to this issue.[^3] Among the international documents presented for the betterment of women’s status, Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (referred to as the Convention herein) is the most important document which constitutes the basis for the ideas of the United Nations in this regard.

This Convention is the outcome of the thirty-year efforts of the Commission on Status of Women approved by the General Assembly in 1979 and which has become binding since 1981.