Women's Rights

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Below are groups and resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) related to this topic. Click on an item’s title to go its resource page with author, publisher, description/abstract and other details, a link to the full text if available, as well as links to related topics in the Subject Index. You can also browse the Title, Author, Subject, Chronological, Dewey, LoC, and Format indexes, or use the Search box.
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Connexions Library

Alexandra Kollontai and Red Love: Against The Current vol. 81
Ebert, Teresa L.
Article
1999
What is “Red Love”—and more specifically, what is a socialist, or more complexly, a communist theory of love and sexuality?
Angels of the Workplace: Women and the Construction of Gender Relations in the Canadian Clothing Industry, 1890-1940
Steedman, Mercedes
Book
1997
Examines how the intricate weaving together of the meanings of class, gender, ethnicity, family, and the workplace created a job ghetto for women. Detailing the disparities between men and women in te...
Beyond the Veil
Malik, Kenan
Article
2013
The question of the Muslim veil seems never to leave the headlines for long. The latest controversies have erupted in Britain after a defendant in a criminal trial demanded the right to wear a niqab i...
Canada's 1960s: The Ironies of Identity in a Rebellious Era
Palmer, Bryan D.
Book
2008
A history of social movements of the 1960s, including Canada’s student and anti-war movements, the rise of women’s liberation, labour agitation, and Quebec’s independence movement.
Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State
Fatah, Tarek
Book
2008
According to Tarek Fatah, "Morality is doing what is right, regardless what we are told; Religious dogma is doing what we are told, no matter what is right." Fatah argues that since Islam's advent, th...
Connexions: Volume 3, Number 5 - September 1978
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1978
Connexions Annual Resource and Reading List
Article
1989
A short and selective list of resources on issues addressed in the Connexions Annual, such as environment, education, peace, interntional development, women's issues, urban issues, housing, human rig...
Connexions Library: Women's Issues Focus
Website
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on women.
Daughters of India Violated and Abused : A Woman's Lot
Peebles, Graham
Article
2013
Widespread sexual abuse rapes the land and inflicts harm upon the women of India who are isolated from the emerging "New India".
Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizen
Gouges, Olympe de
Article
1791
Aware that women were being denied the new rights of liberty and property extended to all men by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, Gouges composed her own Declaration of the Rights of ...
The Emperor's New Penis: The Same Sexual Threats, the Same Silence for Women
Keith, Lierre; Jensen, Derrick
Article
2013
Right now the gender fundamentalists are doing their best to shut down dialogue. They've damaged books — books that don’t even mention their concern — pressured bookstores, and silenced speakers sched...
Equality: New Internationalist January/February 2004
Serial Publication (Periodical)
2004
A look at theories on the thought of equality and its progress in society.
Feminism vs. Marxism: Origins of the Conflict
Article
1974
Contrary to an opinion still subscribed to in certain circles, modern feminism did not emerge full-grown from the fertile womb of the New Left, but is in fact an ideological offspring of the utopian e...
Fernandez, Irene: Connexipedia: Right Livelihood Award Winner
Article
Malaysian advocate for the right of women, migrants, and poor workers. (Born 1946).
The Fight for Freedom for Women
Tremain, Rose
Book
1973
The fight for women's rights in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, primarily focusing on Britain and the USA.
Foremothers and Fathers: Against The Current vol. 139
Holmstrom, Nancy
Article
2009
Socialist feminism is usually said to have begun in the 1960s and ‘70s, but in fact it was a significant radical current 100-150 years ago.
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
Kristof, Nicholas D; WuDunn, Sheryl
Book
2009
Describes the health and situation of women worldwide by investigating issues such as rampant gendercide in the developing world and gender discrimation in the labour force. The authors aim to bring a...
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution
Eltahawy, Mona
Book
2015
A condemnation of the repressive political, cultural, and religious forces that reduce millions of women to second-class citizens.
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution: Book Review
Aspden, Rachel
Book
2015
One afternoon earlier this year, I stepped into the carriage of a Cairo metro train. I was on the way home from interviewing female students - all of them devout, veiled Muslims - who had been snatche...
A History of Women's Rights in Toronto
Aladejebi, Funké
Article
2017
Whether they were marching in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington or commemorating International Women's Day, women in Toronto have a longstanding tradition of advocating for gender equali...
Inside Iran: New Internationalist March 2007
Serial Publication (Periodical)
2007
A look at Iran from history to present. Discussion of women's rights and the youth of Iran.
