Political Worlds of Women: Activism, Advocacy, and Governance in the Twenty-First Century

449 Pages·2012·3.93 MB·English

by  Mary Hawkesworth

Political W or lds
of Women

POLITICAL
WORLDS
OF W OMEN
Activism, A dvocacy,
and Gover nance in the
Twenty-First C entury
MARY HA WKESWORTH
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hawkesworth, M. E., 1952–
Political worlds of women: activism, advocacy, and governance in the twenty-first
century / Mary Hawkesworth.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8133-4495-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8133-4496-6 (e-book)
1. Women political Activists—History—21st century. 2. Sex discrimination against
women. 3. Women’s rights. 4. Feminism.
I. Title.
HQ1236.H395 2012
320.90082—dc23
2011046762

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Ruth B. Mandel

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
List of Images xv
Political Worlds of Women: Introduction 1
Strategies of Political Analysis 2
Comparative Assessment 3
Multilevel Analysis 4
Feminist Theorizing in Context 5
Tracing Historical Change 6
Expanding Political Frames 8
From Individual and Institutional Analysis
to Structures of Oppression 11
Chapter Overview 14
I. Political Leadership, Gendered Institutions,
and the Politics of Exclusion 25
Women in Executive Offices 27
Women in National Legislatures 27
Explaining Women’s Continuing Absence 32
Gendered Institutions and the Politics of Exclusion:
Historical Precedents 33
Body Politics in the American and French Revolutions 35
The Consolidation of Separate Spheres 41
Political Parties and the Politics of Exclusion:
Contemporary Practices 43
Conclusion 45
II. From Demography to Development:
Women’s Worlds and the Politics of Knowledge 46
Global Gender Demographics 48
Life Expectancy 50
Gender Ratios 50
vii
viii CONTENTS
Marriage and Divorce 51
Pregnancy and Childbearing 51
Women’s Labor 52
Migration 57
War and Displacement 60
Development 66
Modernization Theory as Policy Practice 67
Gender and Gendering in Development Policies 71
Women and Development: Reproduction and “Welfare” 73
Women in Development: 75
The Virtues of Waged Labor in the Formal Sector
Gender and Development 78
Sustainable Development 81
Conclusion 81
III. Producing Raced-Gendered Citizens 85
Liberty, Equality, and Citizenship: Classical Liberal Presumptions 86
The Political Demarcation of Public and Private Spheres 88
Producing Raced-Gendered Citizens 92
Birthright and Its Suspension 92
Miscegenation Laws: Crafting the Complexion of Citizens 94
Immigration 95
The Discursive Production of Raced-Gendered Citizens 99
Welfare Policy 100
Biopower 108
Conclusion 112
IV. From the Politics of Identity to Identity Politics 113
Dispelling Caricatures of Identity Politics 115
The Politics of Identity 119
The Microphysics of Power: Regulating Dress 119
Patrolling National Borders: Marriage and Reproduction 124
Reproducing Servility 126
Sexual Terror as Feminizing Practice 127
Femicide 130
Making Injustice Visible and Actionable 133
Identity Politics 138
Struggling for Visibility 139
Expanding the National Imaginary 142

Challenging Political Homophobia 143
Securing Constitutional Rights and Recognition 145
Transnational Strategies for Sexual Democracy 147
Conclusion 149
CONTENTS ix
V. Engaging the State 151
Competing Conceptions of the State 154
The Struggle for Equal Citizenship 159
The Quest for Equality in the United States 159
Activism and Advocacy in Comparative Perspective 165
Women’s Movements and Democratization in Latin America 165
Women’s Movement Activism at the Grassroots in India 169
Feminist Civil Society: From Interest Groups to NGOs 171
NGOs in Postsocialist States 174
The European Women’s Lobby: 177
Coordinating Gender Equality Initiatives
Engaging the State in Africa: 181
From Apartheid to the War on Terror
Mobilizing for Equality in South Africa 181
Engaging the State in Morocco 184
Conclusion 185
VI. Becoming the State 187
Portraits of Women Heads of State 190
Routes to Power: From Kinship to Quotas 193
Political Parties and the Gender Politics of Partisanship 195
Strategies to Limit Male Dominance 196
Reserved Seats 198
Voluntary Party Quotas 201
Mandatory Quotas 201
Challenges in Governing: Gender Politics in Office 203
Obstacles Confronting Women in Political Office 206
Conclusion 214
VII. Promoting Equality Through Policymaking and Policy 217
Equality Policies: From Women’s Machinery to State Feminism 219
Women’s Policy Machinery 220
State Feminism 225
Policy Interventions: Violence Against Women 228
Brazil’s Delegacia da Mulher (Women’s Police Station) 229
Family Courts in India 232
Gender Mainstreaming 234
Comparative Approaches to Gender Mainstreaming 238
The Politics of Equality 245

Conclusion 247
VIII. International and Transnational Political Activism 249
Activism Within International Institutions 251
The UN Commission on the Status of Women and CEDAW 252