Women, law and human rights : an African perspective / Fareda Banda.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Banda, Fareda, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights--Africa.

Human rights.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc--Africa.

Women.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (407 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Portland, OR : Hart Publishing, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Africa, with its mix of statute, custom and religion is at the centre of the debate about law and its impact on gender relations. This is because of the centrality of the gender question and its impact on the cultural relativism debate within human rights. It is therefore important to examine critically the role of law, broadly constructed, in African societies. The book focuses on women's experiences in the family. This is because the lives of women continue to be lived out largely in the private domain, where the right to privacy is used to conceal unequal treatment of women which is justified by invoking 'custom' and 'tradition'. The book shows how law and its interpretation is used to disenfranchise women, resulting in their being deprived of land and other property which they may have helped to accumulate. It also considers issues of violence within the home, reproductive rights and examines the issue of female genital cutting. The role of women in development is explored as is their participation in politics and the NGO sector. A major theme of the book is a consideration of the linkages of constitutional and international human rights norms with local values. This is done using feminist tools of analysis. The book considers the provisions of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women which was adopted by the African Union in July 2003

Contents:

1 Introduction

2 Law in Africa

3 Human Rights in Africa

4 Family Law, Gender Equality and Human Rights

5 Violence against Women and Reproductive Rights

6 Female Genital Cutting, Human Rights and National Legislation

7 Culture, Development and Participation

8 Conclusion

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [337]-391) and index.

ISBN:

9786610800735

9781472563460

1472563468

9781280800733

1280800739

9781847311832

1847311830

OCLC:

173818907

Publisher Number:

9781841131283 (hard)