Universal human rights and non-Western normative systems: A comparative analysis of violence against women in Mexico and Pakistan

Review of International Studies

Volumn 33, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 59-74

  Bovarnick, Silvie ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33846561492     PISSN: 02602105     EISSN: 14699044     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0260210507007309     Document Type: Review

References (75)

1. Human Rights Watch, Women's Rights (http://www.hrw.org/wornen), last accessed on 30 August 2005.
2. These conferences included the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993), the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (1994), the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995), the World Summit for Social Development, in Copenhagen (1995), and Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century, 'Beijing+5', in New York (2000).
3. Amnesty International, Stop Violence Against Women: Worldwide Scandal, (http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/scandal-index-eng), last accessed on 30 August 2005.
4. In the context of this article, the term 'West' refers to Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I use this term, fully aware of its contested nature and the heterogeneity of its broad context, to purposely (over)simplify the construction of a predominant notion of a 'Western culture' which is underpinned by particular notions of justice, based on human rights and democracy.
5. Human Rights Watch, Women's Rights.
6. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against, women as any act of gonder-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life'. Article 2 further specifies that 'violence against women' shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
7. (b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
8. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs. UNHCR, The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, 〈http://wwwl.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/e4devw. htm〉, last accessed on 30 August 2005.
9. United Nations, Centre for Social Development, and Humanitarian Affairs, Violence against Women in the Family (New York: United Nations Publications, 1989).
10. NTI, Global Security Newswire (10/2001), 〈http://www.nti.org/ d_newswire/issues/newswires/ 2001_10_17.html〉, last accessed on 17 October 2001.
11. V. S. Peterson, 'Whose Rights? A Critique of the "Givens" in Human Rights Discourse', Alternatives, 15 (1995), pp. 303-44.
12. J.J. Pettman, Worlding Women: A Feminist International Politics (London: Routledge, 1996);
13. Zalewski, 'Well, What is the Feminist Perspective on Bosnia?', International Affairs, 71 (1995), pp. 339-56.
14. T. Bridges, "The Western Culture of Citizenship in the Clash of Civilisations', Philosophy and Civil Society, 〈http://www.civsoc. com〉, last accessed on 5 July 1998.
15. A. Pollis and P. Schwab (eds.), Human Rights: Cultural and Ideological Perspectives (New York: Praeger, 1979);
16. J. Bertin et al. (eds.), Human Rights In A Pluralist World: Individuals and Collectivities (Westport, CT & London: Meckler, 1990).
17. Pollis and Schwab, Human Rights: Cultural and Ideological Perspectives, pp. 1-18.
18. Ibid.
19. M. Afkhami (ed.), Faith & Freedom: Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World (London, New York: I.B. Taurus, 1995);
20. Yamani (ed.), Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives (Now York; Now York University Press, 1996).
21. N. El Saadawi, 'Creativity, Women and Politics', Middle East Centre for Women's Studies 1st Annual Conference with Amnesty International UK, 10 December 2000 (London: School of Oriental and African Studies).
22. V. Barshis, The Question of Marital Rape', Women's Studies International Forum, 6 (1998), p. 383.
23. D. Finkelhor and K. Yllo, License to Rape: Sexual Abuse of Wives (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985).
24. M. Hale, History of the Pleas of the Crown, vol. 1, 1680 (Emlyn (ed.), 1847).
25. D. Finkelhor and K. Yllo, License To Rape.
26. Following the victory of liberals under Benito Juárez over conservative landholders and the Catholic Church, the Mexican Constitution first appeared in 1857, consisting mainly of civil and political rights.
27. J. R. Accettola La flor de un sexenio: Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics (1995), 〈http://www.accettola.com/politicas/index.html〉 last accessed on 30 August 2005.
28. Amnesty International, Mexico: Unfair Trials, Unsafe Convictions (3/2003), 〈http://web.arnnesty.org/ library/Index/ENGAMR410072003? open&of=ENG-MEX〉, last accessed on 30 August 2005.
29. S. Del Valle, Catorce An∼os A Los Culpables De Violación Conyugal (Mexico DF: CIMAC, 1997), p. 1.
30. Ibid.
31. For a more detailed discussion see C. Pateman, The Sexual Contract (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988).
32. G. Rovira, Mujeres De Maiz (Mexico: Ediciones ERA, 2000), pp. 21-36.
33. Name changed to protect the identity of the victim.
