Women’s political participation: An international overview of theory and policy

This course examines women's political participation in the South-East Asian, North and South American, European, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through the twin lenses of international human rights law and feminist theory. In the first two modules, we will study feminist theories of political participation and specific cases from all the aforementioned geographic regions. In the third and fourth module, we will take a legal and policy view and will explore foundational international legal instruments like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), comparing these to understand their impact and implications. The course will delve into the structure of CEDAW, including its Optional Protocol, and specific articles. In this way we seek to combine feminist political theory with empirical accounts of policymaking. Through this course we seek to deconstruct popular policy terminologies of ‘women and gender’ by posing queer and trans political participation accounts in our empirical and in-class discussions. We will discuss the barriers and obstacles women (and other gender/sexual minorities) face in these regions and analyze case studies to identify human rights violations.

1. Class participation (attendance and within-groups participation) 20%
2. Mid-term assignment: writing and reflection exercise. One pager. 20%
3. Final group work assignment: Poster presentations based on one single case of political participation. Groups will design their posters and present them in the last session of the course for the final grade. 60%

• Understand international legal frameworks for women's political participation.
• Analyze CEDAW's structure and specific articles 1 to 5.
• Examine cases of women’s political participation in the South-East Asian, North and South American, European and MENA regions.
• Identify barriers and obstacles to women's political participation.
• Apply theoretical knowledge to real-world cases through case studies.