Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 녀성권리보장법 2015 [Women’s Rights Protection Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Nyeosong Gwonlibojangbeob 2015 [Women’s Rights Protection Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on December 22, Juche 99 (2010), as Directive No. 1309 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on July 5, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1743 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended on June 30, Juche 104 (2015), as Directive No. 566 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROTECTION LAW
Article 1 (Objectives of Women’s Rights Protection Law)
The Women’s Rights Protection Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall thoroughly assure the rights of women in all fields of social life and serve to further raise the status and role of women.
Article 2 (Principle of equality between men and women)
Assuring equality between men and women is the consistent policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The State shall strictly prohibit every form of discrimination against women.
Article 3 (Societal attention towards women)
Women play an important role in the well-being of the family and the development of society. The State shall raise attention to women across all of society and shall thoroughly assure their rights.
Article 4 (Women’s rights protection plan)
The State shall adopt and execute a foundational plan for women’s rights protection. Regional People’s Committees shall adopt detailed plans for each year according to the State’s foundational plan for women’s rights protection, and must correctly execute it.
Article 5 (Duty of institutions, enterprises and organizations to protect women’s rights)
Assuring women’s rights is compulsory to institutions, enterprises and organizations. Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall thoroughly assure women’s rights according to this law.
Article 6 (Duty of regional People’s Committees at each level to protect women’s rights)
The work of protecting women’s rights is an important duty of regional People’s Committees at each level. Regional People’s Committees at each level shall determine the work of protecting women’s rights as an important function, and must take measures to assure the rights of women in their jurisdictional areas.
Article 7 (Duty of work organizations to protect women’s rights)
The Women’s Union is the organization of women for protecting women’s rights.
The Central Committee of the Korean Democratic Women's Union and Women’s Union organizations at each level must responsibly do the work of assuring the rights of women according to this law and the Women’s Union bylaws. Work organizations, including the General Federation of Trade Unions, the Union of Agricultural Workers, and the Youth League, must adopt measures to adopt the rights of women affiliated with their organizations according to this law.
Article 8 (Duty of law institutions to protect women’s rights)
Law institutions shall strictly do legal control so that women’s rights are not violated due to any kind of crime or acts in violation of the law.
Article 9 (International exchange and cooperation)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the women’s rights protection field.
Article 10 (Regulatory scope and application of law)
This law regulates issues arising in assuring the rights of women. Particulars not regulated in this law related to protecting women’s rights shall follow the relevant law. International conventions ratified by our country related to women’s rights shall have the same legal effect as this law.
CHAPTER II. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
Article 11 (Basic requirements of guaranteeing social and political rights)
Women have equal rights with men in the field of social and political life. No one may do any act to restrict or violate the social and political rights and status of women.
Article 12 (Right to vote and eligibility for election)
Women have the equal right to vote and the equal right to be elected to men. The State shall cause women to actively participate in social and political activities and shall increase the proportion of female deputies in People’s Assemblies at each level.
Article 13 (Right to acquire, change, preserve citizenship)
Women have the same right to acquire, change, or preserve their citizenship equally with men. The citizenship of women in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea does not change upon marriage or divorce.
Article 14 (Right to work at a State organ)
Women have the right to work at all State organs. State organs shall actively accept female workers and smoothly guarantee their work and living conditions.
Article 15 (Appointment of female cadres)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall train and appoint female cadres in a planned way. Acts must not be done to discriminate against women in the selection of cadres and their training and appointment.
Article 16 (Protection of the legal field)
Law institutions shall respect the character of a woman in handling a case related to women and must thoroughly assure their rights and interests.
Article 17 (Rights of complaints and petitions)
Women have the right to complaints and petitions. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must responsibly investigate and resolve complaints and petitions raised by women within the designated time limit. Acts may not be done to not receive or stifle complaints and petitions of women.
CHAPTER III. RIGHT TO EDUCATION, CULTURE, PUBLIC HEALTH
Article 18 (Basic requirements of women’s rights protection in the education, culture, and public health fields)
Women shall have equal rights to men in the education, culture, and public health fields.
Women’s rights to education, culture, and public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall be thoroughly guaranteed relying upon the correct women’s policy of the State.
Article 19 (Guarantee of equality between men and women in admission, entering school, graduate placements)
Education guidance institutions and regional People’s Committees must thoroughly assure the rights of women to be admitted or enter schools at each level or obtain post-graduation placements equally with men. In cases where students are recruited to universities or specialist schools may not do acts of not recruiting, or restricting, women by reason of gender, excepting departments in specialist majors.