34. Interview: Between June and September 2001, I undertook a research trip to Mexico during which I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with survivors of violence, women's and human rights agencies, indigenous groups, academics and government authorities. My field research was carried out in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla and Mexico City. All interviews were conducted in Spanish. Data resulting from these interviews are referenced as 'Interview(s)'.
35. Findings of the British Crime Survey (2001) show that in 54 per cent of rape cases the perpetrator is a current (45 per cent) or ex (9 per cent) partner of the victim. See S. Walby and J. Allen, Domestic Violence. Sexual Assault and Stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey, Home Office Research Study 276 (London: Home Office, 2004), p. ix.
36. Interview.
37. The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy Publications (CRLP), Women of the World: Latin America and the Caribbean - Progress Report 2000 (New York: CRLP, 2000).
38. Ibid., p. 57. Interview.
39. Rovira, Mujeres De Maiz, pp. 21-36.
40. S. S. Ali, A Comparative Study of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women: Islamic Law and the Laws of Pakistan (Warwick: The University of Warwick SRC, 1998), pp. 18-23.
41. Ibid.
42. The role of honour in Pakistan is of extraordinary importance and an adequate discussion is outside of the scope of this article. A discussion of honour can be found ibid., see n.34 above.
43. Ibid., p. 202.
44. In traditional Islam, women's sexuality is linked to the concept of fitna (chaos, which also means 'beautiful woman'), connoting sexual disorder provoked by beautiful women who make men lose their self-control. See Q. Amin, The Liberation of Women and The New Woman: Two Documents in the History of Egyptian Feminism (Cairo; The American University in Cairo Press, 2000),
45. and F. Mernissi, Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics, in Modern Muslim Society (London : Al Saqi, 1985), for further discussions.
46. A. M. Weiss, 'The Slow Yet Steady Path to Women's Empowerment in Pakistan', in Y. Yazbeck Haddad and J. L. Esposito (eds.), Islam, Gender, and Social Change (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 125.
47. See n.38 above.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. S. Haeri, "The Politics of Dishonor: Rape and Power in Pakistan', in M. Afkhami (ed.), Faith & Freedom: Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World (London, New York: I.B. Taurus, 1995), pp. 168-9.
51. Haeri, 'The Politics of Dishonor', p. 169.
52. Ibid.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
55. Although men can, in theory, be equally accused and tried for adultery as women, their chances of escape is in practice much greater due to women's reduced mobility. See N. Shah, 'Role of the Community in Honour Killings in Sindh', in N. Hussain, S. Mumtaz and R. Saigol (eds.), Engendering the Nation-State (Lahore, Pakistan: Simorgh Women's Resource and Publication Centre, 1997), pp 242-59.
56. Y. Hassan, 'The Fate of Pakistani Women', International Herald Tribune (25 May 1999).
57. R. Marcus, Violence against Women in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Senegal and Yemen (Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, 1993), pp. 9-11.
58. Gendercide Watch, Case Study: 'Honour' Killings and Blood Feuds, 〈http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html?FACTNet〉, last accessed on 30 August 2005.
59. Islam restricts sexual relations to marriage for both men and women. The institutions of polygamy and concubinage, however, allow men legally to maintain sexual relations with more than one woman while restricting women's sexual contact to her husband. Although rare nowadays in Pakistan, systems of concubinage were traditionally permitted in Islam, according to which a man could maintain sexual relations with his female slaves in addition to his wives. Comcubinage was traditionally based on the assumption that, men have a higher sex drive than women. See: R. Mehdi, The Islamization of the Law in Pakistan (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1994), p. 161.
60. Shah, 'Role of the Community in Honour Killings'.
61. Unpublished Report: 'Evidence on Honour Killing in NWFP' VAW Forum NWFP in Collaboration with UNICEF Peshawar (January 2001), p. 5.
62. Shah, 'Role of the Community in Honour Killings'.
63. Ibid.
64. Ibid.
65. Ibid.
66. Ibid.
67. S. Goldenberg, 'A Question of Honour', The Guardian (27 May 1999).
68. Shah, 'Role of the Community in Honour Killings'.
69. Ibid.
70. B. Tibi, Im Schatten Allahs: Der Islam und die Menschenrechte (München: Piper Verlag, 1999).
71. H. Moghissi, Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Limits of Postmodern Analysis (London: Zed Books, 1999), p. 10.
72. Ali, The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination, pp. 198-224.
73. H. Afshar, 'Islam and Feminism: An Analysis of Political Strategies', in M. Yamani (ed.), Feminism & Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives (New York: New York University Press, 1996), p. 197.
74. A. Wadud, Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).
75. Ali, The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination, p. 17.