Feminism-Experience and Utopia in Local, National, and Global Activism

Abstract

Women's Movements in the Global Era: The Power of Local Feminisms. By Amrita Basu. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2010. xii + 495 pp., $36.91 paperback (ISBN 978-0-813-34444-7). Making Feminist Sense of the Global Justice Movement. By Catherine Eschle, Bice Maiguashca. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010. xiii + 266 pp., $26.95 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-742-55592-1). That feminist ideals, penned by individual women, amplified by women collectively voicing lived experiences, and embraced as national demands, have now become part of a global movement is not in doubt. These two works examine women's movements and feminist initiatives in their diverse encounters with local, national, state, and global environments, illustrating their complex interactions at these multiple levels. During recent decades, rapidly developing global forces have increasingly impacted national women's movements. Women's Movements in the Global Era, edited by Amrita Basu, is a collection of essays concerned with women's movements that engage in local-level activism. The focus is on movements of women to achieve social change—rather than feminism, defined by its aim of challenging gender inequality. Amrita Basu's introduction situates these diverse national women's movements in a global context. Global forces have been critical in shaping women's movements over the past two decades, Basu writes. Transnational advocacy networks and international organizations providing funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and organizing international conferences have promoted global discourses about women's rights and facilitated collaboration between states and women's movements. However, she adds, the impact of global forces is mediated by national differences. The United Nations' (UN) support for women's movements has been crucial. Over several decades, it organized a series of international women's conferences in Mexico City, 1975; Copenhagen, 1980; Nairobi, 1985; and Beijing, 1995. These initiatives have increased global interactions among national women's movements and have facilitated contacts between movements and states that have helped women's organizations to influence state policy. This high-profile support has had a significant positive impact on women's organizations in Africa and other developing areas and has legitimized women's movements in authoritarian societies where civil society has been repressed. Despite this support, however, many feminists find that the UN's practice is still permeated with male bias. As …