Biblio

This article examines the impact of the uprisings on popular attitudes, using 45 public opinion surveys across the region to test his theoretical framework of a consequence-based approach that includes the concept of deprivation. When the data are combined to provide a country by country analysis they suggest that countries like Egypt and Morocco where initial protest had rapid political results but failed in the longer term, disillusionment was highest. Conversely a lack of major protest (Algeria) or of initial reform (Yemen) maintained desire for democracy.  Results for Lebanon and Tunisia showed very different respomnses from different groups in society: Sunnia in Lebanon and the very poor in Tunisia.

Describes the Human Right Watch campaign against the denial of sexual and reproductive rights to young women in the Dominican Republic, which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America. The country has failed to provide scientifically accurate, right-based sexual education programmes in schools, as the authorities announced they would do in 2015. This article also provides the link to a 50-page report, I Felt Like The World Was Falling Down On Me: Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights In The Dominican Republic’, which is based on interviews with 30 girls who became pregnant before turning 18 and provides an overview on the stigmatization and clandestine-abortion related risks these young women face.

Outlines the challenges faced by girls seeking an education, and provides data related to most of the African countries, alongside Afghanistan, Yemen, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

In El Salvador, hundreds of women marched in the capital San Salvador on this day, to protest for reproductive rights, against violence, and in celebration of the release of three women jailed on abortion charges. The article also discusses the Trump administration’s cut of funding towards programs that support women and the initiative to tackle violence against women that exists in El Salvador.

In El Salvador, hundreds of women marched in the capital San Salvador on this day, to protest for reproductive rights, against violence, and in celebration of the release of three women jailed on abortion charges. The article also discusses the Trump administration’s cut of funding towards programs that support women and the initiative to tackle violence against women that exists in El Salvador.

Gives background to the lifting of the abortion ban in Northern Ireland, and the social campaigning behind it. See also McGuinness, Sheelagh (2019) ‘Abortion Law Reform in Northern Ireland’, University of Bristol Portal, 25 October 2019. https://legalresearch.blogs.bris.ac.uk/2019/10/abortion-law-reform-in-northern-ireland/ Provides a very detailed explanation of the legal framework on abortion before and after 22 October 2019. Comments also on the interpretation of the law, that could be useful for future campaigning an abortion rights.

A short report on a rising wave of pressure that is weighing on companies that seek sexual harassment insurance in the US.

The author examines the aftermath of the 2010 riots in Osh, when 400 Uzbeks were killed in the city by Kyrgyz from outside.  Hager tests the thesis that riots heighten cohesion within the ethnic group but reduce cooperation across ethnic divides. He found that - contrary to the theory - the neighbourhoods attacked in 2010 had low social cohesion and there was a sense of being abandoned by fellow Uzbeks.

The EU Commission presented its plan for updating its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in December 2019. The goal of net zero emissions by 2050 was to be given legal force by a climate law in 2020, and its target for 2030 was a 50-55" cut (lifting its previous 40" target). The plan links these targets to a call for a new growth strategy, decoupled from resource use, and sets out a time line and more detailed aims. See also: Simon, Frederic, 'The EU releases its Green Deal. Here are the key points' 12 Dec. 2019:  https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/12/12/eu-releases-green-deal-key-points/

Fact sheet providing information about Spotlight - a global campaign in joint partnership between the EU and UN - to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in South East Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Pacific and Caribbean region. The initiative aims to contribute to the achievement of SGD Goal 5 on Gender Equality and SDG Goal 16 on inclusive and peaceful societies. It provides information on the EU’s Gender Action Plan 2016-202 0 and UNFPA (https://www.unfpa.org/) and the surveys conducted to shed light on this form of violence. Spotlight’s official website can be accessed at http://www.un.org/en/spotlight-initiative/index.shtml

Overview after half a year of XR's impact, noting its very rapid growth inside the UK and mobilization of a wide cross-section of people, its global spread (485 affiliates around the world). Iqbal also notes the impact on the engineering and construction industries, universities, local councils, architecture and the arts all focusing on the urgency of reducing emissions. But he cites criticism from the Wretched of the Earth collective for climate justice, who urged XR not to ignore the voices of indigenous, black, brown and diaspora groups. See also: 'Climate Change Protesters Take Over Museum and Threaten Disruption', The i, 23 April 2019, p.11. Report on 'die in' by 100 activists under the blue whale skeleton in London's Natural History Museum, a week after XR blockades in London began; See also: 'Climate Protesters to Pitch Tent City in Four-day "Northern Rebellion", The Guardian, 29 Aug. 2019, p.20.  Report that at least 750 people had pledged to occupy Deansgate in Manchester, an entertainment area with high air pollution levels; See also 'Mothers in Google Climate Action as Protesters Defy Ban', The Guardian, 17 Oct. 2019, p.13. Reports blockade of Google's London HQ in defiance of police ban on protests in London to oppose Google's funding of deniers of climate crisis. Young people and nursing mothers took part.  Lawyers for XR were applying for judicial review of the police banning order at the high court.

