Biblio

This wide-ranging collection analyzes the status and progress of women both in a national context and collectively on a global scale, as a powerful social force in a rapidly evolving world. The countries studied―China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Italy, France, Brazil, Belize, Mexico, and the United States―represent a cross-section of economic conditions, cultural and religious traditions, political realities, and social contexts that shape women’s lives, challenges, and opportunities. Psychological and human rights perspectives highlight worldwide goals for equality and empowerment, with implications for today’s girls as they become the next generation of women. Women’s lived experience is compared and contrasted in such critical areas as: home and work; physical, medical, and psychological issues; safety and violence; sexual and reproductive concerns; political participation and status under the law; impact of technology and globalism; country-specific topics.

The Third Committee’s (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) report on the advancement of women worldwide. The Third Committee had before it the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (document A/73/38). Also before the Committee were reports of the Secretary-General on Trafficking in women and girls (document A/73/263); intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation (document A/73/266); intensifying efforts to end obstetric fistula within a generation (document A/73/285) and intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (document A/73/294). The Committee also had before it a report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on violence against women in politics (document A/73/301).

This article reviews the birth and development of the #MeToo movement in India and its protagonists – mainly members of the movie industry - one year after its widespread endorsement in the US.

Commentary on the role that women can play in the peace talks within the context of the Yemeni conflict that erupted in 2015. It highlights the situation of women in politics prior to and after the eruption of the conflict. It also provides data elucidating gender-based violence in the country and names of coalitions established by women to tackle it.

Analyses the referendum and the 66.4 per cent vote to repeal the amendment to the Irish Constitution forbidding abortion.  See also: Emma Graham Harrison '"The future is safe" - a long fight pays off', Guardian Weekly, 10/06/18, p. 4-5, which looks back at 35 years of courageous campaigning, and Karl McDonald, 'Irish battle goes global: Abortion campaigners from around the world are intervening in referendum', the i, 19 May 2018, p.35.

This article studies post-2000 Chinese feminist activism from a generational perspective. It operationalises three notions of generation - 1) generation as an age cohort; 2) generation as a historical cohort; and 3) "political generation" - to shed light on the question of generation and generational change in post-socialist Chinese feminism. The study shows how the younger generation of women have come to the forefront of feminist protest in China and how the historical conditions they live in have shaped their feminist outlook. In parallel, it examines how a "political generation" emerges when feminists of different ages are drawn together by a shared political awakening and collaborate across age.

Account of two major struggles by local people in conjunction with a wide range of external activists to defend their local territory: 1. against building a new airport near Nantes in France by ZAD (Zones a Defendre) and 2. against a high-speeed rail line (Treno ad Alta Velocita) in northern Italy by No TAV. The resistance has developed into alternative forms of social and economic organization within the defended territories. The book discusses the role of different strategies and tactics, and how to maintain alliances between diverse groups through dialogue. See also: Jordan, John, 'Battle of the ZAD', Red Pepper, Jun-Jul 2018, pp. 24-29

Campaign by Veterans For Peace (founded in the US in 1985) to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons for divestment from corporations manufacturing nuclear weapons, and their endorsement of the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017. Their campaigns include: ‘The Golden Rule’ educational project, ‘Disarm Trident’, and ‘Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.

In this work the author presents the work of Nigerian feminist sociologist, Oyèrónké Oyĕwùmí, as a decolonising force having the power to disrupt sub-Saharan African philosophy, Western feminist thought and discourses on African decolonisation in highly significant and surprising ways.

The author is an activist who sees the potential for a global movement to prevent disastrous climate change by forcing corporations and governments to adopt more radical policies, focusing in particular on ending use of fossil fuels. He gives examples of action from many parts of the world. But his primary emphasis is on developing a strategy (including civil disobedience) for activists in the USA, stressing the need to undermine support for fossil fuel industries but also to build parallel institutions such as popular assemblies.

Haberkorn begins by describing a photographic exhibition at Thammasat university of the massacre of students there in October 1976 in connection with a military coup. The exhibition in October 2016, which commemorated the fortieth anniversary of that tragedy, had particular resonance in the context of the 2014 military coup and the death of the king after 70 years on the throne in 2016.

Reports on the campaign during the 2017 UK election by Frack Free United (a network of residents near fracking sites and campaign groups) and Cross Party Frack Free (group of MPs, Peers and parliamentary candidates, as well as local councillors, who support a national ban on fracking).

