Human Rights

Feminist Foreign Policy as State-Led Expansion of Human Rights

Citation:

Hudson, Valerie M. 2017. “Feminist Foreign Policy as State-Led Expansion of Human Rights.” In Expanding Human Rights: 21st Century Norms and Governance, edited by Alison Brysk and Michael Stohl, 177–94. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Author: Valerie M. Hudson

Abstract:

The purpose of the chapter is to trace the arc of the idea that there could be a “feminist” state foreign/security policy, and then to assess both the promise and the pitfalls of such a stance. In this case, the state would become the main agent promoting this human rights expansion. A feminist foreign/security policy (FFSP) would embrace the idea that human rights and national security are not contradictory goals of state policy unless we choose to see them as such. However, an FFSP would go further and also propose that women’s empowerment, women’s voice, and women’s security constitute the great bridge between the two aspirations. The selection of Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State in 2009, and her tenure until early 2013, provides a rich case study of how the “women, peace, and security” standpoint articulated by the United Nations could be translated into a state agenda. However, given the state’s top-down nature, there will always be problems with utilizing the state to expand and secure human rights. Understanding the nature and source of the problems faced in this case is instructive, including moral quandaries, state inconsistency, insincere genuflection, distorted participation, and perverse incentives. (Abstract from Elgar Online) 

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, International Organizations, Peace and Security, Rights, Human Rights, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS

Year: 2017

Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy in the Making: Ethics, Politics, and Gender

Citation:

Aggestam, Karin, and Annika Bergman-Rosamond. 2016. “Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy in the Making: Ethics, Politics, and Gender.” Ethics & International Affairs 30 (3): 323–34. 

Authors: Karin Aggestam, Annika Bergman-Rosamond

Annotation:

Summary: 
"In this essay, we argue that the launching of a “feminist” foreign policy is distinct for two reasons. First, by adopting the “f-word” it elevates politics from a broadly consensual orientation of gender mainstreaming toward more controversial politics, and specifically toward those that explicitly seek to renegotiate and challenge power hierarchies and gendered institutions that hitherto defined global institutions and foreign and security policies. As Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström has noted, “It’s time to become a little braver in foreign policy. I think feminism is a good term. It is about standing against the systematic and global subordination of women.” Second, it contains a normative reorientation of foreign policy that is guided by an ethically informed framework based on broad cosmopolitan norms of global justice and peace. The content of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy is still in the making, and is currently focused on incremental change in two areas: (1) international agenda-setting through a gender-sensitive lens that allows for the reframing and mobilization of international policy action; and (2) normative entrepreneurship, which is guided by an ethically informed framework of cosmopolitanism and human rights that seeks to shape global developments in a gender-sensitive direction" (Aggestam and Bergman-Rosamond 2016, 323). 
 

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, International Organizations, Justice, Rights, Human Rights

Year: 2016

Sovereignty, Vulnerability, and a Gendered Resistance in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

Citation:

Osuri, Goldie. 2018. “Sovereignty, Vulnerability, and a Gendered Resistance in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.” Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal 3 (2): 228–43.

Author: Goldie Osuri

Abstract:

Drawing on Iffat Fatima’s documentary film, Khoon Diy Baarav or Blood Leaves its Trail (2015), this paper explores how a gendered Kashmiri activism against human rights violations allows for reenvisioning the concept of an authoritarian and violent Westphalian sovereignty concerned with exclusive political authority and territory. Previous studies of gendered resistance are examined as are reformulations of sovereignty through feminist and Indigenous critiques. Through these examinations, the paper offers a way to rethink sovereignty through the theoretical concept of vulnerability. Such a rethinking of sovereignty may point to an interrelational model of sovereignty where the vulnerability of gendered bodies and the environment may be emphasised. In the context of human rights violations in Kashmir, this reenvisioning of sovereignty may be a necessary counter to the repetitious cycles of necropolitical sovereign power.

Keywords: Gender and sovereignty, Kashmir, human rights, vulnerability, resistance and activism

Topics: Armed Conflict, Occupation, Environment, Feminisms, Gender, Governance, Indigenous, Rights, Human Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2018

Grounding the International Norm on Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Domestic Norm Entrepreneurs and the Challenges Ahead

Citation:

Veneracion-Rallonza, Lourdes. 2013. “Grounding the International Norm on Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Domestic Norm Entrepreneurs and the Challenges Ahead.” Femina Politica - Zeitschrift für feministische Politikwissenschaft 22 (2): 67–85.

