How Interpreting Services Helped Women Shape The UDHR

Women and girls make up half of the world’s population. Yet people tend to overlook their contributions, especially in politics and diplomacy. Recent research shows that laws introduced in parliaments by women are more beneficial for “ordinary “people, the environment, and social cohesion. The United Nations has established the International Day of Women in Diplomacy to celebrate women’s efforts and to address the underrepresentation of women in diplomacy. Read on to find out about how women shaped the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) thanks in part to effective professional interpreting services:

The Women Who Shaped the UNHR and Interpreting Services

Currently, women comprise over a third of the UN Security Council, which is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The UDHR spells out basic human rights everyone should have and, thanks to the role of translation services, is available in 562 different languages and dialects. This declaration was a milestone in human history and was drafted by representatives from all over the world. Key contributors to its creation included:

Eleanor Roosevelt, US

Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States of America from 1933-1945, served as the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and helped draft the declaration. She used her credibility with the Eastern and Western superpowers to successfully draft the declaration.

Hansa Mehta, India

Hansa Mehta, a fighter for women’s right from India and a delegate to the UN commission on human rights, is credited with changing the phrase “All men are born free and equal“ to “All human beings are born free and equal“ in Article 1 of the declaration.

Marie-Hélène Lefaucheux, France

Marie-Hélène was a chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women. She managed to successfully include a mention of an article condemning non-discrimination based on sex in the declaration. Article 2 of the declaration states that “everyone is entitled to all their rights […] without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex […]“.

Begum Shaista Ikramullah, Pakistan

Begum was a delegate to the General Assembly’s Third Committee on social, humanitarian, and cultural matters. After a total of 81 meetings of discussing the draft, she managed to include an article in the declaration dedicated to freedom, equality, and choice. With this article, she put emphasis on equal rights in marriage and saw it as a way to combat child and forced marriage around the globe.

The Importance of Interpreting Services

Creating a declaration for all human beings with representatives from all over the world cannot happen without clear and proper communication. Therefore, using the help of professional interpreters and localization services is crucial. Professional simultaneous interpretation services help convey messages from one language into another in a smooth and effective manner. Thanks to their help, the women who worked on the declaration were able to freely express their thoughts, suggest amendments, and leave an indelible mark on world history.