Women's Rights as Human Rights: An International Perspective

Exploitation of female labor as well as more general issues of gender equity have emerged as universal concerns of nations in the past decade. In addition, women often face problems of sexual exploitation. Women's movements have been organized in most societies to address these problems and to demand more equitable conditions for women. The social and political responses of both men and women to these movements have been culturally constrained. There are as many perspectives and approaches to resolving gender inequities as there are societies. In this article, illustrations are drawn from a cross section of societies to illustrate several assumptions regarding women's rights and women's movements. More specifically, the constraints imposed by behavioral culture that affect issue development and change mechanisms will be considered in the context of universal calls for gender equity and an end to the exploitation of female labor and sexuality.