Due to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis, Venezuelans are fleeing and leaving everything behind to reach safety. According to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, as the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela tops 4 million, this has become the largest migratory flow in the history of the American region. This long report highlights the conditions of Venezuelan women and girls who face sexual slavery and child exploitation, amongst many other threats.

Explores the use of power over women in post-colonial Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

A manifesto inspired by the international women's strike, ‘NiUnaMenos’ in Argentina and other radical feminist actions.  It argues for a linkage between feminism and LGBTQ+ rights and the struggle against neoliberal capitalism, and rejects the kind of liberal feminism (exemplified by Hillary Clinton) that seeks equal opportunities for women within an inherently oppressive system.

Debates how intersectional feminism is relevant to the Middle East, in relation to a different conception of class, ethnicity and social status from the West. It examines whether a fixed understanding of feminism – based on a westernized value system - might be detrimental to the achievement of women’s rights in Middle Eastern societies.

This article examines sexual harassment that has occurred worlds of media and politics in Japan, in the context of the global (mostly Western) #MeToo movement. It argues that harassment by male political leaders constitutes a pattern and should not be seen simply as isolated individual incidents. This pattern occurs within a cultural context that discourages women from speaking out about individual grievances. The naming of this pattern of sexual harassment is important to address ‘Violence Against Women in Politics’ (VAWP), a problem around the world. The public and media outrage directed at individual sexist statements by male politicians often dissipates, only to emerge again after the next sexist incident makes headlines. By establishing a pattern of sexual harassment, the author aims to show that there is a systemic problem facing all women working in politics or in close proximity to politicians in Japan.

Inspired by the debate over whether globalisation has brought more benefits or disadvantages, and whether feminist movements around the world are gaining more agency and leverage, this thesis explores what influence feminist movements exercised on labour rights legislation in Morocco.

Ruiz-Navarro provides an analysis of the 2016 Colombia Peace agreement that incorporates the inclusion of women within the peace talk process. He also discusses the mobilisation in the country in support of the agreement, the role of Norway and Sweden in supporting this goal, the role played by women and the obstacles to the implementation of the agreement.

Finland’s Han Honours award, which recognizes individuals promoting equality around the world, was given to Professor Chizuko Ueno, a Women’s Studies scholar in January 2019 for her research and books, and also for her activism for women’s right in Japan. She has provoked debates on issues such as gender discrimination and sexual violence. This article, which notes several high profile recent incidents exposing sexism in Japan, reports Professor Ueno’s comments on sexism.

Explores how both pro-choice and pro-life supporters have employed language over abortion rights and shaped its debate.

Latino Rebels Radio interview with Paula Ávila-Guillén, a human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist, on the fight to legalize abortion in several Latin American countries and the work that the Women’s Equality Center is doing, gearing up for legislative pushes around abortions rights.  

This article assesses women’s progress in Saudi Arabia since the lifting of the driving ban in 2018, and reports on the official decision to grant women passports to travel abroad without a male guardian’s consent. This is a step towards reversing the deprivation of women’s legal, political and human rights unique to Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islam as interpreted by conservative clerics.  But women still cannot marry, or leave domestic violence shelters or prison without a male relative’s consent.  Moreover, Al Rasheed notes, prominent feminist activists had been imprisoned.  However, Saudi feminists are still discreetly and effectively engaging within civil society to help women. See also ‘Women in Saudi Arabia: Changing the Guard’, Economist, 20 July 2019, p.42. Reports official plans to lift some restrictions on women, but also notes fears that a right to travel would increase the number of women fleeing abroad and seeking asylum.  The article contextualises possible reforms to free women in the conflicting politics of liberalisation and repression being practised by the Crown Prince.

Covers the early days of the April 2019 revolution and the role of the Sudanese Professionals Association. Organizer of many of the protests, in negotiations with the military. Reprinted in Guardian Weekly, 19 April 2019, pp.10-12

The authors link the rise of ‘the fourth wave of feminism’ to the impact of cyberspace on social movements. They argue that social media offer accessibility, a potentially wide audience, low cost and a user-friendly environment, which encourage women to publicise sexual violence, and to then tackle wider issues such as the gender pay gap. The Internet-based feminist movement is also trying to highlight intersectionality, i.e. the impact of multiple forms of institutionalized oppression based on sex, gender, race, class, etc.

Through detailed analysis of Gandhi's campaigns from 1915 to 1922 the author illuminates the evolution of Gandhi's thinking and strategy. Overy stresses the importance of Gandhi's constructive programme, promoting local empowerment, and its interconnectedness with resistance campaigns against imperial rule.