Women International Law Part 6

Women International Law Part 6

 

60

ANALYZING WOMEN’S USE OF THE INTERNET THROUGH THE RIGHTS DEBATE
Reem Bandi
Chicago-Kent Law Review
Volume 75, Number 3, 2000 p.869

LAW JOURNAL / LAW REVIEW

Women’s use of the Internet has received very little attention from feminist legal commentators. While they increasingly turn to it as a source of information and as an advocacy tool, feminist legal scholars and advocates have failed to analyze the Internet in terms of its significance to women. In this Essay, Bandi argues that feminists must be concerned that access to the Internet is often limited to relatively privileged women in relatively privileged countries. Yet, we can harness the Internet in the promotion of women’s rights and recognize it as an important feminist medium, as long as we understand its strengths and take its shortcomings into consideration. Indeed, the strengths and shortcomings of the Internet parallel to a large extent those identified by feminists in the rights debate; and the rights debate provides an established framework for assessing the Internet’s efficacy – in particular, its role in the feminist agenda of promoting dignity and equality for women. Bandi thus begins her analysis of the Internet on the familiar terrain laid out by the feminist debate over rights claims. First, she briefly sets out the debate over rights in the context of international human rights law and the evolving norms of violence against women. Next, she turns to the Internet and seeks to draw parallels between the rights debate and the Internet’s efficacy in advancing women’s rights. Finally, Bandi discusses the need for vigilance and constant evaluation of our use of the Internet, identifying some strategies that can help make the Internet more accessible to women and women’s groups around the world.

61

The Inadequacy of International Human Rights Law to Protect the Rights of Women as Illustrated by the Crisis in Afghanistan
Eve McCabe
UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs
Volume 5, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2000-2001 p.419

LAW JOURNAL / LAW REVIEW

62

International Law: A Solution or a Hindrance Towards Resolving the Asian Comfort Women Controversy?
Timothy Tree
UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs
Volume 5, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2000-2001 p.461

LAW JOURNAL / LAW REVIEW

63

NOT MEETING THE STANDARD: U.S. ASYLUM LAW AND GENDER RELATED CLAIMS
Lindsay A. Franke
Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law
Volume 17, Number 3, Fall 2000 p.605

LAW JOURNAL / LAW REVIEW

This Note discusses United States asylum law and its application to gender-related claims by looking at a recent case, In re R-A-. In that case, the Board of Immigration Appeals denied asylum to a woman who had been the victim of severe domestic violence and could not get aid from her government. This note argues that the immigration laws, specifically, the “particular social group”category, should be interpreted to include recognition of gender-related claims like R-A-‘s. This interpretation is in line with international guidelines on human rights and with the INS’ own regulations for handling asylum claims from women.

64

WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN: WHAT CAN THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM DO?
Maryam Javaherian
Santa Clara Law Review
Volume 40, Number 3, 2000 p.819

LAW JOURNAL / LAW REVIEW

Islam is the basis of law in Iran. With the intent of preserving the teachings of Islam, the government of Iran strictly regulates the freedom of all Iranians-especially women. For example, under the law, women have half the value of men. Men and women are segregated in many facets of society, including education and receiving medical care. Women’s dress is also strictly regulated, with all women having to wear the hejab. Women are severely punished without due process, including receiving lashings and stonings, if they don’t follow the law. Women’s access to employment is also considerably limited. While these injustices continue, Iran is obligated under various international human rights treaties to guarantee women their human rights. Under these human rights treaties and various United Nations devices, the U.N. has monitored the status of women’s rights in Iran for a number of years. However, little has changed. This comment briefly describes the development and the current status of women’s rights in Iran. It also explains international human rights law and the treaties and devices that apply to Iran. This comment then analyzes whether the status of women’s rights in Iran violates international human rights law and whether the U.N. attempts at monitoring and improving such conditions have been effective. The author concludes that the current status of women’s rights in Iran clearly violates international human rights law and that the current U.N. system of enforcing and monitoring human rights fails to adequately ensure Iran’s compliance with its human rights obligations. The author proposes that legal and social techniques, such as restructuring the existing international human rights system and promoting the development of non-governmental organizations in Iran, are necessary to improve the status of women’s rights in Iran.

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *