DESPITE LATENESS IN REPORTING, BRAZIL’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS IMPROVING SITUATION OF ITS WOMEN PRAISEWORTHY, ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE SAYS

Committee on Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
1 July 2003
610th & 611th Meetings (AM & PM)



Noting a gap of almost 20 years between ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and presentation of the country report, members of the body monitoring compliance with that treaty today nevertheless praised the well-intentioned and determined attitude of Brazil’s new Government to improve the situation of its women.

By ratifying the Convention, Brazil had undertaken a serious commitment to report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, its members stated, as they considered that country’s combined initial through fifth periodic report in two meetings today.

The Convention stipulates that a State party should submit its initial report within one year after the instrument enters into force and subsequent reports at least every four years thereafter. Having ratified the Convention in 1984, Brazil also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention in 2002, which guarantees women access to the international legal system wherever national systems fail to protect their human rights.

Experts from the Committee felt that the creation of the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies -- one of three new Government institutions designed to address the issue of discrimination -- soon after the new Government took power in January was proof of its determination to promote the interests of women.

They also commended the Government’s capacity to accept and cherish the fundamental principles of the Convention against great difficulties in implementing them. The candid and self-critical report reflected true political will and the fruit of a dynamic women’s movement. Given the alarming inequalities between men and women in Brazil, however, the challenges before the Government were impressive.

Introducing Brazil’s report, Emilia Therezinha Fernandes, Special Secretary of Women’s Policies, said the submission of the report took place in an atmosphere of renewed hope for Brazil. After a democratic election, Brazil was focused on efforts to strengthen the human rights of both men and women. Efforts to promote the situation of women had hinged on the ability to overcome tight budgetary constraints, administrative discontinuities, localized actions and fragmented policies. Brazil’s new Government was committed to strengthening public policies for the promotion of women.

The situation of Brazilian women had to be understood within the context of a nation of continental dimensions with complex regional differences in economic development, she said. While progress in constitutional and civil issues had been significant in the past several years, social inequalities persisted with harmful effects on women, particularly women of African descent. Social exclusion and high poverty rates affected mostly women and a large percentage of the Brazilian population lived on the margins of human development.

Among the other issues raised today were the persistence of discriminatory and archaic legislation, a perceived disregard by the Judiciary over the principle of equality between men and women, governmental efforts to address the prevalence of domestic violence and measures to improve the status of women most affected by poverty and discrimination, namely indigenous women and women of African descent.

The 23 experts of the Committee, who serve in their personal capacities, monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 and came into force in 1981.

The Convention, which as of 3 June had been ratified or acceded to by 174 countries, requires States parties to eliminate discrimination against women in the enjoyment of all civil, political, economic and cultural rights. In pursuing the Convention’s goals, States parties are encouraged to introduce affirmative action measures designed to promote equality between women and men.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Committee Chairperson Ayse Feride Acar of Turkey informed experts that Brazil would respond to the questions posed today on Monday, 7 July.

The Committee will continue its work at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, when it is scheduled to take up the situation in Costa Rica.


Background

Today, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met to consider the combined initial, second, third, fourth and fifth periodic reports of Brazil (document CEDAW/C/BRA/1-5), submitted in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Having ratified the Convention in 1984, Brazil also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention in 2002, which guarantees women access to the international legal system wherever national systems fail to protect their human rights.

Following some 20 years of military dictatorship in Brazil, 1985 marked the start of a gradual transition to democracy, the report states. Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, the “legal landmark of democratic transition and the institutionalisation of human rights”, is fully in line with Brazil’s international obligations under the Convention. An active women’s movement in Brazil led to the formation of the “Charter of Brazilian Women to the Members of the Constitution”, which included the major demands of the women’s movement. The majority of its demands were incorporated into the text of the Constitution.

While significant constitutional progress has been made in Brazil, provisions of Brazil’s 1916 Civil Code and 1940 Penal Code still reflect a sexist and discriminatory perspective regarding women, the report says. Although the Constitution includes the concept of equality, other “infra-constitutional” laws contain discriminatory laws regarding women. Discriminatory legislation still exists and the country lacks specific legislation on gender violence, especially domestic violence.

