Women's and girls' health must be given special care, for they are disadvantaged because of social and cultural discriminations in a great number of societies.
In various civilizations, establishing standards and values based on gender has led to the fact that women usually have less power and resources than men.
Women are for instance more vulnerable to HIV/Aids.

The following examples are among the social and cultural factors that deny women and girls the right to benefit from quality healthcare and keep them from being as healthy as possible:
-  unequal relationships between men and women,
- social standards that limit possibilities for them to access education and/or paid jobs,
- a view that reduces women solely to their procreative role,
- threatened or real physical, sexual and emotional  violence.

Sources: World Health Organisation (WHO)