Author: Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza

Annotation:

Summary:
"One of the gaps in the study of international norms is the process by which they are institutionalized and accepted at the national level. As the international norm negotiates its way through various national (and even grassroots) levels, a point of inquiry would be how domestic norm entrepreneurs have enabled its localization. This study looks at the narrative of a loose network of peace and women’s human rights groups that worked together to localize United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security in the Philippines. Specifically, it reviews how the network evolved to become a domestic norm entrepreneur within the context of the creation of the Philippine National Action Plan on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the initiatives it took to localize the norm in the national arena. Within this frame, this study argues that the network continues to evolve as it responds to current and unfolding realities of peace and women’s human rights in armed conflict situations. Particularly, as domestic norm entrepreneur, the network is trying to transcend the usual top-down strategy of grounding an international norm and is now shifting gears toward the value of bottom-up approaches in order to achieve desired results at the grassroots level" (Veneracion-Rallonza 2013, 67). 

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Conflict, Peace and Security, International Organizations, NGOs, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Philippines

Year: 2013

Gender and Disaster: Foundations and Directions

Citation:

Enarson, Elaine, Alice Fothergill, and Lori Peek. 2007. “Gender and Disaster: Foundations and Directions.” In Handbook of Disaster Research, edited by Havidan Rodriguez, Enrico Quarantelli, and Russell Dynes. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Authors: Elaine Enarson, Alice Fothergill, Lori Peek

Annotation:

Summary:
“Gendered disaster social science rests on the social fact of gender as a primary organizing principle of societies and the conviction that gender must be addressed if we are to claim that knowledge about all people living in risky environments. Theoretically, researchers in the area are moving toward a more nuanced, international, and comparative approach that examines gender relations in the context of other categories of social difference and power such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and social class. At a practical level, researchers seek to bring to the art and science of disaster risk reduction a richer appreciation of inequalities and differences based on sex and gender. As the world learns from each fresh tragedy, gender relations are part of the human experience of disasters and may under some conditions lead to the denial of the fundamental human rights of women and girls in crisis. 
 
“We begin by briefly discussing the dominant theoretical frameworks that have guided gender disaster research to date and seem likely to develop further. We then organize and review the extant literature around seven interrelated themes. The literature review is designed to highlight published research conducted on human behavior and social consequences in primarily natural disasters and thus does not include, for example, armed conflict and displacement, HIV/AIDS, and other related literatures. The third section of the chapter examines international perspectives in the gender and disaster field. Finally we point out knowledge gaps and some new directions we hope will guide the endeavors of those who produce and use knowledge about disasters” (Enarson, Fothergill and Peek 2007, 130).

Topics: Class, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Ethnicity, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2007

Women and Land in Northern Nigeria: The Need for Independent Ownership Rights

Citation:

Abdullah, Hussaina J., and Aisha Fofana-Ibrahim. 2003. “Women and Land in Northern Nigeria: The Need for Independent Ownership Rights.” In Women and Land in Africa: Culture, Religion and Realizing Women’s Rights, edited by L. Muthoni Wanyeki. London: Zed Books.

Authors: Hussaina J. Abdullah, Aisha Fofana-Ibrahim

Annotation:

Summary: 
"This study is therefore intended to contribute to an understanding of land as it relates to women and as viewed from the human rights paradigm. The main objective is to undertake a critical, empirical study of women's land rights in northern Nigeria, and the manner in which these rights are shaped by religion, tradition and law. The purpose is not only to examine women's rights of access to, ownership of and control over land, including women's inheritance rights, but also to study how religion (canonical and Sharia), tradition and law (customary and non-customary) act and interact to condition the definition and practice of women's land rights. The primary focus is a review of historical practice and an analysis of empirical data on three categories of women (married, divorced, and widowed). Marriage is used as a determining variable in women's land rights because it is the major means by which women and men access land in Africa. However, whereas women's land rights are dependent on their relations with men, men's land rights are not dependent on their relations with women. Moreover, women are threatened with dispossession if divorced or widowed (Small 1997: 46)" (Abdullah and Fofana-Ibrahim 2003, 134).