Several factors hinder the Convention’s full implementation in Brazil’s legal system, the report says. Discriminatory gender laws pervade the judiciary system. For example, regarding “crimes against custom” or sexual offences, if the defendant marries the victim, or if the victim marries a third party, the punishment for the crime is waived. The concept behind “crimes against custom” is that the victim’s honour is “preserved or repaired” through marriage, whether to the defendant or to a third party. Also, according to the “crimes against marriage”, adultery affects both men and women. In practice, however, by claiming that women have committed adultery, many men are acquitted of the charges of assault and murder of their wives on the grounds of “self-defence of honour”.

Measures to improve discriminatory legislation include a new Civil Code that was to have entered into force in January, the report says. Its entry into force will represent a major advance in aligning civil law with the Constitution. The new Civil Code will revoke most discriminatory precepts against women, particularly those related to the equality of men and women in marriage. A 1984 bill that would revise the Penal Code is yet to be submitted to the National Congress for approval, however.

Brazil’s social, political, judicial and ideological cultures have been gradually changing, the report says. The issue of gender violence, which first gained public visibility during the 1980s women’s movement, is increasingly being discussed. Public awareness campaigns, police programmes and other initiatives have created greater recognition of the problem of domestic violence. In 1995, Brazil ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. In 1996, the National Programme for the Prevention and Combat of Domestic and Sexual Violence was developed to mobilize inter-ministerial actions to combat domestic violence.

Brazilian women account for some 40 per cent of the economically active population, the report states. Housework is still the main source of employment for women. In the formal sector, women generally earn less than men for the same type of work. In that regard, the Ministry of Agrarian Development has designed an affirmative action programme to promote equal opportunities for male and female employees, including a quota system to ensure that women hold 30 per cent of management positions by 2003.

Regarding Brazil’s national machinery for the advancement of women, the report says that in 1985, the National Council on Women’s Rights was established to promote, at the national level, public policies to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. Directly linked to the State Secretariat for Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, the National Council is responsible for proposing legal changes to ensure compliance with the Federal Constitution, as well as the revision of the Civil and Penal Codes. At present, there are some 97 Women’s Councils, 19 at the state level and 78 at the municipal level.


Introduction of Report

Introducing her country’s combined initial, second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report, EMILIA THEREZINHA FERNANDES, Special Secretary of Women’s Policies of Brazil, said the report covered a span of 17 years, from 1985 to 2002. It stressed the legislative, administrative and judicial measures adopted by the Government since 1985 in compliance with the Convention. It also presented the achievements by Brazilian women in the fight for their rights. The promotion and protection of women’s rights hinged on the ability to overcome budgetary and administrative constraints, localized actions and fragmented policies.

She said the report’s submission took place in an atmosphere of renewed hope for Brazil. It provided an important tool for the country’s recently elected President, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. One of his goals was to reduce poverty and enhance citizen’s rights. The Zero Hunger Programme, launched at the outset of his Administration, aimed to combat hunger and guarantee nutritional safety. The Programme was one of the political cornerstones of the new Administration and attacked the structural causes of poverty, including through the implementation of programmes to generate jobs. The President had created three institutional mechanisms necessary for the fight against discrimination, including the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies (SPM), which reported directly to him.

Brazil was greatly indebted to the Afro-descendant population, she said. Black women were strongly affected by economic, social, political and cultural forms of discrimination. In the current Administration, the Special Department of Racial Equality Promotion Policies, the Ministry of Social Assistance and Promotion and the Ministry of the Environment were in the hands of black women. The phenomenon of racial discrimination in Brazil had only recently been acknowledged.

