The Elimination of «Patriarchy» under CEDAW
USA: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
2021
Cassandra MUDGWAY, «The Elimination of 'Patriarchy' Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women», in: Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice 2021, S. 79-114.
«The aim of this Paper is to determine whether the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) is using the concept of “patriarchy” when interpreting obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
This Paper explores a textual analysis of CEDAW Committee concluding observations that use the terms “patriarchy” and “patriarchal.” Three key points came out of this analysis. Firstly, although the CEDAW Committee has seldom used the word “patriarchy” itself, it has consistently and purposefully used the term “patriarchal” in its concluding observations since 2006. Secondly, the CEDAW Committee uses the word “patriarchal” almost exclusively in connection with Article 5(a) of CEDAW. Further, the CEDAW Committee uses “patriarchal” alongside the phrase “harmful traditional practices”; the terms are jointly used disproportionately against non-Western/non-European states, replicating the problematic dichotomy of non-Western/non-European states versus Western/European states in the international legal system. Thirdly, as a result of conflating “patriarchal” with “harmful traditional practices,” the CEDAW Committee uses “patriarchy” as synonymous with specific examples of direct subordination of women. Because of this narrow implementation and interpretation, the CEDAW Committee appears to be limiting “patriarchy” to mean cultural norms and “harmful traditional practices”; this not only limits the transformative potential of Article 5 but also risks othering and exotifying the notion of “patriarchy” itself.»
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FRI - Gender Law Newsletter 2021#3 - III.11