Women's human rights are emphasized more than ever before in this year's U.S. State Department Human Rights Report, a snapshot of human rights issues around the world meant to inform U.S. foreign policy decisions. But despite the breadth of this path-breaking report, it fails to address lesbian issues and reproductive rights issues around the world.

The Good News. As a result of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in September of 1995, some countries have set up governmental committees or offices on women's issues, including Argentina, Cambodia, Italy, Peru, and South Africa. Other countries have passed laws to help women gain rights. Namibia's Married Persons Equality Act grants women married in civil ceremonies equal rights with men. Brazil now prohibits employers from requiring pregnancy tests or sterilization certificates before hiring women. Botswana and South Africa passed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Some governments have begun programs to address women's issues. China set up a women's legal hotline in Beijing to provide legal advice to women victims of domestic violence, and announced a five-year plan to increase women's literacy. Costa Rica presented a three-year plan for women's equality based on the U.N. women's conference's Platform for Action. The Thai government stepped up efforts to provide education and professional training to young women at risk of becoming prostitutes. Botswana adopted a national policy on women emphasizing health, education, power, and the eradication of poverty. And Egypt, Guinea, and Burkina Faso have enacted laws and/or educational programs to combat female genital mutilation.

Women gained political power in some countries. Women in the new democratic South African government are faring better than in the U.S.: they hold over 25% of seats in the National Assembly, including the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker. In Australia women went from 14% to 22% of Parliament after the 1996 elections. The Costa Rican Social Christian Unity Party mandated that at least 40% of posts in party councils be held by women. In Argentina all political party candidate lists must contain at least 30% women.

The Bad News. Violence against women, educational and workplace discrimination, and political underrepresentation are universal problems.

Women in Islamic-ruled countries continue to be severely oppressed. In addition to Afghanistan, where the Taliban government prohibits women from working and girls from going to school, women in Iran risk harassment and beatings by paramilitary volunteer forces if they do not have their bodies and hair covered. A woman's testimony in most Islamic countries is worth only half a man's, and women generally need permission from male relatives to travel. Perpetrators of "crimes of honor" ã men who kill women for alleged sexual misconduct ã are treated lightly. In Saudi Arabia a woman cannot even be admitted to the hospital without the permission of a male relative.

In Angola, women become disabled when they set off land mines while foraging for food and firewood. Young women in some parts of China are abducted and sold into marriage ã a problem caused by the fact that there are more men than women in China due to a preference for boys. Fewer and fewer companies in Japan are willing to hire women for "managerial track" jobs. The crowded housing situation in Russia often forces women to continue living with abusive husbands, even after divorce.

The report is prepared by United States embassies in each country. The emphasis on women's human rights is in large part thanks to the advocacy of Theresa Loar, the State Department's Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues. The human rights situation in the United States was not analyzed in the report.

See the Feminist Majority Foundation's global feminism section, and list of global links.