A/HRC/4/34 page 10 given people’s culture. The core values that human rights protect and promote, including dignity, equality and the notion of rights itself, emerged in response to human suffering around the world. These values have been articulated in an array of literatures, religions and cultural practices of people all around the world9 and became formalized into international law through consensus decisions of representatives of States Members of the United Nations in multilateral negotiations and advocacy of civil society groups.10 24. In addition to serious violations such as slavery, genocide or ethnic cleansing, the historic oppression of women, rooted in a universal patriarchal culture, counts among the gravest failings of humanity, to which human rights have responded. Gender inequality and the violence associated with it is one of the common elements of history that cuts across all “civilizations”. For instance, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the “fathers” of Western enlightenment, apparently saw no contradictions with the principles he espoused when he wrote: “In the family, it is clear, for several reasons which lie in its very nature that the father ought to command.”11 However, in many parts of the world, historical transformations and women’s individual and collective struggles resulted in significant deviations from this norm towards greater equality between the sexes. This has required and continues to require a firm political commitment, prioritizing gender equality as a public policy issue and constantly stimulating and monitoring changes in the culture of major institutions of society through informed political and legislative action. 25. Historically, women everywhere had to organize to resist patriarchy whether in negotiating their representation in public space; unequal nationality, property or personal laws; and the public/private distinction in international human rights law, among others. Women in their struggle against oppression within their homes and societies often aligned themselves with larger resistance movements striving for social and political justice, including resistance movements against colonial and racist oppression or anti-globalization and environmental movements, etc. For example, in South Africa it was the strong presence of women in the struggle against the racism and sexism of the apartheid State that was instrumental in ensuring that gender equality was firmly entrenched in the 1996 Constitution. However, it must be noted that these alliances did not always work to women’s advantage. Nonetheless, they occasioned new contradictions, equipped women with new skills and exposed the gendered nature of other spheres of conflict and contestation. 9 M. Ishay, The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004); Human Rights in Cross Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus, A.A. An-Na’im, (ed.) (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995). 10 Z. Arat, “Forging A Global Culture of Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 28, pp. 416-437; M. Chanock, “‘Culture’ and human rights: orientalising, occidentalising and authenticity”. In Beyond Rights Talk and Culture Talk. Comparative Essays on the Politics of Rights and Culture, M. Mamdani (ed.) (New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000), pp. 15-36. 11 J.J. Rousseau, A discourse on political economy (1755). Edition used: The Social Contract and Discourses, translated and with an introduction by G.D.H. Cole (London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1913).