Editing Gender equality (section)

====Reproductive and sexual health and rights====
{{Main|Reproductive health|Reproductive rights}}
{{Further|Forced sterilization|Forced pregnancy|Forced abortion}}
[[File:Maternal mortality rate worldwide.jpg|thumb|Global maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births (2010)<ref name=CIA>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |title=Country Comparison: Maternal Mortality Rate |website=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209080903/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |archive-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>]]
[[File:Maternal health (4798750001).jpg|thumb|In 2010, [[Sierra Leone]] launched free healthcare for pregnant and breastfeeding women]]

The importance of women having the right and possibility to have control over their body, reproduction decisions, and sexuality, and the need for gender equality in order to achieve these goals are recognized as crucial by the [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in Beijing and the UN [[International Conference on Population and Development]] Program of Action. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that promotion of gender equality is crucial in the fight against [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/gender/hiv_aids/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030727141344/http://www.who.int/gender/hiv_aids/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 27, 2003|title=WHO: World Health Organization|website=Who.int|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Maternal mortality]] is a major problem in many parts of the world. [[UNFPA]] states that countries have an obligation to protect women's [[right to health]], but many countries do not do that.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/reducing_mm.pdf|title=Reducing Maternal Mortality: The contribution of the right to the highest attainable standard of health|last1=Hunt|first1=Paul|last2=Mezquita de Bueno|first2=Julia|publisher=University of Essex|year=2010|location=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=2017-03-28|archive-date=2017-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107032623/http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/reducing_mm.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Maternal mortality is considered today not just an issue of development but also an issue of [[human rights]].{{Refn|[[UNFPA]] says that, "since 1990, the world has seen a 45 per cent decline in maternal mortality – an enormous achievement. But in spite of these gains, almost 800 women still die every day from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. This is about one woman every two minutes."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite news|url=http://www.unfpa.org/maternal-health|title=Maternal health: UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund|newspaper=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129122355/https://www.unfpa.org/maternal-health|url-status=live}}</ref> According to UNFPA:<ref name=":3" />

:"Preventable maternal mortality occurs where there is a failure to give effect to the rights of women to health, equality, and non-discrimination. Preventable maternal mortality also often represents a violation of a woman's right to life."|group=lower-roman}}

The right to reproductive and sexual autonomy is denied to women in many parts of the world, through practices such as [[forced sterilization]], forced/coerced sexual partnering (e.g. [[forced marriage]], [[child marriage]]), criminalization of consensual sexual acts (such as [[sex outside marriage]]), lack of criminalization of [[marital rape]], violence in regard to the choice of partner ([[honor killings]] as punishment for 'inappropriate' relations).{{Refn|Amnesty International's Secretary General has stated that: "It is unbelievable that in the twenty-first century some countries are condoning child marriage and marital rape while others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity – even punishable by death."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-under-threat-worldwide-2014-03-06|title=Sexual and reproductive rights under threat worldwide|publisher=Amnesty International|date=March 6, 2014|access-date=2014-07-15|archive-date=2014-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206225115/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-under-threat-worldwide-2014-03-06|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} The sexual health of women is often poor in societies where a woman's right to control her sexuality is not recognized.{{Refn|High Commissioner for Human Rights [[Navi Pillay]] has called for full respect and recognition of women's autonomy and sexual and reproductive health rights, stating:

:"Violations of women's human rights are often linked to their sexuality and reproductive role. Women are frequently treated as property, they are sold into marriage, into trafficking, into sexual slavery. Violence against women frequently takes the form of sexual violence. Victims of such violence are often accused of promiscuity and held responsible for their fate, while infertile women are rejected by husbands, families, and communities. In many countries, married women may not refuse to have sexual relations with their husbands, and often have no say in whether they use contraception."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/news/news_2012/Navi%20Pillay%20Lecture%2015%20May%202012.pdf|title=Valuing Women as Autonomous Beings: Women's sexual and reproductive rights|last=Pillay|first=Navi|date=May 15, 2012|website=University of Pretoria, Centre for Human Rights|access-date=July 15, 2014|archive-date=March 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313210726/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/news/news_2012/Navi%20Pillay%20Lecture%2015%20May%202012.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
These practices infringe on the right of achieving reproductive and sexual health.|group=lower-roman}}

