This book, which I am pleased to preface, is divided into two parts of great relevance to contemporary feminist studies, especially to the peripheral countries of the capitalist world. In it lie essays that I divide into two categories. On the one hand, we have articles that address structural issues involving human rights and, in particular, women’s rights. These are the texts that discuss the way in which the subject of human rights, in the contexts of the regional economic communities, are inserted; there are also the texts that address the bankruptcy of the patriarchal political system regarding the political representation of women in countries like India and Brazil; and the chapter in which the authors reflect on the need for an international feminist normative that breaks with the predominantly male discourse in international law, which disregards feminist proposals for normalization. The other part of the book covers varied subjects that connect with the feminist agenda and gender studies as well as contemporary identity processes. These are studies on the reproductive rights of women; sexual and domestic violence against women; environmental degradation and its relation to the patriarchal model to the detriment of traditional cultures; the immigration of women for marriage as a conscious choice; mental health and its relation to gender issues. Chapters: 1. REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES IN HUMAN AND WOMEN´S RIGHTS PROTECTION 2. WOMEN REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: A REFLECTION ABOUT INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 3. WOMEN AND MENTAL HEALTH: A STUDY ON ADOLESCENCY AND GENDER IN BRAZIL 4. A PROGRAM TO COMBAT HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN: CONSIDERATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION AT THE UNIVERSITY 5. DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN BRAZIL: IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? 6. ENVIRONMENTAL PATRIARCHY AND INDIGENOUS WOMEN: FROM INVISIBILITY TO RESISTANCE 7. MARRIAGE EMIGRATION OF WOMEN FROM RUSSIA 8. RESERVATIONS, INTERSECTIONALITY, AND WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN INDIAN POLITICS 9. FIGHTING AGAINST GENDER INEQUALITY IN PARLIAMENT: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BRAZILIAN CASE 10. BUILDING UP AN INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST LAW

The work presented in this volume is inscribed in a theoretical perspective that deals with the established relations between Law and society, and in particular a set of pertinent reflections on the issue of ‘Women’s Rights’. The title of this publication in itself can evoke in us a call to reflect on our own lives. Whilst excluding what we already know about how evidence and certain meanings commonly affect us as readers, we need to also ask ourselves questions in relation to the title about which specific rights, the work will be looking at in depth. Chapters: 1. CHALLENGES ANNOUNCED TO GENDER EQUALITY IN CURRENT BRAZIL: A “DEMOCRATIC STATE” AS A DANGER TO WOMEN’S RIGHTS 2. PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: IS IT LEGITIMATE WITHOUT WOMEN? 3. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN IN POLITICS 4. DEMOCRACY, ONLINE MEDIA AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN: THE DISCOURSE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF STRUCTURAL POWER FROM THE PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY 5. FEMINIZATION OF MIGRATIONS, FEMINIZATION OF CITIZENSHIP: “MIGRANTAS” IN OUR CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRACIES 6. THE AUDIENCES OF CUSTODY AND PRISON IN FLAGRANT IN THE DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE COURTS AGAINST WOMEN IN THE AMAZON-BELÉM 7. FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: AN APPROACH TO URBAN PLANNING FROM “FUNK CARIOCA” SONGS 8. A REFLECTION ON BRAZILIAN FISHERWOMEN FROM A DECOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE

"Eleanor Roosevelt never wanted her husband to run for president. When he won, she . . . went on a national tour to crusade on behalf of women. She wrote a regular newspaper column. She became a champion of women's rights and of civil rights. And she decided to write a book." -- Jill Lepore, from the Introduction "Women, whether subtly or vociferously, have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world," Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in It's Up to the Women, her book of advice to women of all ages on every aspect of life. Written at the height of the Great Depression, she called on women particularly to do their part -- cutting costs where needed, spending reasonably, and taking personal responsibility for keeping the economy going. Whether it's the recommendation that working women take time for themselves in order to fully enjoy time spent with their families, recipes for cheap but wholesome home-cooked meals, or America's obligation to women as they take a leading role in the new social order, many of the opinions expressed here are as fresh as if they were written today.

This book examines the impact of global human rights norms on the development of women's, children's, and minority rights in Japan since the early 1990s.

In this pathbreaking book, a well-known feminist and sociologist--who is also the Founding Editor of Gender & Society--challenges our most basic assumptions about gender. Judith Lorber views gender as wholly a product of socialization subject to human agency, organization, and interpretation. In her new paradigm, gender is an institution comparable to the economy, the family, and religion in its significance and consequences. Drawing on many schools of feminist scholarship and on research from anthropology, history, sociology, social psychology, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies, Lorber explores different paradoxes of gender: --why we speak of only two "opposite sexes" when there is such a variety of sexual behaviors and relationships; --why transvestites, transsexuals, and hermaphrodites do not affect the conceptualization of two genders and two sexes in Western societies; --why most of our cultural images of women are the way men see them and not the way women see themselves; --why all women in modern society are expected to have children and be the primary caretaker; --why domestic work is almost always the sole responsibility of wives, even when they earn more than half the family income; --why there are so few women in positions of authority, when women can be found in substantial numbers in many occupations and professions; --why women have not benefited from major social revolutions. Lorber argues that the whole point of the gender system today is to maintain structured gender inequality--to produce a subordinate class (women) that can be exploited as workers, sexual partners, childbearers, and emotional nurturers. Calling into question the inevitability and necessity of gender, she envisions a society structured for equality, where no gender, racial ethnic, or social class group is allowed to monopolize economic, educational, and cultural resources or the positions of power.

Human rights law and the legal protection of women from violence are still fairly new concepts. As a result, substantial discrepancies exist between what is decided in the halls of the United Nations and what women experience on a daily basis in their communities. Human Rights and Gender Violence is an ambitious study that investigates the tensions between global law and local justice. As an observer of UN diplomatic negotiations as well as the workings of grassroots feminist organizations in several countries, Sally Engle Merry offers an insider's perspective on how human rights law holds authorities accountable for the protection of citizens even while reinforcing and expanding state power. Providing legal and anthropological perspectives, Merry contends that human rights law must be framed in local terms to be accepted and effective in altering existing social hierarchies. Gender violence in particular, she argues, is rooted in deep cultural and religious beliefs, so change is often vehemently resisted by the communities perpetrating the acts of aggression. A much-needed exploration of how local cultures appropriate and enact international human rights law, this book will be of enormous value to students of gender studies and anthropology alike.