Among the functions of the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies, which was created on the first day of the President’s Administration in January, was the coordination of women’s policies and the implementation of nationwide awareness campaigns against discrimination. The Department’s basic structure comprised a cabinet and three sub-departments. It also included the restructured National Council on the Rights of Women, originally created in 1985, which now acted as a collegiate body of civil society representatives. The new Administration was committed to strengthening public policies for the promotion of women’s rights and had vowed to appropriate the necessary budgetary and human resources to enforce the implementation of the Convention.

Regarding Brazil’s legal framework, she said a new Civil Code had entered into force in January. Replacing the 1916 Civil Code, the new Code eliminated discriminatory gender norms and introduced concepts such as shared management of marriage and shared family power. The term “man” had been replaced with “person” in all generic references. Husbands could take the family name of their wives and the law acknowledged the status of a “stable union” and the equal rights of children born out of wedlock.

In spite of significant advances in the constitutional and civil spheres, the Brazilian State and society still harboured prejudices that reflected sexist and discriminatory attitudes towards women, she said. The Constitution failed to extend full labour rights to domestic servants, which represented some 18 per cent of the economically active female population. Over 4 million women were not legally employed. Brazilian legislation did not acknowledge the rights resulting from homosexual relationships. The National Congress was currently discussing bills on the recognition of homosexual relationships.

A profound reform of the 1940 Penal Code was urgently needed to eliminate clauses that discriminated against women and the severe penalties imposed on abortion, she said. Bills to update the Penal Code were being discussed by the National Congress. There was strong resistance on the part of legislators to decriminalize abortion or to expand the legal permissions for voluntary pregnancy interruption. The non-existence of a law to combat domestic violence had made it difficult to enforce the conventions to which Brazil was a party, including the Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. The Judiciary continued to perpetuate stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination against women.

Inequality was a feature of Brazilian society, she continued. People of African descent earned half the wages of white people in all states, especially in metropolitan areas. Racial inequality was a stronger factor than gender inequality. In 2001, black men earned some 30 per cent less than white women. Women accounted for some 51 per cent of the Brazilian population. Of that total, about 45 per cent were Afro-Brazilians. Rural workers accounted for about 16 per cent of the population. About 24 per cent of women acted as the head of family. Statistics indicated a concentration of poverty among Afro-Brazilian groups, with black women earning the least of all social groups.

In 2002, 70 years after women won the right to vote, women represented some 51 per cent of the Brazilian electorate and about 9 per cent of elected representatives in the National Congress, she said. In January 2003, for the first time in Brazil’s history, five female Ministers had been appointed in the Executive Branch.

On the issue of health, she said, in the last decade, Brazil had undergone an important transformation, with a reduction in maternal mortality and an abrupt decline in fertility rates. The rate of HIV/AIDS had been dropping since 1999 as a result of the AIDS Combat Programme, which was run by the Ministry of Health.

Concluding, she said the situation of Brazilian women had to be understood within the context of a nation of continental dimensions with complex regional differences in economic development. Social exclusion and high poverty rates affected mostly women. A large percentage of the Brazilian population still lived on the margins of human development, with minimal conditions of health, education, and essential services. The Government was committed to presenting improved indicators in the next submission of its national report.


Experts’ Comments

Opening the discussion following introduction of Brazil’s report, experts lauded the well-intentioned and determined attitude of the country’s new Government towards implementing the Convention, and congratulated the delegation for their candid and self-critical presentation. The speakers also welcomed the fact that the country had removed its reservations to the Convention and ratified the Optional Protocol and amendment to article 21 of the Convention, which would allow more time for the work of the Committee.

At the same time, many speakers expressed concern over the “most extraordinary” situation of a country presenting five reports at the same time. They recalled that under the Convention, a State party should submit its initial report within one year after the instrument enters into force and subsequent reports at least every four years thereafter. Many experts wanted to know the reasons for late presentation of reports and asked if measures had been taken to ensure timely reporting in the future.

In that connection, while welcoming the long-awaited presentation of the reports, the Committee’s Chairperson, AYSE FERIDE ACAR of Turkey, expressed regret that the women of the country had been deprived of international scrutiny of their situation. By ratifying the Convention, the country had undertaken important reporting responsibilities. She was confident that the promotion of women’s rights in Brazil would be enhanced by the dialogue within the Committee.