Overview of opposition to fracking plans in Argentina, includinga provincial law in the province of Entre Rios to ban fracking (it is not directly involved in the plans) and Vista Alegre became the first municipality to ban fracking.  The Supreme Court suspended the ban, but residents marched to the capital and blocked a highway to demonstrate their commitment to it. Brandon notes also that the Mapuche, the largest indigenous group in Argentina were mobilizing to resist the threats to their land, especially near the Vaca Muerte basin. (The article was reproduced from the Waging Nonviolence website.) See also Platform London, 'UK-Argentina Fracking Talks Targeted by Protest', 22 May 2019.  https://platformlondon.org/p-pressreleases/uk-argentina-fracking-talks-targeted-by-protest/

This book sponsored by The Independent newspaper is written by its two major Middle East reporters and cover the events of 2010-11 and the aftermath.  Both correspondents have extensive expertise on their area, and have tended to diverge in their assessments from much mainstream western reporting.

The authors examine the role of the state in relation to the growing risk of violence against women at home and on the streets. They argue that, especially since the 2009 coup, increasing political repression, pervasive violence and the loss of power by civil society groups promote extreme violence against women. They also argue that there is a growing gap between the laws officially protecting women (passed to appease international or internal pressure) and the actual implementation of those laws.

An account of the origin of #NiUnaMenos in Argentina, that arose prior to #MeToo in the USA – and of the progress the country achieved in tackling femicide. Although femicide and other forms of violence against women are still high and cruel, Argentina is the most advanced country within Latin America for the protection of women’s rights. The #NiUnaMenos movement was born in 2015 after a tweet by journalist Marcela Ojeda about the murder of Chiara Páez, 14-year old and pregnant. The young woman disappeared in May in Santa Fe province, and her body was found buried under the patio of her boyfriend's home. She had been beaten to death. Marcela Ojeda’s tweet “Women, together. Why don't we scream? THEY ARE KILLING US” gave rise to the start of #NiUnaMenos.

A detailed analysis of how Al Qaeda under various organizational guises have been taking over the opposition to Assad and marginalized the moderates, whilst claiming to pursue a 'middle path'.  The author also warns that ISIS has not been wholly defeated.

Webcast sponsored by the Iving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by alumni UBC with Equity and Inclusion. #MeToo. #IWill. Awareness is important, but how do we move beyond hashtags and words to making real change for women in the workplace? New accusations of harassment keep coming to the fore – from Hollywood to Wall Street to Commercial Drive. In response, thousands of women have posted “#MeToo” on social media. Men have since responded with #IWill, signaling their individual commitment to take action in order to prevent harassment in their midst. But what next? How do we go beyond awareness to actual – and more permanent – change? This video includes a panel discussion that examines this issue and explore options for moving forward.

Funes notes the legislative development in Argentina since 2009 to tackle femicide and the development of the #NiUnaMenos movement since 2015.

The thesis starts from the political context of the late 1970s when, despite detente, the US was developing its nuclear weapons arsenal, and apartheid South Africa emerged as a nuclear weapons state. Black campaigners against nuclear weapons emerged in both countries, and both suffered from racial discrimination, but the very different political contexts made organized opposition to nuclear policies very much harder in South Africa.  However, in both cases nuclear weapon developments were closely linked to an international context, and both movements also relied heavily on international allies.

In societies with anti-abortion norms, such as Northern Ireland, little is known about how these norms may be resisted by the adult population. The authors argue that resistance to religious and patriarchal norms can be fostered through adult community abortion education. They see this resistance as multi-faceted and bolstered by reference to lived experience. It does not necessarily involve abandoning religious beliefs.

Mackinnon argues that, under the right conditions, small simple actions can produce large complex effects, and that seemingly minor positive interventions in the legal realm can have a butterfly effect that generates major social and cultural transformations. Mackinnon connects the theory of social causality to a wide-ranging exploration of gender inequality, sexual harassment, rape, pornography and prostitution. His aim is to encourage political activism and promote equality socially and legally.

Discusses the evolution of the idea of feminism over the centuries in China and what may be called a “proto-feminism” concept, known as the Daodejing. Classical Chinese philosophy has influenced and helped shape what feminism is today in China. Dessie Miller analyzed the use of language in the Daodejing to demonstrate the feminine imagery throughout the text. She also deconstructed the characters that bear significance for feminist interpretations for the Dao and Yin-Yang in order to analyse their deeper meaning. Finally, she compared Confucianism and Daoism in order to provide a broader context and to show how they differ from each other. Lastly, she used contemporary feminist figures—such as Li Ruzhen, Qiu Jin, and the “Beijing Five”—as examples to show how Daoism was a precursor to and how it helped shape feminism in what is today’s China.

Discusses how, despite having a well-educated female workforce, the high level of employment in China is imbued with patriarchal gender norms.

Professor of Chinese Studies Harriet Evans analyses the development of feminist activism in comparison with feminism in the UK. Drawing on the idea of sexual and gender rights, she also makes a comparison with the LGBTQ community and its global organisational activism since the 1990s.