WHO: Equal rights and opportunities for women and girls essential for better health
Statement by Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization - International Women's Day 2010
8 MARCH 2010 - Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), many girls and women still do not have equal opportunities to realize rights recognized by law. In many countries, women are not entitled to own property or inherit land. Social exclusion, "honour" killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage among others, deny the right to health to women and girls and increase illness and death throughout the life-course.