International Women's Day: Connexipedia Article
Article
Marked on March 8 every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women.
The Invisible War
Dick, Kirby
Film/Video
2012
An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.
Iran: Compulsory veiling is abusive, discriminatory and humiliating; end the persecution of women for peacefully protesting against it
Amnesty International
Article
2018
Amnesty International criticizes Iran's compulsory veiling laws, arguing that they are not only harmful to women, but fundamentally unconstitutional.
Is that an archive in your basement... or are you just hoarding?: Sources News Release
Article
2012
Are you an 'accidental archivist'? Have you been saving the publications and documents produced by the social justice projects you've been involved in? Then Connexions would like to hear from you.
Machismo and Its Discontents: Against The Current vol. 134
Ferguson, Ann
Article
2008
The one clear memory I have of 1968 (as opposed to all those other antiwar and pro-civil rights struggles in which I was engaged in the 1960s and ‘70s) is that I was a member of a faculty ad-hoc group...
Marxism and women's oppression today
McGregor, Sheila
Article
2013
Times reflect how much in society in relation to women has changed, but also how much appears to have stayed the same.
My Stealthy Freedom: The Hijab in Iran and in the West
Mali, Malhar
Article
2017
An interview with Masih Alinejad, an outspoken critic of the forced hijab policy in Iran, about how the Islamic Revolution affected women, compulsory hijab laws, and her activism.
Not An Easy Choice: A Feminist Re-Examines Abortion
McDonnell, Kathleen
Book
1986
McDonnell describes the often conflicting needs and emotions experienced prior to and after abortion.
On Islam And Gender Equality
Sikand, Yoginder
Article
2009
A review essay on Salbiah Ahmad's book Critical Thoughts on Islam, Rights and Freedom in Malaysia.
Only in Conjunction With the Proletarian Woman Will Socialism Be Victorious
Zetkin, Clara
Article
1896
We must, first of all, learn how we ought to do our work among women.
Other Voices: The Connexions Newsletter - March 5, 2016: International Women's Day
Diemer, Ulli (ed.)
Serial Publication (Periodical)
2016
In this issue of Other Voices, we mark International Women's Day. An article written by Alexandra Kollontai in 1920 talks about the early history of this event, which grew out of a proposal put forwar...
Palestinian Women Suffer as Israel Violates CEDAW
Frykberg, Mel
Article
2009
Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Pankhurst, Emmeline: Connexipedia Article
Article
English women's suffrage movement leader. (1858-1928).
A Parable of Women's Liberation: Against The Current vol. 134
Tax, Meredith
Article
2008
Interview with Meredith Tax.
Pornography and the Sex Censors: A review of 'Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights,' by Nadine Strossen
Crossen, Cathy
Article
1996
The pornography debacle has driven deep wedges among feminists, and has weakened the women's movement by alienating many women who cannot relate to a perceived ethos of anti-sexuality, gender antagoni...
Power and Need in Africa: Basic Human Needs and Development Policies
Wisner, Ben
Book
1989
Ben Wisner makes a case for giving the poor of Africa the means to develop their own future. He shows how a new African renaissance could spring from a radical basic-needs approach. A renaissance whic...
The Power of Women United: Against The Current vol. 134
Dawson, Kipp
Article
2008
Interview with Kipp Dawson.
Radical Digressions 5
Diemer, Ulli
Website
2008
Red Emma Speaks: Selected Writings and Speeches by Emma Goldman
Goldman, Emma (edited by Shulman, Alix Kates)
Book
1972
A collection of essays which provide a comprehensive view of Emma Goldman's theories and beliefs.
Reproductive Rights Assaulted
Feeley, Dianne
Article
2014
Feeley examines the lack of rights American women have in regards to reproduction, abortion, and access to contraceptives as legislations currently in place bar women from having full coverage or info...
The rise of humanism and secularism in Iran
Namazie, Maryam
Article
2005
The backlash and opposition in Iran is at its essence strongly humanist, secularist and modern. You can see it clearly in the rational, popular, and spontaneous acts and the establishment of hundreds...
Rosa Luxemburg, Women's Liberation, and Marx's Philosophy of Revolution
Dunayevskaya, Raya
Book
1981
Part I - Rosa Luxemburg as Theoretician, as Activist, as Internationalist. Part II - The Women's Liberation Movement as Revolutionary Force and Reason. Part III - Karl Marx: From Critic of Hegel to Au...
Sex and Marriage in Utopian Communities in Nineteenth Century America: Nineteenth-Century America
Muncy, Raymond Lee
Book
1973
A look at original approaches to sex and marraige in the utopian communities of nineteenth-century America. Many of these communities abolished monogamy and individualism and sought ways of dealing wi...
Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writing From the Women's Liberation Movement
Morgan, Robin (Editor)
Book
1970
The first comprehensive collection of writings from the Women's Liberation Movement, including articles, poems, photographs, and manifestos.
Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol
Painter, Neil Irvin
Book
A biography of Sojourner Truth, a famous northern slave, born in the 1790's. A devout Christian, she came to symbolize the shame of slavery and the promise of women's emancipation.
