Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives.

Abstract

Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist PerspectivesJulie Peters and Andrea Wolper, eds. London/New York: Routledge, 1995; 372 pp.Reviewed by Helle - Mai Lenk Department of Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Toronto, OntarioWomen's Rights, Human Rights is most recent and arguably most wide - ranging addition to growing body of literature on global movement for women's human rights.(f.1) interest has been most remarkable in last three years since 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna brought to international attention gender - based violations of human rights. In introduction to this anthology, Julie Peters and Andrea Wolper state purpose of their collection as twofold: to map directions movement for women's human rights is taking and to address ramifications of critical events and issues. Among latter, they single out rapes in former Yugoslavia and pressure for war crimes tribunal; trafficking of women and girls; female genital mutilation; and reproductive rights and coercive methods of population control.The 32 contributions by activists, journalists, lawyers and scholars from 21 countries (albeit for most part U.S. - educated or - based) have been organized under seven headings: Backgrounds, Regional Reports, Gendered Law, 'Public' and 'Private', Cultural Difference, Violence and Health, Development and Socio - Economy, and The Persecuted, Voiceless. However, in reading through essays, one finds that these categorizations necessarily overlap and certain common themes emerge, particularly those that pertain to situation of women in parts of world other than North America or Western Europe.The three essays in section entitled Cultural Difference address what editors identify as most critical issue facing human rights advocates: Does right to preserve and religious practices take precedence over human rights norms? (p. 5). role played by custom and in hindering advancement of women's rights is theme, however, that is broached by most contributors and permeates not only this volume but, I would argue, all aspects of movement for international women's human rights, movement which to certain extent owes its very existence to identification of West/non - West binary. In The Politics of Gender and Culture in International Human Rights Discourse, Arati Rao seems well aware of this fact. In what seems direct criticism of editors' introductory comments, she cautions against tendency to set up a false oppositional dichotomy in which geopolitical borders are erased and multitude of cultures are collapsed into falsely unified packages, one bearing stamp of human rights and other lacking it (p. 168). While not denying that defences of and religion have resulted in some of most egregious violations of women's rights, Rao points out that culture is series of constantly contested and negotiated social practices whose meanings are influenced by power and status of their interpreters and participants (p. 173).Ann E. Mayer might have benefitted from reading Rao's essay before embarking on her reflections on women's rights and what she terms the Eastern experience. Her article is replete with references to Middle Eastern Muslim women, Middle Eastern governments and Middle Eastern law as if national boundaries let alone racial and class divisions do not exist. When specific country is cited, as in case of Iran, author limits her references to books published in immediate post - revolutionary period of early 1980s.(f.2) While Mayer castigates those who in adopting cultural relativist position promote monolithic, static image of Eastern countries, she herself does little to dispel that notion.Finally, Maria Suarez Toro downplays importance of advances in women's rights made at international level maintaining that in Central America they have had little impact on women's everyday lives. …