Article 20 (Protecting and promoting the body and health of female students)
Education institutions shall give education that fits the physical nature of female students, and shall smoothly have relevant facilities for women to protect and promote the health of female students.
Article 21 (Duties of parents related to compulsory education)
Parents or guardians shall do their whole duty so that a female child who has attained school age can receive education according to the secondary compulsory education system. Except in cases where the approval of the relevant regional People’s Committee has been received because of suffering an illness, or for an inevitable reason, female children who have attained school age must attend school without exception.
Article 22 (Guarantee of job and technological education conditions)
Regional People’s Committees at each level and relevant authorities shall have sufficient conditions for women to receive job and technological education in conformity with the reality of their regions.
Article 23 (Right to cultural life)
Women have the right to a cultural life equally with men. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must assure the conditions required so that women participate in scientific, technical, literary, artistic, and sporting activities equally with men.
Article 24 (Right to treatment)
Women have the right to receive treatment equally with men. Public health institutions shall have specialist medical institutions for women, shall actively protect women’s health, and must ensure that women receive treatment without inconvenience. Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must preferentially guarantee conditions for women receiving treatment.
Article 25 (Guarantee of education, culture, public health rights of women in farming areas)
Regional People’s Committees and relevant authorities must have sufficient conditions and facilities required so that women from farming areas and women from cities can receive equal education and treatment and can lead a cultural life.
CHAPTER IV. LABOUR RIGHTS
Article 26 (Basic requirements of women’s rights protection in the labour field)
Women shall have equal rights to men in the labour field.
Regional People’s Committees and relevant authorities shall assure the right of women to participate equally to men in labour, the right to receive labour protection, and the right to receive social security.
Article 27 (Guarantee of working conditions)
Regional People’s Committees and relevant authorities must sufficiently guarantee every condition so that women can actively participate in societal labour. Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall manage well and correctly operate things like creches, kindergartens, and amenities, so that women in the workplace can participate in labour in peace.
Article 28 (Prohibition of discrimination in labour placement)
In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations receive employees may not refuse to receive or restrict females for reasons such as gender, or otherwise marriage, pregnancy, or dissolution, with the exception of occupations or divisions inappropriate for women. Acts of receiving women who have not reached working age shall not be done.
Article 29 (Labour protection of female workers)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall pay deep attention to women’s labour protection work. Women shall have designated labour safety facilities and labour hygiene facilities, and must assure labour safety in conformity with the biological nature of women. Women may not be required to work in places that do not have designated labour safety facilities and labour hygiene facilities. Women shall receive special protection in the period before and after childbirth and in the breastfeeding period.
Article 30 (Labour fields and occupations prohibited to women)
Labour administration guidance institutions shall determine labour fields and occupations to be prohibited to women and must strictly abide by it. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must not do acts of causing women to work in prohibited labour fields and occupations, or acts of causing female workers to perform night labour when pregnant or with breastfeeding children.
Article 31 (Equality between men and women in labour remuneration)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must give the same labour remuneration for the same work to women as to men. The daily working hours of female labourers who have more than 3 children is 6 hours, and the full sum of their living expenses must be paid.
Article 32 (Equality between men and women in technical and ability qualifications and determination of grades)
In cases where relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations make a determination of grade on technical qualifications or ability qualifications, acts may not be done to discriminate against them for the reason of being female.
Article 33 (Guarantee of maternity leave)
Across the State, female workers shall be given maternity leave for 60 days before childbirth and 180 days after childbirth, other than regular and supplementary leave, regardless of length of service. Women may not be required to work during the maternity leave period.
Article 34 (Prohibition of unfair expulsion)
Excepting cases where the person himself or herself makes a request, institutions, enterprises and organizations may not expel women from the workplace for reasons such as marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, and the breastfeeding period.
Article 35 (Application of social insurance system)
Regional People’s Committees at each level and relevant authorities shall thoroughly execute a social insurance system for women to stabilise the standard of life of women who have temporarily lost labour capacity because of reasons such as illness or injury, and must sufficiently guarantee their treatment conditions.
CHAPTER V. PERSON AND PROPERTY RIGHTS
Article 36 (Basic requirements of women’s rights protection in the fields of the person and property)
Women shall have rights to the person and property equal to those of men. No one may do acts of violating the person and property rights of women.
Article 37 (Inviolability of the person)
Women have inviolability of the person. Acts of illegally detaining the freedom of women, acts of doing damage to the body of a woman or searching her person using a violent or non-violent method.
Article 38 (Inviolability of health and life)
Women have inviolability of health and life.
