A/HRC/22/24 potential role of land reform for realizing more equitable access to land, he cautioned that in order for such measures to remedy historical exclusion of women, they have to be gender sensitive and brought into line with women’s rights. 51. Likewise, in his report on contract farming (A/66/262), he elaborates on how women are excluded from benefiting from such arrangements. He observes that “even where most of the work is in fact performed by the wife and other family members, it is not unusual for the contract to be signed by the husband, as head of the household” (para. 21). Furthermore, he points out that women lose control over decision-making when crops are produced for cash rather than for local consumption, as they tend to have decision-making power over the use of food produced for self-consumption but not over how the income of the household is spent. Thus, he concludes that “unless the framework for contract farming respects women’s rights and is gender sensitive, it will undermine gender equality” (ibid,). I. Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights 52. In her fourth thematic report (A/67/287), submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights focused on the enjoyment of cultural rights by women on an equal basis with men (paras. 24–39). She proposed to shift the paradigm from one that views culture as an obstacle to women’s rights to one that seeks to ensure equal enjoyment of cultural rights. 53. Women have the right to access, participate in and contribute to all aspects of cultural life. This encompasses their right to actively engage in identifying and interpreting cultural heritage and to decide which cultural traditions, values or practices are to be kept intact, modified or discarded altogether. Throughout her report, the Special Rapporteur underlined that cultural rights must be understood as also reflecting who in the community holds the power to define its collective identity, and that the reality of intra-community diversity makes it imperative to ensure that all voices within a community, including those that represent the interests, desires and perspectives of specific groups, are heard, without discrimination. 54. In particular, the Special Rapporteur recommended that States address the issue of restrictions on women wishing to undertake any form of art and self-expression, to enter cultural heritage sites or premises, to participate in cultural events or ceremonies and to engage in interpreting and applying particular texts, rituals or customs (para. 79). 55. The Special Rapporteur also observed that preserving the existence and cohesion of a specific cultural community should not be achieved to the detriment of one group within the community, for example, women. Importantly, combating cultural practices that are detrimental to human rights, far from jeopardizing the existence and cohesion of a specific cultural community, stimulates discussion, which facilitates an evolution towards embracing human rights, including in a very culturally specific way. J. Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice 56. In September 2010, the Human Rights Council established a Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice. The Working Group’s focus is to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women, including in the area of economic, social and cultural rights. 14

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents