A/HRC/19/56 instance, minority women in rural or remote areas in some countries may be confronted by a profound degree of isolation created by several different factors, including the boundaries of the home, lack of education and language barriers. Access to and use and management of land and property are central to women’s economic independence, social status and political influence, not only with regard to their own status but also to that of men in their community. 78. Customary law used by minorities, as well as laws in general, may disadvantage minority women, and entrenched gender roles may leave them highly vulnerable, particularly with regard to ownership of land or property, inheritance rights and access to credit, technology or markets. Displacement as a result of a wide range of reasons, such as war, men having been forced to flee or killed in a conflict, increased poverty and climate change have had the effect of loss of land and property, as well as putting minority women at risk of, inter alia, kidnapping, sexual exploitation, violence and HIV/AIDS. 79. Minority women may also face additional challenges in terms of access to reproductive health care. Indeed, several factors, including poverty, living in remote geographic areas where maternal health services are poor and/or inaccessible, and the lack of cultural awareness among maternal health practitioners, can greatly contribute to increasing maternal mortality among minority women. Minority women might have to deal with restrictions on their reproductive rights from within their own communities, including with regard to the use of contraception. The practice of early marriages in minority communities can have a significant impact on the health of women and their access to education or employment. Other discriminatory practices and policies in society in general include forced sterilization, used for some minority women because of their belonging to a particular minority group. 80. Negative and stereotypical portrayals of minority girls and women – for example as uneducated, powerless, oppressed or unhygienic – largely influence their treatment in wider society and contribute to the perpetuation of discrimination. Minority women following different cultural, traditional and religious practices can easily face segregation or exclusion from various social services. If they only speak their minority language, they experience difficulties and discrimination even in basic life situations. Minority women may also face barriers to freedom of cultural expression and have limited access to social and cultural forums when compared with minority men. 81. Two side-events on issues related to the rights of minority women and girls were organized in the margins of the fourth session of the Forum. The first side event on 29 November, organized by OHCHR, focused on empowering minority women to claim their rights within their communities as well as organizational and institutional bodies and mechanisms that can be effective in empowering and building the capacity of minority women. Panellists included Mercedes Barquet (Mexico), member of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice; Atieno Junnipher Kere (Kenya), Women In Fishing Industry Programme; Renu Sijapati (Nepal), Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO); Beata Bislim Olahova (Slovakia), Roma Education Fund; and Leonardo Reales Martinez (Colombia), AFROLATINOS and ECODESARROLLO. VII. Conclusion 82. The independent expert looks forward to fulfilling the requirements of her Human Rights Council mandate and to constructive and fruitful cooperation with diverse stakeholders in all regions towards that end. She particularly notes her desire for a constructive engagement with United Nations Member States and encourages Member States to respond positively to her requests for information or for country visits, while emphasizing that her mandate remains available to provide assistance to States and respond to their requests, including in the area of technical cooperation, to 19