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8 - Girlhood and Womanhood in the CEDAW

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2025

Clara Chapdelaine-Feliciati
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Chapter 8 employs Welby’s Meaning Triad to examine the boundary separating girlhood and womanhood under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and its repercussions on the protection of the girl child. It examines the definition of ‘woman’ in international law and the English language, and the life-cycle approach. It notes that the CEDAW fails to provide a parameter for the beginning of womanhood, thus it is not clear whether girls of all ages – young girls and adolescent girls – are covered by this treaty. It observes that female human beings located at the intersection of girlhood and womanhood may fall short of the protection of both the CRC and many provisions of the CEDAW. It applies semioethics theory and considers revising the CEDAW to undoubtedly ensure that girls are covered under this treaty, save for provisions allocating ‘adult rights’.

Type
Chapter
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The Status of the Girl Child under International Law
A Semioethic Analysis
, pp. 238 - 257
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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