• Muslim woman working for women's rightsImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Ludovic Bertron
  
  

Features

• In 1979, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international bill of rights for women. This document describes what discrimination entails and how to bring an end to it around the world.
  
  

Significance

• Nearly every country on the planet has ratified the Convention, however, a number have not. These include the United States, Cook Islands, Iran, Nauru, Palau, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan and Tonga.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• According to the 2000 U.N. conference, Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century, reproductive rights are essential for the advancement of women. This conference addressed nations with poor records such as Nicaragua, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and the Vatican.
  
  

Considerations

• Fewer countries in the 21st century do not allow women the right to vote than any period in the past. Some of the most notable countries without universal suffrage include Saudi Arabia, Brunei and the Vatican City.
  
  

Misconceptions

• According to the Inter-Press Service News Agency, while women's rights suffer throughout the world, many nations, such as those in Africa, have moved past the West in number of women in government.