Palestinian women suffer as Israel violates CEDAW

Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is in flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW is the first international human rights treaty devoted to the rights of women. According to the Convention, discrimination against women represents a violation of the principles of equality and human dignity, and is considered an obstacle to the participation of women, on an equal footing with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their country. The Convention obliges all state parties to take appropriate measures, legislative and non-legislative, to prohibit all forms of discrimination against women. Palestinian women have regularly been attacked and assaulted by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank where they are often the only people at home during the day as their men folk are at work. The women and their children have been shoved, stoned and shot at or have had teargas canisters thrown into their homes while Israeli soldiers looked on and did nothing to stop the settlers.