A/HRC/22/72 (f) To participate in all community activities; (g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes; (h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications (art.14, para. 2). 13. The Convention entails further State obligations that are of great relevance for the condition of rural women. As such, States must take all necessary steps to modify and abolish discriminatory laws, customs and practices, as well as change skewed, bigoted and stereotypical gender roles.10 14. The change of gender relations in the public sphere needs to be complemented by efforts in the private sphere. The Convention stresses that the legal capacity of women is identical to that of men and prescribes the right of women to conclude contracts and administer property, not least during marriage.11 As such, States have an obligation to ensure the same rights for both spouses in respect to ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property. 12 Other international instruments reinforce these provisions. Article 23, paragraph 4, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides for States’ obligation to take steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution, and article 5(e) (vi) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) provides for women’s right to inherit. Moreover, in the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security adopted in May 2012 by the Committee on World Food Security, States undertook to “remove and prohibit all forms of discrimination related to tenure rights, including those resulting from change of marital status, lack of legal capacity, and lack of access to economic resources” (para. 4.6). 15. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides for the equal access of persons with disabilities, in particular women and children with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to social protection programs and poverty reduction programs.13 Of relevance is also article 25(c), which stipulates that health-care services need to be located as close as possible to people’s own communities, including in rural areas. 16. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), States are bound to take measures to combat disease and malnutrition, including in the framework of primary healthcare and through the provision of adequate nutritious food and clean drinking water. 14 The provisions of CRC may carry great significance for female-headed household and seasonal workers. For instance, the Convention requires States to assist parents and others responsible for the care of the child, and in case of need, to provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing. 15 The right to education the cornerstone of human and economic development of girl children is devoted particular protection in article 28. 10 11 12 13 14 15 6 CEDAW, arts. 2 (f) and 5 (b). Ibid., arts. 15 and 16 (c). Ibid., art. 16 (h). CRPD, article 28, para. 2 (a). CRC, art. 24, para. 2 (c). Ibid., art. 27, para. 3.