An expert from France, FRANÇOISE GASPARD said that the numbers in the reports presented to the Committee today were pure fiction, as they had to be submitted within the time frame envisioned by the Convention. She added that legal reforms were not sufficient by themselves; efforts were needed to apply them. A strong political will was required for that.

MARIA REGINA TAVARES DA SILVA, Portugal, noted the Government’s capacity to accept and cherish the fundamental principles of the Convention against great difficulties in implementing them. She hoped the Government would accelerate the implementation of the Convention and further build upon its cooperation with civil society and non-governmental organizations.

MARÍA YOLANDA FERRER GÓMEZ, Cuba, said that there was clearly a commitment to promote the interests of women in Brazil, and the creation of the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies soon after the Government took power was proof of its determination. It was encouraging to find out about the goals set and the radical changes planned by the Government. However, the report revealed alarming inequalities in the situation of men and women in Brazil, and the challenges before the Government were impressive.

Continuing, she stressed the importance of having means to obtain a realistic evaluation of the situation in the country and wondered if there were any guarantees that local authorities would implement measures to promote the situation of women. Would any steps be taken to evaluate such measures, she asked.

Speakers also remarked on the country’s national machinery. HANNA BEATE SCHÖPP-SCHILLING, Germany, and FUMIKI SAIGA, Japan, wanted to know what bodies were responsible for drafting the reports and implementing the Convention. While the role of civil society was extremely important and women’s organizations played a significant role in Brazil, they expressed concern over the Government structures’ responsibility for reporting.

HEISOO SHIN, an expert from the Republic of Korea, pointed out that more emphasis should be placed on the implementation of numerous international human rights treaties ratified by Brazil. She wanted to know what the Government was doing to publicize major treaties, including the Convention. What status did international treaties have within national legislation? Noting a strong opposition within the country to the revision of the Penal Code and reforms as far as customs and violence were concerned, she also wanted to know about the Government’s strategy to change the perception of legislators in that respect.

Those concerns were echoed by KRISZTINA MORVAI, Hungary, who also raised the issues of archaic legislation and the Government’s efforts to end domestic violence. Several domestic violence laws had been rejected by the country’s legislators, and she wanted to understand why. Regarding women’s right to a name, she said that they should have the choice of keeping or dropping their husbands’ names upon divorce.

Continuing, she said that some of the country’s archaic laws were completely incompatible with the Convention. The good news, however, was that the Government was aware of the situation. Perhaps, a deadline was needed to introduce new laws and do away with the archaic provisions. Police, prosecutors and judges needed to receive training in enforcing the Convention. That was the responsibility of the Government, which should also seek the cooperation of non-governmental organizations.

Ms. SCHÖPP-SCHILLING, Germany, was concerned that there was still great disregard among the judiciary over the principle of equality between men and women. The delegation mentioned that training of the judiciary was envisioned, and she wanted to know what kind of financing had been allocated towards that purpose and what incentives were being offered to judges “to become more enlightened”. As for legislative reform in general, had the Government embarked on a legal review of discriminatory legislation and did it intend to do so?

CORNELIUS FLINTERMAN, Netherlands,stressed that recently, the Human Rights Committee had urged Brazil to fully implement the human rights treaties in all parts of its territory. What instruments did the federal Government have to encourage implementation of the provisions of the Convention at the state level?

GÖRAN MELANDER, Sweden, said that not only did some of the country’s laws contradict the provisions of the Convention, but the issue of proper implementation of existing legislation also needed to be addressed. It was important to enforce the laws already in place and punish those responsible for misconduct. He also drew attention to the thesis of “self-defence of honour”, which was still applied in Brazil in defence of men accused of assaulting or murdering women. It led to serious violations of human rights and had negative consequences for the society, strengthening the discriminatory attitude towards women.

