" Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression."- bell hooks

A Brief Review:

Feminism thinking entered International Relations as a response to the overwhelming focus on conflict and the state system.

• moved to consider individuals within states
• moved toward analysis of marginalized peoples
• moved toward considering security issues that not only impacted states but also individuals in their daily lives.
• demonstrated that gender rolls were an active component of International Relations.

Empirical Feminism: Counting in the lives of women.

• documenting the lives of women
  • documentation gender based policy and institutions.
  • women's activism
  • counts the number of women in contrast to men in policy making decisions.

Analytical Feminism: Seeks to demonstrate that the field of international relations is constructed around gender biases.

• "The ontology of realist International Relations theory conceives the private sphere, like the international sphere, as a natural realm of disorder. The lower being, represented by women , the body and the anarchical state system, must be subordinated to the higher being, represented by men, the rational mind, state authority." (252 True)  
• State attempt to operationalize these biases to construct a coherent identity and to form policy.
• Terms such as 'power' and 'security' reflect hegemonic notions of masculinity

Normative Feminism: Seeks to transform how international relations is done.

• challenges the concept of gender
  • There are other dimensions of oppression beyond gender
  • "Gender is not the same everywhere"-True
• There is not one version feminism

Feminism in the International arena

• 1979:Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children (2003)
• July 2010: creation of UN women merging previous divisions dedicated to human rights

Since 1990s-2000s 'gender' seen as increasingly important for tool for international organizations working in conflict zones or seeking to change development policy.

• 1990-1997:Women in development project, World Bank
  • ​improve income, welfare and perception of women
• 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, UN 
  • "determined to advance the goals of equality, development, and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity"
• 1993 Women for Women International
  • works in conflict zones to provide women with business training, knowledge about reproductive health and family nutrition to become economically  and socially empowered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE2zjt0jDPc

Phumzile Mambo Ngcuka

Dissemination of policy