Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

International Dimensions Of Discrimination And Violence Against Girls: A Human Rights Perspective, Yvonne Rafferty

Journal of International Women's Studies

In many cultures, being born female can consign the girl child to the peripheries of society where her safety is denied and her human rights are routinely violated. At each and every stage of development, girls are more likely than boys to confront a host of disadvantages associated with discrimination and violence, although the social norms and cultural rules that influence girls are most intensely felt as she struggles to develop into adulthood. At the onset of puberty, or even before, some girls are pulled out of school and forced into early marriage and high-risk pregnancy. Others become victims of …

Sorting Out Voices On Women’S Rights In Morocco, Sumi Colligan

Journal of International Women's Studies

From the Article:

In this chapter, I intend to expand on the theme of developing “our listening capacity, to be sure that we hear everything” in an attempt to avoid perpetuating the stereotype of the passive, victimized Third World woman whose only hope of liberation is through the consciousness raising and activist efforts of Western feminists. Much of the current writing on human rights and women’s rights in North Africa and the Middle East suggests that world-wide endorsement of such principles and platforms is most likely to be successful if the people to whom they apply feel a sense of …

Poverty Among Women In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review Of Selected Issues, Hazel M. Mcferson

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender discrimination resulting in greater poverty among women is widespread throughout the developing world. However, the incidence of women poverty, as well as its depth and their vulnerability, is particularly marked in Sub-Saharan African countries of the tropical belt, albeit with significant rural-urban differences. The article reviews the interaction of traditional restrictions on women property rights, weak governance and violent civil conflict in perpetuating gender discrimination and women poverty in those countries. Statistics show some progress in women development indicators in Sub-Saharan Africa during the last decade, partly associated with improvements in governance and the end of civil war in …

A South African Perspective On The Clash Between Culture And Human Rights, With Particular Reference To Gender-Related Cultural Practices And Traditions, John Cantius Mubangizi

Journal of International Women's Studies

South Africa is infamous for its history of disenfranchising most of its population under the dehumanizing policy of apartheid. A country of almost 50 million people, South Africa has a diverse array of languages, races, religions and ethnic communities, and has faced significant challenges - political, cultural and socio-economic – since the advent of democracy in 1994. The writers of the 1996 Constitution faced the unenviable task of accommodating the diverse viewpoints that inevitably derived from South Africa’s fractured history and society. The Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, and notably includes a Bill of Rights, …

Unveiling The Veil Ban Dilemma: Turkey And Beyond, Adriana Piatti-Crocker, Laman Tasch

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines Turkey’s veil ban policy, which has been in place since the 1980s. The dilemma is whether Muslim-veil bans impinge on the rights of expression and religion at both national and international levels or, whether states may legally justify a ban on the basis of secularism and women’s rights. Even though the idea of freedom “from religion” in Turkey has been closely linked to the European notion of secularism during most of Turkey’s republican history, more recently, secularism and veil bans in Turkey and in the West have been construed quite distinctly. This shows an increasing gap between …