HUGUETTE BOKPE GNANCADJA, Benin, welcomed the fact that the Constitution had been strengthened and an institutional framework had been set up for the promotion of women. However, she was worried about the future as the report referred to the lack of data on violence against women and girls. That demonstrated a lack of interest about the problem. She did not understand why proposals had not been made to correct the situation.

Among other questions raised in the debate were those related to data collection in Brazil; the training of the judiciary personnel on gender issues; the efforts to review the country’s Civil and Penal Codes; and the country’s plans to improve the status of indigenous women and overcome violence in their communities. Commenting on the report’s terminology, several speakers also cautioned against confusing the terms “equity” and “equality”.

DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVIC, an expert from Croatia, wanted to know if the Government planned to collect data disaggregated by sex. Also, did the country have specific plans for the implementation of the outcome of the Beijing Conference and its follow-up?

Addressing the situation of non-white and indigenous women in Brazil, VICTORIA POPESCU SANDRU, expert from Romania, asked about the relationship between the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies and the two other structures set up by the Administration to promote human rights, namely the Special Human Rights Secretariat and Special Department of Racial Equality Promotion Policies. Which of the three secretariats was most direct responsible for indigenous women and was there any overlap between the three bodies? She also asked if the Human Rights Secretariat had an ombudsman function and if information on the Convention had been disseminated to the non-white population.

PRAMILA PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, noted that Brazil’s new Civil Code had not done away with all discriminatory provisions. Did the Special Secretariat intend to review all discriminatory laws? The best-drafted laws would be of no use to women if they did not know about them or did not have access to the legal system. In that regard, she asked for information on the legal aid system in Brazil. Were there mechanisms to monitor the enactment of the various laws? Apart from the distribution of meal allowance cards to women, what measures were envisaged by the Zero Hunger Programme to empower women? Did that Programme have a time frame and how would it ensure that the women most in need would benefit from it?

Experts also asked for detailed information on Brazil’s national machinery for the advancement of women, including the budgetary and human resources available to the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies and its power vis-à-vis other government institutions.

Ms. GASPARD, expert from France, said the Beijing Conference had underscored the need for monitoring mechanisms at the highest level of administrative hierarchies. In that regard, she did not understand the mechanisms established in Brazil. Noting that the National Council had had its ups and downs over the years, she asked about its current situation.

Ms. SHIN, expert from the Republic of Korea, asked what guarantees were in place to ensure that the President would implement the advice provided to him by the Special Secretariat. She also asked if non-governmental organizations were involved in terms of planning, implementing and evaluating the polices affecting women.

Ms. TAVARES DA SILVA, expert from Portugal, said the report’s presentation of affirmative action was rather ambiguous. In that regard, she requested clarification of the concept of affirmative action in terms of special temporary measures.


Afternoon Discussion

As the experts continued their article-by-article consideration of Brazil’s compliance with the Convention in the afternoon, experts focused on women’s participation in political life, access to decision-making positions, education and family life.

Several speakers asked questions regarding temporary special measures to address de facto discrimination, including election quotas. Ms. SCHÖPP-SCHILLING stressed that without temporary special measures, equality could not be achieved, except on paper. She also asked what monitoring mechanisms were being applied in the country. Ms. GASPARD asked if sanctions could be applied in cases of non-compliance with temporary special measures in Brazil.

FATIMA KWAKU, Nigeria, noted that election rules for political participation of women had not been effective. She wanted to know the reasons for that and asked why Brazil did not see the need to come up with more effective positive action to encourage women’s participation in politics. For example, a quota of up to 50 per cent could be established for black and mulatto women.

Mr. FLINTERMAN pointed out that an electoral quota amounting to some 30 per cent of women had been enacted in Brazil at the federal level, but at the state and municipal level, the number of women in elected positions was low. Thus, from the legal point of view, the states within Brazil were not complying with the Convention, and the federal Government could be held accountable for that.