State-Sponsored Violence Against Women: Against The Current vol. 121
Cervera, Julia Perez
Article
2006
The words of Latin American women continue to have no value to those who legislate, govern and administer justice. The permissiveness and omissions of state laws, institutions and functionaries in res...
The Struggle to Stop Female Genital Mutilation: Against The Current vol. 91
Brenner, Mark
Article
2001
In January, 1999 the Senegalese parliament joined several other African nations imposing a ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). At the time of the ban over 700,000 women -- approximately twenty per...
Suffrage (Voting Rights): Connexipedia Article
Article
The civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right.
Sweeter than Honey: Ethiopian Women and Revolution: Testimonies of Tigrayan Women
Book
1990
Through the voices of Tigrayan women-farmers, famine survivors and military commanders this book allows the reader to see what is happening in Tigray. Women have been working with the People's Liberat...
Synthesis: A review of events reported in the Canadian press - December 1977: Volume V Number 10
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1977
Synthesis is the journal of the Canadian News Synthesis Project. Previously known as the Canadian News Synthesis Project (1974 - 1976), Synthesis analyzes and presents current news coverage of the mos...
Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution
Rebick, Judy
Book
2005
Using interviews with many feminist activists, Rebick provides an oral history of feminism in Canada from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights
Boulder, Kamala Kempadoo (ed.)
Book
2005
This collection of essays underscores the interlocking relationship between prostitution, migration and trafficking. They reveal a deep seated anxiety about borders, economic resources and the fragili...
VAWA Must Pass to Protect All Women, Regardless of Race: The Fight Ahead
Hopkins, Ruth
Article
2013
No woman deserves to be beaten, raped, or killed, regardless of her race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
The Veil and Violence against Women in Islamist Societies
Namazie, Maryam
Article
2007
The ongoing battle between the Islamic authorities and women over the veil clearly reveals why it has become a symbol like no other of the violence women face under Islam and why 'improper' or 'bad' v...
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects
Wollstonecraft, Mary
Book
1792
Published in 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was the first great feminist treatise. Wollstonecraft preached that intellect will always govern and sought to persuade women to endeavour to ac...
What's all the fuss about the veil?
Namazie, Maryam
Article
2007
It is impossible to address the status of women under Islamic laws and defend women’s rights without addressing and denouncing the veil. And this is why the veil is the first thing that Islamists impo...
Which side are you on?
Majedi, Azar
Article
2009
The women's question has haunted the Islamic regime from the start. The Islamic Republic has been in continuous conflict with the women's liberation movement, which has grown considerably in the past ...
Why is India so bad for women?
Pidd, Helen
Article
2012
Of all the G20 nations, India has been labelled the worst place to be a woman. How is this possible in a country that prides itself on being the world's largest democracy?
Why make a fuss about the murder of a brown-skinned Muslim girl?
Diemer, Ulli
Article
2008
History gives us numerous examples of social movements which come, over time, to adopt positions directly opposed to the principles on which they were founded. It appears this has happened to the 'fem...
Women on the frontlines of Kurdish struggles: An interview with JI.NHA women's news agency
Corporate Watch
Article
2016
In 2015, Corporate Watch visited Bakur (meaning 'North' in Kurmanji), the Kurdish region within Turkey's borders. We interviewed two journalists from JI.NHA, an all-women news agency made up of mostly...
Women Rise Up Against Gender Violence in the Caribbean
Podur, Justin; Cummings, Joan Joy Grant
Article
2017
Podur interviews Joan Joy Grant Cummings, a women's right activist, regarding the severity of sexual violence towards women and girls in Jamaica.
Women's rights: What have men got to do with it?: New Internationalist November 2004
Serial Publication (Periodical)
2004
A look at the relations between men and women dealing with equality.
Women's Suffrage (Canada): Connexipedia: Article in the Canadian Encyclopedia
Article
Suffrage campaign in the late 19th century which aimed to achieve votes for all women as a democratic right.
Women's suffrage: Timeline of women's suffrage - Wikipedia: Connexipedia Article
Article
Timeline of women's suffrage activities around the world from the 18th to 21st century.
Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
Bennoune, Karima
Book
2013
Karima Bennoune interviews 300 people from 30 countries to report on a largely invisible group of people: Muslim opponents of fundamentalism. They remain largely invisible, lost amid the heated cover...
Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight against Muslim Fundamentalism, by Karima Bennoune (Book Review)
Droeber, Julia
Article
2013
Karima Bennoune, a US-based law scholar raised in Algeria, has written an account of the stories of numerous people whose lives have been scarred by Islamic fundamentalism and who decided, using a var...

