Page 10 Ending Sex Discrimination in the Law harassment at work or there is equal pay for equal work. Governments must protect women’s and girls’ rights in all spaces and relationships, public or private, married or not. States and the Holy See have not ratified this important treaty) must “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.…” “[F]reedom of religion or belief can never be used to justify violations of the rights of women and girls, and [that] it can no longer be taboo to demand that women’s rights take priority over intolerant beliefs used to justify gender discrimination.” Enforce the principle that equality is a fundamental human right (UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief)16 Many governments have failed to secure the universality of human rights for all women and girls as they allow the right to religious and cultural freedom to trump those of equality and non-discrimination. State sanction of discriminatory religious and customary laws and practices, including through constitutional exceptions (see map below) can discriminate against some communities of women and girls over others within the same borders; for example the religion-based child custody laws in Lebanon highlighted herein. In addition to the Beijing Platform for Action, Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) makes it clear that all governments (and only seven EQUALITY NOW – BEIJING+25 The right to equality and to not be discriminated against on the basis of sex, both in the law itself and in practice in everyday life, is a fundamental human right. The UN Human Rights Committee has declared that the right to religion does not allow any State, group, or person to violate women’s equality rights, including equal protection under the law.17 Culture and custom are not static, “Because social norms are created by human beings, and there is no social norm that cannot be changed.” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). Not all customary family law is discriminatory. Fortunately, those laws and practices that are discriminatory can change over time, particularly with the political will and support of religious and traditional leaders. Governments can no longer make excuses for sanctioning and perpetuating discrimination within the family, no matter what form it takes or the origin of the law or practice. As the international community prepares to celebrate Beijing +25, a tremendous opportunity exists to mobilize and grow global action towards achieving universal legal equality and human rights for all women and girls by Beijing +35 and at the conclusion of the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030.