Feminist Perspectives on International Law

Abstract

Feminist perspectives provide a critical lens through which to examine international law’s rules, systems, and structures. In the early twentieth century, women’s activism and organizing during World War I was instrumental in drawing attention to the absence of women in peacemaking processes, leading to the creation of feminist peace organizations whose advocacy was highly influential in generating debate regarding the role of international bodies and women’s equal participation in international lawmaking. Second-wave feminist scholarship during the sixties and seventies drew attention to women’s legal and political status, including issues such as reproductive rights and nondiscrimination, influencing legal reforms in domestic law systems. Significant societal debate on these questions of gender equality did not always directly translate to international law settings. However, the global women’s conferences that occurred at regular intervals during the UN Decade for Women (1975–1985) provided the political opportunity structure for women’s groups to organize transnationally. While evident political differences emerged between feminist activists from the Global North and Global South, these tensions nevertheless heightened awareness of international law’s limited engagement with women’s myriad lived experiences. The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 provided a foundation for feminist critique centering on the marginalization of women’s rights in international law. The application of a feminist lens to the entire ambit and breadth of international law occurred at a later period during the early nineties. This seminal scholarship coincided with the post–Cold War period, which saw significant social and political change globally. Witnessing a surge in regional ethnic-based conflicts and their gendered impacts, feminist scholars engaged in critique of the law of armed conflict, international criminal law, and transitional justice processes. While the successes of feminist interventions in international law, particularly in relation to the women, peace and security agenda at the UN Security Council, have been cautiously acknowledged, some areas of international law have proved to be particularly resistant to feminist analysis. Although theoretical perspectives, including postcolonial and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), are yet to move from the periphery to the center of feminist analyses, they provide an important lens through which to understand the tensions that emerge from feminist interventions in international law, as does theoretical engagement with queer and nonbinary perspectives. Scholars have also increasingly engaged in feminist introspection, scrutinizing whether feminist methodologies provide an effective analytical tool to examine international law.