Acts may not be done of killing a newborn girl, a woman who has given birth to a girl, pregnant women, ill women, women with disability, or aged women may not be abused or held in contempt for the reason of being female. For pregnant women, penalty implementation shall be suspended for 3 months before childbirth to 7 months after childbirth.
Article 39 (Prohibition of acts of kidnapping, buying and selling)
No one may do acts of kidnapping, buying and selling, raping, or gang raping women.
The relevant authorities shall thoroughly adopt measures to prevent acts of kidnapping, buying and selling, raping, or gang raping women, and must strictly punish people who have done such acts according to the law.
Article 40 (Prohibiting acts of prostitution)
People who have done acts of prostitution shall be punished according to law. A person who organized, encouraged, or coerced an act of prostitution shall also receive punishment according to law.
Article 41 (Respect for character and honour of women)
Women shall have the right to a character and the right to honour. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens shall respect the character and honour of women.
Article 42 (Property rights for women in the family)
Married women shall jointly have ownership over family property with their husbands.
Women may occupy, use, or dispose of family property regardless of income equally with their husbands. In cases where women divorce their husbands, they can argue for their individual property rights.
Article 43 (Equality between men and women in property inheritance)
Women have equal rights of inheritance to property with men. In cases where the order of inheritance is the same, women may not be discriminated against for the reason of their gender.
CHAPTER VI. RIGHT TO MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Article 44 (Basic requirements of women’s rights protection in marriage and family)
Women shall have the right to marriage and a family equally with men. Marriage and the family shall receive the protection of the State.
Article 45 (Right to free marriage of women)
Women have the right to free marriage. Acts may not be done to violate or interfere in the right to free marriage of a woman.
Article 46 (Prohibition on domestic assault)
Every form of assault may not be committed against a woman in the family. Regional People’s Committees and institutions, enterprises and organizations shall normally do resident and employee education work to prevent domestic assault shall ensure that no domestic assault appears in their jurisdictional area or in the families of citizens affiliated to them
Article 47 (Reason to suspend divorce application)
In cases where an issue of divorce has occurred within a married couple, a husband may not propose a divorce if his wife is pregnant or is within 1 year of childbirth. In cases where a woman proposes a divorce against her husband, the foregoing paragraph shall not influence it.
Article 48 (Division of property upon divorce)
In cases where a married couple divorces, the issue of dividing family property shall be resolved by agreement of both parties. In cases where no agreement can be reached, the relevant court shall resolve it on the principle of protecting the interests of children and the woman, based on the detailed reality of both parties. A dispute related to the right of use of a home that is property of the State shall be resolved according to the relevant paragraph of the civil law and civil procedure law.
Article 49 (Rights and duties for protecting minor children)
Women have the right and duty to protect minor children equally with their husbands.
In cases where the husband has died or lost legal capacity, or cannot be the guardian of minor children because of other inevitable circumstances, the woman shall have the right and duty to protect the children.
Article 50 (Freedom of childbirth)
Women have the right to give birth or not give birth to children. The State shall encourage women to give birth to many children and grow them. A woman who gives birth to and grows triplets and other children of multiple births, and their children, shall have an attending physician and must give special benefits to supply things like excellent homes, medication, food, and household goods without cost.
Article 51 (Protection for pregnant women)
In cases where women give birth, the relevant medical institution shall supply safe and effective medication and treatment techniques and must responsibly assure women’s health. Public health institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall pay deep attention to the health protection of pregnant women and must care well for the health of the birthing mother and the child.
CHAPTER VII. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL OVER WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROTECTION WORK
Article 52 (Guidance for women’s rights protection work)
Guidance for women’s rights protection work shall be done by the relevant central bodies and the regional People’s Committees under the standardized guidance of Cabinet. Relevant central bodies and regional People’s Committees shall correctly adopt a guidance system for women’s rights protection work and must properly command and guide it.
Article 53 (Duty of women’s organizations)
The Central Committee of the Korean Democratic Women's Union and Women’s Unions at each level must organise and conduct work to raise societal awareness and the status and role of women related to women’s rights protection into different forms and methods. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must actively cooperate with and help the work of the Women’s Union.
Article 54 (Supervision and control for women’s rights protection work)
Supervision and control over women’s rights protection work shall be done by the relevant central bodies, regional People’s Committees, and the supervision and control institution. The relevant central bodies, regional People’s Committees, and the supervision and control institution shall strictly supervise and control the state of women’s rights protection work.
Article 55 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)
Responsible workers for institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have caused interference to women’s rights protection work by violating this law may have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 29 September 2020