To explain how constitutions shape and are shaped by women's lives, the contributors to this volume examine constitutional cases pertaining to women in twelve countries. Analyzing jurisprudence about ...reproductive, sexual, familial, socio-economic, and democratic rights, they focus constructively on women's claims to equality, asking who makes these claims, what constitutional rights inform them, how they have evolved, what arguments work in defending them, and how they relate to other national issues. Their findings reveal significant similarities in outcomes and in reasoning about women's constitutional rights in these twelve countries, challenging the tradition of distinguishing constitutional jurisprudence depending on whether the country has a written or unwritten constitution, subscribes to civil or common law, is a federal or unitary state, limits constitutional adjudication to the public domain, accords international norms binding or subject to incorporation force, or relies on a specialized or general court to adjudicate constitutional matters.
This is the first book-length account of the women's liberation movement in Scotland, which, using documentary evidence and oral testimony, charts the origins and development of this important social ...movement of the post-1945 period. In doing so, it reveals the inventiveness and fearlessness of feminist activism, while also pointing towards the importance of considering the movement from the local and grassroots perspectives, presenting a more optimistic account of the enduring legacy of women's liberation. Not only does this book uncover the reach of the WLM but it also considers what case studies of women's liberation can tell us about the ways in which the development of the movement has been portrayed. Previous accounts have tended to equate the fragmentation of the movement with weakness and decline. This book challenges this conclusion, arguing that fragmentation led to a diffusion of feminist ideas into wider society. In the Scottish context, it led to a lively and flourishing feminist culture where activists highlighted important issues such as abortion and violence against women.
The most effective way to deal with prostitution has always been hotly debated by governments and women's movements alike. Feminists want it abolished or regulated as sex work; governments have to ...safeguard public health and order. This book, first published in 2004, shows how women's movements in Western Europe, North America and Australia have affected politics on prostitution and trafficking of women since the 1970s, asking what made them successful in some countries but a failure in others. It also assesses whether government institutions to advance the status of women - so-called women's policy agencies - have played a key role in achieving policy outcomes favourable to movement demands. Written by an international team of experts and based on original sources, all chapters follow the same framework to ensure comparability. The final chapter offers an overall comparison identifying what makes women's movements successful and women's agencies effective, presenting the case for 'state feminism'.
With this book, Cheryl Hicks brings to light the voices and viewpoints of black working-class women, especially southern migrants, who were the subjects of urban and penal reform in ...early-twentieth-century New York. Hicks compares the ideals of racial uplift and reform programs of middle-class white and black activists to the experiences and perspectives of those whom they sought to protect and, often, control.In need of support as they navigated the discriminatory labor and housing markets and contended with poverty, maternity, and domestic violence, black women instead found themselves subject to hostility from black leaders, urban reformers, and the police. Still, these black working-class women struggled to uphold their own standards of respectable womanhood. Through their actions as well as their words, they challenged prevailing views regarding black women and morality in urban America. Drawing on extensive archival research, Hicks explores the complexities of black working-class women's lives and illuminates the impact of racism and sexism on early-twentieth-century urban reform and criminal justice initiatives.
Political Worlds of Women provides a comprehensive overview of women's political activism, comparing formal and informal channels of power from official institutions of state to grassroots ...mobilizations and Internet campaigns.
Contradicting the views commonly held by westerners, many Muslim countries in fact engage in a wide spectrum of reform, with the status of women as a central dimension. This anthology counters the ...myth that Islam and feminism are always or necessarily in opposition. A multidisciplinary group of scholars examine ideology, practice, and reform efforts in the areas of marriage, divorce, abortion, violence against women, inheritance, and female circumcision across the Islamic world, illuminating how religious and cultural prescriptions interact with legal norms, affecting change in sometimes surprising ways.
While most people believe that the movement to secure voluntary reproductive control for women centered solely on abortion rights, for many women abortion was not the only, or even primary, focus.
...Jennifer Nelson tells the story of the feminist struggle for legal abortion and reproductive rights in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s through the particular contributions of women of color. She explores the relationship between second-wave feminists, who were concerned with a woman's right to choose, Black and Puerto Rican Nationalists, who were concerned that Black and Puerto Rican women have as many children as possible “for the revolution,” and women of color themselves, who negotiated between them. Contrary to popular belief, Nelson shows that women of color were able to successfully remake the mainstream women's liberation and abortion rights movements by appropriating select aspects of Black Nationalist politics—including addressing sterilization abuse, access to affordable childcare and healthcare, and ways to raise children out of poverty—for feminist discourse.
The first comprehensive study of women's dress reform During the latter half of the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth centuries, books, periodicals, and newspapers were rich in ...discussions related to women's roles, health, beauty, and dress. Many believed that restrictive and unwieldy women's fashions compromised health, distorted women's true physical beauty, and curtailed the potential role of women in society. Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920 focuses on the efforts toward reforming women's dress that took place in Europe and America during this period and the types of garments adopted by women to overcome the challenges posed by fashionable dress.
Legislative and institutional affirmative and positive action policies, intended to increase accessibility and the participation of historically disadvantaged groups in employment and education, have ...been with us for some time, particularly in Anglo Saxon countries. One of the major issues they are intended to address is gender inequality. Proponents of these policies have hailed quota initiatives as a key to promoting equal opportunities and reducing discrimination. At the same time, affirmative action policies and processes have been challenged in courts and have caused controversy in educational establishments, highlighting the fact that these practices can have negative consequences. Exploring the application of quotas and affirmative action at an institutional or organizational level from a variety of different perspectives, the contributions in Diversity Quotas, Diverse Perspectives provide an understanding of the complexity and controversial nature of policies and actions in different countries. Even within Europe, implementation has varied widely from country to country. For example, while most European countries have employment quotas for people with disabilities, there is little consistency among the European Union's member states when it comes to quotas and other policies relating to ethnic minorities in employment and educational settings. Focussing here particularly on gender-related initiatives, but raising questions pertinent to other aspects of diversity, the contributions from international researchers investigate variances between and differing justifications for policies. The book offers a global perspective on the subject and expands the discussion of it beyond Anglo-Saxon contexts.