Sharing that concern, MERIEM BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, Algeria, asked numerous questions regarding women’s participation in political and public life, electoral law and women’s quotas. She added that while Brazil’s federal Constitution set out fundamental objectives without distinctions on the basis of age, gender or religion, it also appeared that women and men who did not belong to a political party could not participate in elections as independent candidates. If that, indeed, was true, it was a serious violation of the Convention.

Notwithstanding the fact that implementation levels were low, Ms. TAVARES DA SILVA expressed admiration to Brazil for being able to pass an election law establishing quotas for women in a patriarchal society. Were any measures envisioned to improve the functioning of the election law, she wanted to know.

Ms. SAIGA also focused on the election rules at the federal and state levels and said that it appeared that the law establishing a 30 per cent quota for the municipal elections of women applied only to the elections for the year following the promulgation of the law.

Regarding cultural stereotypes, NAELA GABR, an expert from Egypt, said that while some progress had been achieved, the report contained some disturbing information about the negative image and status of women in Brazilian society. While in many respects, Brazil was an example of development, there were many areas of concern as far as the position of women was concerned. For example, further legislation was needed with respect to punishment of perpetrators of rape and other violence against women. Any negative attitudes towards women needed to be addressed, and she wanted to know what the Government was doing in that respect.

Ms. TAVARES DA SILVA wanted to know about the role of the media in efforts to overcome sexual stereotypes in the country. Did the Government encourage the media to promote a positive social image of women?

ROSARIO MANALO, an expert from the Philippines, wanted to know if the national development programme contained any provisions demonstrating the will of the State to overcome negative stereotypes and promote new cultural standards and values. She asked what reforms were being undertaken within the education system to do away with traditional patriarchal values. Was civil society encouraged to participate in those efforts?

Ms. FERIDE ACAR said that to change mindsets, it was necessary to take measures not only in the media, but also in such areas as education and the judicial system. She suggested that a work programme be implemented to address discrimination against women.

Ms. SHIN said that the degree of violence against women and its pervasiveness were a source of serious concern. Women in danger required assistance, such as hotlines, which should be widely advertised. Also a problem was insufficient law enforcement, which was related to a lack of training and insufficient police.

Ms. MANALO said that she did not see either a national plan of action, or adequate funding to address the issue of violence. Also lacking were institutional mechanisms and legislation on trafficking in women. Intentions could be declared forever, but urgent action was needed to address the situation. What were the Government’s intentions with respect to curtailing violence against women?

An expert from Mexico, AÍDA GONZÁLEZ MARTÍNEZ, commented that violence against women was a source of concern in many Latin American countries. That was the only region of the world with international legislation on that issue. In many ways, Brazil was an advanced country, and violence against women was not acceptable there. According to the report, a national programme to address the problem had been enacted in 1996, and she wanted to know about its results. The problem of trafficking in women, particularly for purposes of prostitution, was very serious.

Another interesting aspect of the issue was the situation of street children, she noted. She also requested information about the principles adopted by judicial bodies to deal with sexual crimes and domestic violence in the country. What measures could be adopted in order to change the attitudes of the judicial authorities?

Ms. SIMONOVIC, expert from Croatia, asked if the Government had conducted an awareness-raising campaign on women’s equal participation in political decision-making.

Ms. POPESCU SANDRU, expert from Romania, noting that indigenous women had only become active in social life during the 1990s, asked if there were specific measures to encourage their participation in political life. Also, why had it been difficult to apply the quota system? She wondered if the appointment of five female cabinet ministers was a political decision. If so, why had that decision not been applied to the Judiciary?

Ms. GASPARD, expert from France, asked for figures on the number of women elected to municipal councils. If women were left out of city councils, their viewpoints would not be taken into account. City life had much to do with the reality facing women in general, including problems with transportation and access to services.

The expert from the Netherlands, Mr. FLINTERMAN, asked for information on the discrepancy between men and women in Brazil’s foreign service. The entrance exam for the Foreign Service did not appear to be gender neutral. Would the Government undertake a comprehensive study on the matter and what measures were being envisaged to address the issue?

