45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality

History confirms that there have always been women who resisted the effects of patriarchy; however, feminist movements gained greater strength and formal adherence by States especially from the 1970s onward. From the perspective of global initiatives, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms...

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Main Authors: Tainah Sales, Felipe Cavaliere Tavares
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de Fortaleza 2025-07-01
Series:Pensar
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.unifor.br/rpen/article/view/15880
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author Tainah Sales
Felipe Cavaliere Tavares
author_facet Tainah Sales
Felipe Cavaliere Tavares
author_sort Tainah Sales
collection DOAJ
description History confirms that there have always been women who resisted the effects of patriarchy; however, feminist movements gained greater strength and formal adherence by States especially from the 1970s onward. From the perspective of global initiatives, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) stands out—a 1979 treaty that is part of the universal human rights system. Nevertheless, despite this initiative and others that followed, the context of violence, male domination, and the invisibility of women in public spheres of power persists. Thus, the question arises: What causes the patriarchal structure to remain strong worldwide 45 years after the advent of CEDAW and 76 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? This is the central issue the article seeks to address, through an analysis of the international patriarchal context in light of cosmopolitan feminism. This model rejects the Eurocentric, liberal, and falsely universalized imposition regarding the understanding of human rights, proposing instead their reinterpretation from a perspective that considers cultural differences among peoples and the role of multi-level governance in a globalized world. Structural changes are necessary, involving both state and non-state actors, as there is still, in general, an invisibility of this agenda within cosmopolitan political discourse. The article seeks to discuss the hierarchy that structures international politics and prevents the feminist struggle from advancing and producing more concrete effects.
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spelling doaj-art-09d1277cd19e4d0ba98cdc7d130ac4aa2025-08-20T02:45:27ZengUniversidade de FortalezaPensar1519-84642317-21502025-07-013010.5020/2317-2150.2025.1588045 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender InequalityTainah Sales0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6340-7428Felipe Cavaliere Tavares1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3035-0496Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Escola de Direito, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, BrasilCentro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos, Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil History confirms that there have always been women who resisted the effects of patriarchy; however, feminist movements gained greater strength and formal adherence by States especially from the 1970s onward. From the perspective of global initiatives, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) stands out—a 1979 treaty that is part of the universal human rights system. Nevertheless, despite this initiative and others that followed, the context of violence, male domination, and the invisibility of women in public spheres of power persists. Thus, the question arises: What causes the patriarchal structure to remain strong worldwide 45 years after the advent of CEDAW and 76 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? This is the central issue the article seeks to address, through an analysis of the international patriarchal context in light of cosmopolitan feminism. This model rejects the Eurocentric, liberal, and falsely universalized imposition regarding the understanding of human rights, proposing instead their reinterpretation from a perspective that considers cultural differences among peoples and the role of multi-level governance in a globalized world. Structural changes are necessary, involving both state and non-state actors, as there is still, in general, an invisibility of this agenda within cosmopolitan political discourse. The article seeks to discuss the hierarchy that structures international politics and prevents the feminist struggle from advancing and producing more concrete effects. https://ojs.unifor.br/rpen/article/view/15880CEDAWglobal governancegender inequality
spellingShingle Tainah Sales
Felipe Cavaliere Tavares
45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
Pensar
CEDAW
global governance
gender inequality
title 45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
title_full 45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
title_fullStr 45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
title_full_unstemmed 45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
title_short 45 Years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Challenges for Global Governance Regarding Gender Inequality
title_sort 45 years of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women cedaw and the challenges for global governance regarding gender inequality
topic CEDAW
global governance
gender inequality
url https://ojs.unifor.br/rpen/article/view/15880
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