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Religion, Rights, Human Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2003

Women and the African Peace and Security Architecture

Citation:

Abdullah, Hussaina J. 2017."Women and the African Peace and Security Architecture." African Peacebuilding Network Working Paper 12, Social Science Research Council, New York.

Author: Hussaina J. Abdullah

Annotation:

Summary: 
"The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of how women’s rights in situations of armed conflict and post-conflict contexts have been mainstreamed into various mechanisms, structures, and instruments of the AU’s African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). As part of this exercise, this study conducts a critical examination of the links between APSA’s goal of promoting peace and security and the AU’s Gender Equality Architecture’s (GEA) goal of promoting and protecting the rights of women on the continent.
 
"This paper argues that while the AU has shown its commitment to the issues of peace and security and gender equality through the creation of various structures and the adoption of legal instruments to push through its agenda, the lack of a well-coordinated organizational strategy integrating these two sectors has resulted in limited success in achieving its goals and actualizing its vision. Furthermore, although the AU’s peace and security and gender equality agendas are closely linked to the global women, peace, and security (WPS) discourse, there is very little synergy in the institution’s engagement with and articulation of the global framework. As a result, the expected transformation in the lives of African women in conflict and post- conflict settings has not been realized. Women are still subjected to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and other human rights violations and marginalized in peace negotiations and post-war reconstruction processes; simultaneously, impunity for SGBV and other crimes is still rife in these societies. To move the institution’s gender equality agenda forward, a comprehensive gender-responsive organizational strategy and culture are needed to strengthen inter-departmental cooperation at all levels. This will encourage programs and policies that are in sync with the institution’s broad vision of a continent where women and men have equal access to opportunities, rights, and resources.
 
"This paper outlines the significant progress made at the country level as well as the gaps regarding women’s safety and security during and after armed conflict, including their participation in peace processes and post- conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. It provides an assessment of the achievements and limitations of the gender mainstreaming process,2 particularly in relation to practical measures for promoting gender equality in the APSA, alongside those for implementing policies for the promotion of peace and security within the framework of the Gender Equality Architecture (GEA). It concludes with a set of recommendations for AU policymakers and civil society practitioners" (Abdullah 2017, 1-2).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Society, Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Africa

Year: 2017

Religious Revivalism, Human Rights Activism and the Struggle for Women's Rights in Nigeria

Citation:

Abdullah, Hussaina J. 2000. "Religious Revivalism, Human Rights Activism and the Struggle for Women's Rights in Nigeria." In Beyond Rights Talk and Culture Talk: Comparative Essays on Political Rights and Culture, edited by Mahmood Mamdani, 96-120. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers.

Author: Hussaina J. Abdullah

Annotation:

Summary:
“Within the context of economic crisis, structural adjustment and political authoritarianism which have characterized Nigeria since the 1980s there has been a growth of human rights and civil liberties activism, together with a process of religious revivalism and a rising and institutionalized "State" feminism. From their different positions, the various associations have either shown total disregard for women's rights issues or proved incapable of dealing with them. The struggles of activist women's organizations, such as Women in Nigeria (WIN), which emerged in 1983, have involved the articulation of strategies for responding to the de-politicizing thrust and consequences of "State" feminism/"femocracy", whilst simultaneously attempting to tap potentially positive elements from the process for the benefit of Nigerian women. At another level, they have entailed the broadening of the campaign for women's rights with regard to issues of legal and constitutional reform. International networking has also been employed to advance the interests of Nigerian women, especially as they pertain to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Furthermore, there has been an attempt by some women's groups, such as the Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), to use the idiom of religion and contestations over doctrinal interpretation to press the case for reforms. However, the struggles of Nigerian women for change still have to contend with resilient patriarchal structures, which aspects of religious revivalism have tended to reinforce and which the explosion of human rights activism has, so far, been insufficient to challenge significantly” (Abdullah 2000, 162-3).

Topics: Economies, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Governance, Constitutions, Religion, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2000

Women, E-Waste, and Technological Solutions to Climate Change

Citation:

McAllister, Lucy, Amanda Magee, and Benjamin Hale. 2014. “Women, E-Waste, and Technological Solutions to Climate Change.” Health and Human Rights Journal 16 (1): 166–78.