Connexions Directory of Groups & Websites

Amnesty International, Canadian Section
Amnesty International is a worldwide human rights organization which works to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience, works for fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners, and works...
Association for Women's Rights in Development
AWID's mission is to connect, inform and mobilize people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
CRIAW is a national organization that promotes and disseminates feminist research through: a Bank of Researchers; research grants, awards and prizes; publication of research papers and research tools;...
Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation
A nonprofit organization concerned with all violations of human rights focusing on defending the rights of women against religious, cultural and social abuse.
Feminist.com
News, resources, links to activist pages dealing with women's rights and equality. Articles, speeches, documents. Classified ads.
Feminists for Free Expression
Feminists for Free Expression (FFE) is a group of diverse feminists working to preserve the individual's right to see, hear and produce materials of her choice without the intervention of the state "f...
Infact Canada/Infant Feeding Action Coalition
To promote better infant and maternal health by protecting breastfeeding and fostering appropriate infant feeding practices in Canada and internationally.
Institute for Global Communications
Internet provider for social justice organizations; groups five online communities: PeaceNet, WomensNet, EcoNet, LabourNet, and ConflictNet. News, articles, features, links to progressive issues.
Maquila Solidarity Network/Ethical Trading Action Group
The Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) is a labour and women's rights organization that supports the efforts of workers in global supply chains to win improved wages and working conditions and a better ...
MATCH International
To promote the welfare of women in Canada and overseas, by funding projects, while ephasizing a feminist vision of development.
METRAC (The Metro Action Committee on Public Violence )
Promotes the rights of women and children to live free from violence and threats of violence.
New Internationalist
New Internationalist reports on issues of world poverty and inequality. We focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide in the fight for global justice.
Ontario Council for International Cooperation
OCIC is a coalition of seventy organizations involved in international development and global education in Ontario which are active in Asia, Africa and Latin America. OCIC assists its members to co-or...
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
A coalition of 133 community-based immigrant and refugee service agencies located throughout the province of Ontario.
Organization for Women's Liberation - Iran
Organisation for Women's Liberation (OWL) was built on 14th December 2002 in direct response to the growing women's movement in Iran for equality and liberation The contemporary history of women's mov...
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977 as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human right...
White Ribbon Campaign
A campaign that encourages men to wear a white ribbon on December 6 to remember the Montreal massacre and to show their opposition to all types of violence by men against women.
Women Against Fundamentalism
Women Against Fundamentalism (WAF) was formed in 1989 to challenge the rise of fundamentalism in all religions. Its members include women from a wide range of backgrounds and from across the world. B...
Women Living Under Muslim Law
WLUML is an international solidarity network that provides information and support for those women whose lives have been shaped by the customs and/or laws of Islam. It extends to more 70 countries and...
Women's Legal Education and Action Fund
Uses the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to promote equality for women.
YWCA of Toronto
The YWCA of Metro Toronto is a voluntary association of women from all communities, working together to create better lives for women at home and abroad. For 120 years the YWCA's services and programs...

Sources Experts & Spokespersons

Sources Library

IFJ Condemns Strip Humiliation of Women Journalists in Sierra Leone
Sources News Release
2009
The International Federation of Journalists strongly condemns the humiliating and degrading treatment suffered by four women journalists who were stripped naked in public in Sierra Leone while coverin...
Iranian women's rights activists win first Reporters Without Borders netizen prize with support from Google
Sources News Release
2010
Reporters Without Borders has awarded the first #Netizen Prize# to the Iranian women#s rights activists of the Change for Equality (www.we-change.org) website.

From the Connexions Archives

New Internationalist
Serial Publication (Periodical)
New Internationalist reports on issues of world poverty and inequality. We focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide in the fight for global justice.
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
Website
Women opposed to the Taliban, to the Afghan government, and to the foreign forces in Afghanistan.