[[Adolescent]] girls have the highest risk of sexual coercion, sexual ill health, and negative reproductive outcomes. The risks they face are higher than those of boys and men; this increased risk is partly due to gender inequity (different socialization of boys and girls, gender based violence, child marriage) and partly due to biological factors.{{Refn|Females' risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections during unprotected sexual relations is two to four times that of males'.<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite news|url=http://www.unfpa.org/resources/giving-special-attention-girls-and-adolescents|title=Giving Special Attention to Girls and Adolescents|newspaper=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=7 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707005611/http://www.unfpa.org/resources/giving-special-attention-girls-and-adolescents|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}

=====Family planning and abortion=====
[[File:Familiy Planning Ethiopia (bad effects).jpg|thumb|Placard showing negative effects of lack of family planning and having too many [[child]]ren and [[infant]]s ([[Ethiopia]])]]

[[Family planning]] is the practice of freely deciding the number of children one has and the intervals between their births, particularly by means of contraception or voluntary sterilization. Abortion is the induced termination of pregnancy. [[Abortion law]]s vary significantly by country. The availability of contraception, sterilization and abortion is dependent on laws, as well as social, cultural and religious norms. Some countries have liberal laws regarding these issues, but in practice it is very difficult to access such services due to doctors, pharmacists and other social and medical workers being [[conscientious objector]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/italian-gynaecologists-refuse-abortions-miscarriages|title=Seven in 10 Italian gynaecologists refuse to carry out abortions|first1=Stephanie Kirchgaessner Pamela|last1=Duncan|first2=Alberto|last2=Nardelli|first3=Delphine|last3=Robineau|date=11 March 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420115157/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/italian-gynaecologists-refuse-abortions-miscarriages|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/doctors-refusal-to-perform-abortions-divides-croatia-02-13-2017 |title=Doctors' Refusal to Perform Abortions Divides Croatia |website=Balkan Insight |access-date=14 November 2017 |date=2017-02-14 |archive-date=2018-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116141407/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/doctors-refusal-to-perform-abortions-divides-croatia-02-13-2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Family planning is particularly important from a women's rights perspective, as having very many pregnancies, especially in areas where malnutrition is present, can seriously endanger women's health. UNFA writes that "Family planning is central to gender equality and women's empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.unfpa.org/family-planning|title=Family planning: UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund|newspaper=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330132526/https://www.unfpa.org/family-planning|url-status=live}}</ref>

Family planning is often opposed by governments who have strong [[natalist]] policies. During the 20th century, such examples have included the aggressive natalist policies from [[communist Romania]] and [[communist Albania]]. State mandated [[forced marriage]] was also practiced by some authoritarian governments as a way to meet population targets: the [[Khmer Rouge]] regime in [[Cambodia]] systematically forced people into marriages, in order to increase the population and continue the revolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.d.dccam.org/Abouts/Intern/Natalae_Forced_marriage.pdf|first=Natalae|last=Anderson|title=Documentation Center of Cambodia, ''Memorandum: Charging Forced Marriage as a Crime Against Humanity,''|date=September 22, 2010|website=D.dccam.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153617/http://www.d.dccam.org/Abouts/Intern/Natalae_Forced_marriage.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> By contrast, the [[one child policy|one-child policy]] of China (1979–2015) included punishments for families with more than one child and [[forced abortion]]s. The fine is so-called "social maintenance fee" and it is the punishment for the families who have more than one child. According to the policy, the families who violate the law may bring the burden to the whole sociey. Therefore, the social maintenance fee will be used for the operation of the basic government.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jiang |first1=Quanbao |last2=Liu |first2=Yixiao |date=2016-10-01 |title=Low fertility and concurrent birth control policy in China |journal=The History of the Family |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=551–577 |doi=10.1080/1081602X.2016.1213179 |s2cid=157905310 |issn=1081-602X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Some governments have sought to prevent certain ethnic or social groups from reproduction. Such policies were carried out against ethnic minorities in Europe and North America in the 20th century, and more recently in Latin America against the Indigenous population in the 1990s; in [[Peru]], President [[Alberto Fujimori]] (in office from 1990 to 2000) has been accused of [[genocide]] and [[crimes against humanity]] as a result of a sterilization program put in place by his administration targeting indigenous people (mainly the [[Quechua people|Quechuas]] and the [[Aymara people|Aymaras]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2148793.stm|title=Mass sterilisation scandal shocks Peru|date=24 July 2002|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521121426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2148793.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>