Ms. BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, expert from Algeria, recommended affirmative action programmes to encourage women’s participation in diplomatic service. She asked for statistics on the distribution of wealth in Brazil, specifically among men and women.

Addressing the issue of education, SJAMSIAH ACHMAD, the expert from Indonesia, asked if a review of progress in the field of education had been conducted. Who was responsible for monitoring progress in education? Were there plans to include gender perspectives in teacher training institutions? Was the elimination of discriminatory stereotypes promoted in the curriculum of law enforcement training programmes?

The expert from Germany, Ms. SCHÖPP-SCHILLING, was concerned the lack of protection for women in precarious labour environments. She was also concerned about female domestic workers, which comprised some 19 per cent of the female labour population. What was being done to improve the situation of female domestic servants, the majority of which worked without contracts? Were they entitled to sick leave? She also asked for information on part-time workers. Did they enjoy the same legal protection in terms of benefits? Did wage discrepancies arise from discrimination for equal work? The real issue seemed to be one of equal pay for equal work of comparable worth.

SALMA KHAN, expert from Bangladesh, said that given the large percentage of women employed in domestic labour, alternative solutions must be found to encourage women in the workplace. For example, did women have access to micro-credit programmes? Had Brazil ratified the International Labour Organization Convention on the rights of indigenous women? What kinds of selection criteria were being used in public sector employment? She also addressed the issue of maternal mortality. If women were forced to turn to unsafe abortions, how could the Government say it had a model health-care programme? What was meant by irreversible birth control methods? Did that mean that the only option available to women was sterilization?

On women’s health, Ms. SCHÖPP-SCHILLING asked if all women were covered by the country’s health system. She also wanted to know, especially within the context of the economic crisis in Brazil, if gender budget analysis had been conducted in the country and what section of the health budget was geared towards women. With high levels of morbidity and mortality among women, was there a tendency to over-allocate funds to women’s needs as a temporary special measure, in particular in rural areas?

On rural women, Ms. Schöpp-Schilling asked what percentage of women lived in rural areas. She also wanted to know about the racial composition of the rural population. Regarding financing, she said that most of the loans still went to men and banks were indirectly discriminating against women. She would appreciate receiving information about specific forms of discrimination against rural women.

Ms. GNANCADJA said that the slowness of legal reform undermined women, denying them recourse to justice. A considerable number of discriminatory articles in national legislation was a source of concern. She wanted to know why most federal bills aimed at prohibiting discrimination in major areas were vetoed by legislators. It was time for the country to show its commitment to the Convention by changing its discriminatory laws.

Several experts, including Ms. GASPARD, Mr. FLINTERMAN and Ms. KWAKU agreed that a number of discriminatory provisions remained in the Civil Code, in particular regarding the age of marriage for males and females. They wanted to know what changes were being envisioned in the new Civil Code as far as family life was concerned. Ms. KWAKU said that in some cases, minors who had not reached the minimum age of marriage (16) were allowed to marry, with judicial authorization. She inquired about the circumstances when such permission was given and asked about the number of early marriages. What happened to the education of young girls who got married at an early age?

Ms. GONZÁLEZ MARTÍNEZ welcomed the efforts to change the stereotypical roles of men and women in the family. She asked, however, if it was possible to further reform the new Civil Code that went into effect in January, as it still contained some discriminatory provisions.

Ms. BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI asked if the same rights and responsibilities applied to men and women in cases of dissolution of marriage. How was property divided in case of divorce? Did women receive child support? She also wanted to know about laws relating to property acquisition in marriage.

Ms. PATTEN added that it was not clear if Brazil had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as early marriages were in contravention to that instrument. She also wanted to know about the rules for child custody in the country. Given that the system of dowry was entrenched within the country’s tradition, was violence associated with it?

Ms. GNANCADJA asked several questions regarding laws relating to men and women living together outside of marriage and to paternal custody of children.

In conclusion, Ms. FERNANDES said that she would provide answers to the experts’ questions at a later date.




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