Resolution Adopted by the
CCAR
International Women
‘s Rights
Adopted at the
Convention of the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
1994 / 5754
Background:
The Central Conference of
American Rabbis has consistently advocated equal rights
for women in all aspects of life: political,
economic and social. The equality of
women in religious life has been a principle of Reform Judaism
since its inception.
While Judaism
has not historically granted women equal rights under traditional
Halacha
, Jewish
tradition has recognized from the beginning that women were created
equal
to men in the most
fundamental sense–“in the Divine image, male and female God created
them and blessed them” (Genesis
1:27). In addition, violence against women was prohibited by our
sages; marital rape was forbidden (Eruvin 100b), and authorities from
Rabbi
Meir of Rothenberg
(Responsa
Even
Ha-ezer
297,298,718-C) to
Rabbi Moses Isseries (Shulkan Aruch, 1634) unambiguously condemned
spousal abuse, physical or verbal.
Furthermore, the traditional Ketubbah
, while not egalitarian, protected other economic
rights of women. Also, though women
were traditionally unable to serve as legal witnesses, they
were given equal protection
under
economic contracts and were allowed to inherit when there were no male
heirs (Numbers 27:8).
Although
past CCAR resolutions on women’s equality implied that equal rights
ought
to be extended to women
worldwide, fundamental abuses of women across the globe now
compel us to articulate our support for
international women’s rights directly. This
resolution unequivocally expresses our belief that
women everywhere deserve the same rights
and opportunities as their fathers, brothers, husbands and
sons; that discrimination
according
to gender is unjust, and that women’s rights are unquestionably human
rights.
Throughout the world, women are
discriminated against and suffer intolerable abuses
because of their gender. All too often, they are
denied such fundamental freedoms
as
the right to vote, travel freely, testify in court, inherit property,
choose a
spouse and obtain custody
of their children. In addition, women have unequal access to
education,
employment, health care
and even food. As a result, 70 percent of the world’s rapidly
growing poverty-stricken population
is female. Furthermore, women worldwide are subject to such abuses as
domestic violence, rape, forced prostitution and other
forms of exploitation, and even genital
mutilation.
This unequal treatment is more than
a matter of the denial of abstract rights–it is
a matter of life and death. In many nations, women
and girls are dying and disappearing
at a rate that indicates they are being deliberately
eliminated. The 1991 census
found
100 million fewer women than statistics expected. In Asia alone,
reports revealed
at least 60
million “missing women”–females whose births were recorded, who
then
disappeared.  
;
In the words of the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against women (CEDAW)such
discrimination “violates the principles of equality of
rights and respect for human dignity.”
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the
Central Conference of American Rabbis:
1) Supports efforts to put an end, once and for all, to the
vast numbers of human
rights abuses
suffered by women, simply because they are women;
2) Urges members to educate themselves, their
congregations and their communities
as to the nature, prevalence and manifestations of
discrimination against women worldwide;
3) Calls upon the United States to ratify the Convention on the
Elimination of All
Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);
4) Commends Canada for its ratification of CEDAW, and
5) Calls upon the governments of
the United States and Canada to:
a. Consider a nation’s record on human rights, including
women’s rights, in determining
foreign aid packages, trade status, trade agreements and other
forms of assistance;
b. Seek a
higher level of United Nations commitment to women’s equality as a
human
right; call upon all nations
to give equal opportunity to female children and urge
all nations that have ratified CEDAW to assure that
practices comply with provisions
of
the treaty as they are ratified; and
c. Ensure that discussion of the human rights of women is
included in all relevant
global
conferences.