This publication provides an overview of the meaning, intent and implications of the human right to adequate housing, and illustrates de jure and de facto obstacles to women worldwide enjoying this right effectively. Following the introduction,
chapter I describes the international legal and policy frameworks for the implementation of women’s right to adequate housing, including human rights treaties, the principles of non-discrimination and equality and the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Chapter II outlines the main underlying causes, ranging from discriminatory statutory
laws to customary laws and practices and lack of access to legal and other remedies. Finally, chapter III elaborates on a number of selected issues such as forced evictions, degraded living conditions, and cultural and religious recognition of women’s rights, underlining regional similarities and differences.
In addition to highlighting national discriminatory laws, this publication illustrates how the gap between the de jure and the de facto protection of women’s right to adequate housing is the current critical obstacle to the realization of their right to adequate housing worldwide. It emphasizes that in many countries women’s rights are protected by law, but in practice women are socially and economically disadvantaged, and face de facto discrimination in housing, land and inheritance rights.