| Summary | While discrimination against women persists around the world in many forms, often discrimination is created or reinforced through laws enacted by the State itself. This report highlights a sampling of sex-discriminatory laws that remain in force in 36 countries around the world. This report is divided into different sections, each highlighting laws in different countries that discriminate against women specifically around marital status (i.e marriage, divorce, polygamy and wife obedience), personal status (i.e. citizenship, evidence, travel, prostitution), economic status (i.e. inheritance and property and employment) and violence (i.e. rape, domestic violence, honour killings and state sanctions). Such discriminatory laws shape policies that reinforce stereotypes. For example: women in Iraq need the approval of their guardian or husband to obtain a passport. The Chilean Civil Code stipulates that the marital partnership is to be headed by the husband, who shall administer the spouses' joint property as well as the property owned by his wife. In Australia, the Sex Discrimination Act affirms it lawful to discriminate against a woman on the ground of her sex when performing combat duties. In Cameroon, a woman may exercise a trade different from her husband but the husband may object to the exercise of such a trade in the interest of the marriage or their children. And in Bahamas, rape is the act of any person not under fourteen years of age having sexual intercourse with another person who is not his spouse. Each example of the law gives advice and recommendations for women's rights advocates.
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http://equalitynow.org/english/campaigns/beijing15/report_en.html