Authors: Lucy McAllister, Amanda Magee, Benjamin Hale

Abstract:

In this paper, we argue that a crossover class of climate change solutions (which we term “technological solutions”) may disproportionately and adversely impact some populations over others. We begin by situating our discussion in the wider climate discourse, particularly with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Basel Convention. We then suggest that many of the most attractive technological solutions to climate change, such as solar energy and electric car batteries, will likely add to the rapidly growing stream of electronic waste (“e-waste”). This e-waste may have negative downstream effects on otherwise disenfranchised populations. We argue that e-waste burdens women unfairly and disproportionately, affecting their mortality/morbidity and fertility, as well as the development of their children. Building on this, we claim that these injustices are more accurately captured as problems of recognition rather than distribution, since women are often institutionally under-acknowledged both in the workplace and in the home. Without institutional support and representation, women and children are deprived of adequate safety equipment, health precautions, and health insurance. Finally, we return to the question of climate justice in the context of the human right to health and argue for greater inclusion and recognition of women waste workers and other disenfranchised groups in forging future climate agreements.

Topics: Development, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Health, Households, Infrastructure, Energy, Justice, Rights, Human Rights

Year: 2014

Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change

Citation:

Alston, Margaret, and Kerri Whittenbury, eds. 2013. Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change. Heidelberg: Springer Netherlands.

Authors: Margaret Alston, Kerri Whittenbury

Abstract:

Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change presents the voices of women from every continent, women who face vastly different climate events and challenges. The book heralds a new way of understanding climate change that incorporates gender justice and human rights for all. (WorldCat)

Annotation:

Table of Contents:
Part I: Introducing Gender and Climate Change
 
1. Introducing Gender and Climate Change: Research, Policy and Action
Margaret Alston
 
Part II: Questioning Gender and Climate Justice
 
2. Gendering Climate Knowledge for Justice: Catalyzing a New Research Agenda
Nancy Tuana
 
3. A Climate for Feminist Intervention: Feminist Science Studies and Climate Change
Andrei L. Israel and Carolyn Sachs
 
4. Post-conventional Approaches to Gender, Climate Change and Social Justice
Karen Bell
 
5. Two Solitudes, Many Bridges, Big Tent: Women’s Leadership in Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction
Elaine Enarson
 
Part III: Interrogating Policy from a Gender Perspective
 
6. Gendering Climate Change: Implications for Debates, Policies and Practices
Lena Dominelli
 
7. Gender, Development, and Rights-Based Approaches: Lessons for Climate Change Adaptation and Adaptive Social Protection
Beth Bee, Maureen Biermann, and Petra Tschakert
 
8. From “Free” Trade to Farm Women: Gender and the Neoliberal Environment
Amber J. Fletcher
 
9. Renegotiating Gender as Farming Families Manage Agricultural and Rural Restructuring in the Mallee
Josephine Clarke
 
Part IV: Action and Strategies to Address Gender and Climate Change
 
10. Gendered Access to Green Power: Motivations and Barriers for Changing the Energy Provider
Gotelind Alber
 
11. A Path to Implementation: Gender-Responsive Climate Change Strategies
Lorena Aguilar
 
12. The Gender Gap in Environmental Attitudes: A System Justification Perspective
Rachel E. Goldsmith, Irina Feygina, and John T. Jost
 
Part V: Gender and Climate Change Examples from Around the World
 
13. Gender and Climate Change in Australia and the Pacific
Margaret Alston
 
14. Gender Issues in Climate Change Adaptation: Farmers’ Food Security in Andhra Pradesh
Yianna Lambrou and Sibyl Nelson
 
15. Climate Change, Women’ s Health, Wellbeing and Experiences of Gender Based Violence in Australia
Kerri Whittenbury
 
16. Women Farmer Scientists in Participatory Action Research Processes for Adaptation
Bettina Koelle
 
17. Gendered Adaptations to Climate Change: A Case Study from the Philippines
Gerlie T. Tatlonghari and Thelma R. Paris
 
18. Gender and Declining Fisheries in Lobitos, Perú: Beyond Pescador and Ama De Casa
Naomi Joy Godden
 
19. Climate Change: A Himalayan Perspective ‘Local Knowledge – The Way Forward’
Reetu Sogani
 
20. Gender and Climate Change: Implications for Responding to the Needs of Those Affected by Natural Disasters and Other Severe Weather Events
Desley Hargreaves

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Justice, Rights, Human Rights

Year: 2013

Pages

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