The Absence of Women in the Development of International Law: A Critical Women’s Rights Issue
Jerry M’bartee Locula sheds light on the development of international law from a gendered perspective, emphasizing the lack of women’s involvement in the patriarchal global system. Highlighting ways to strengthen the international women’s rights movement, he calls on men to become advocates of gender equality by being outspoken in demanding the inclusion of women’s rights at all levels of international lawmaking.
Beauty and Politics
Dipo Djungdjungan Summa argues that (female) beauty can’t be “natural”, as it is always related to the preferences of dominant social groups, and therefore an expression of power.
Education for young people in armed conflict
This paper examines the impact of war on the education of young people in armed conflict and also give a situational analysis of youths and children in armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Colombia and Cambodia. The paper also looks at how the life of youth and children can be restored through reintegration activities, provision of formal and informal education, employment, facilitation of psychosocial training and vocational training opportunities. It provides a gender perspective of how girls and women are mostly vulnerable in conflict times and stresses the implementation of the right to education instruments such as the convention on the Right of the Child, the Human Right Convention, MDG-2, Refugee convention of 1951 and the EFA framework to enhance the education of war affected young people.
Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative (GRBI) in Pakistan: Needs, Initiatives and Challenges – A Contextual Analysis
Dr. Shahbaz Israr Khan examines the ways in which gender-neutral approaches to budgeting are highly discriminatory against woman, especially in neoliberal economies and the globalized world context. He concludes that in a highly patriarchal environment, gender neutral budgets, without assessing their implications for women, men, boys and girls, can have a very negative impact on the society and especially on women’s lives. The paper presents needs, initiatives and challenges of Gender Budget Initiatives, and also addresses the issues related to the Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative in Pakistan.
Gender Equality and the Human Rights Concern in South Sudan
Huma Rights scholar Peter Reat Gatkuoth discusses the continued gender inequality in South Sudan, as well as Africa at large, despite the traditional veneration of women as mothers and caregivers, and the existence of legal documents (including national constitutions) which proclaim the equal rights of women. The author argues that a greater focus on gender equality, using existing human rights documents, will support the development and prosperity of the nation.
The Perfect Storm: Impunity and Violence against Women in Guatemala
The high levels of violence in Central America are often experssed as gender-based violence against women. This article discusses the use of violence against women as a weapon of war, as well as its presistence long into times of “peace”. By adressing the problems of femicide, domestic violence, and other forms of brutality directed at women and girls, we can also address the culture of violence more generally, in Guatemala, and beyond.
To Drive, or Not to Drive; Not a Question for Saudi Women
The Wahhabi state of Saudi Arabia is the holy gem of Islam and the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving. Saudi women must wait for months at a time to do basic communal things, until their husbands, fathers, brothers or uncles are available to drive them around. The Kingdom’s chauffeur system is not a pampering luxury; it systematically defies and denies women from earning equal rights as men, via mobilization and transportation. However, protests and petitions demonstrated and signed by Saudi women, prove they are not giving up their fight to drive. But before this right can be granted, the environment must be ready for it. This essay will explore this misunderstood and confusing Saudi law, by weaving through the reasons of why women cannot drive, personal stories and scenarios on how the ban affects everyday life, and suggest recommendations as to how the Kingdom might consider going about changing its ways.
Women in the Nicaraguan guerilla movement
Key Words: Nicaragua, Samoza Dictatorship, Latin America, central America, Revolution, Gender Analysis, Violence, Non-Violence
March for Women’s Lives
George W. Bush didn’t seek office hoping to launch a new wave of the women’s movement. But the president of the United States has angered so many girls and women that he has helped mobilize a national march in the United States to protect women’s rights, the most large and diverse call for protecting women’s rights the US has probably ever seen.
A Gender Critique of the National Adaptation Programme of Action toward Climate Change in Post-conflict Liberia: Emphasis on the Agricultural Sector
Following fourteen years of devastation, the Liberian nation faces global climate change variability, which poses a major threat to its economic sectors, especially the agricultural sector, which is noted for its cardinal contribution towards the embellishment of the national economy (in terms of employment and the GDP). Notably, most of the workers within this sector are women, especially the rural dwellers, who are = the most vulnerable. In an effort to remedy the situation, a National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) was crafted by the Liberian government, following a global climate change summit held in Bali, 2007. This plan seeks to adequately address the situation, alleviate poverty and foster the process of national recovery and development. Generally, the NAPA attempts to develop the capacity of institution and individual in an effort to address the mainstreaming of the method of adaptation into the national development planning process. However, the NAPA has failed to acknowledge the efforts and ideologies of women, especially the rural women, who are currently and greatly involved in the agricultural sector of the country. Therefore, it is important to involve the women, who are already involved, if the NAPA is to be a success in terms of its goals and objectives.