Human Rights: A Feminist Perspective

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which might be understood if womens experience were the foundation for the theorizing and enforcement. The argument is not that there is but one feminist perspective--indeed the title suggests that there might be many. Rather it is argued that if one works from the life experiences most common to women the principles of that would emerge would not necessarily reflect the universe of such as they are commonly understood by liberal nation states. While the prototypic human rights case involves the individual political activist imprisoned for the expression of his views or political organizing forms of oppression that do not fit the Bill of Rights model of liberty are rarely recognized in international understandings or national asylum laws. These forms would include inter alia issues related to marriage procreation labor property ownership sexual repression and other manifestations of unequal citizenship that are routinely viewed as private nongovernmental and reflective of cultural difference. (authors)