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Women's Rights: A Selected Bibliography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2019

Extract

As the social and economic position of women changes, their legal status changes commensurately. Among the rights feminist women seek are the franchise; equal access to education; equal access to jobs yielding equal pay; subsidized nurseries; personal control of the body and its corollary, the availability of birth control and abortion; taxation without regard to marital status; and control of their property. Not all these desiderata are yet available in even the most advanced or enlightened state, although considerable progress is being made in some. In the United States of America, to illustrate, the most significant change in recent years has been in the job market, where many employers are now required by Federal law to set numerical goals for hiring women to fill traditionally male jobs as they become vacant. In many States, women are now permitted to work more than eight hours a day, they can no longer be restricted by weight-lifting laws, and where such laws exist they must be equally applicable to women. American women have a limited right to abortion, birth control is legally available, credit is opening to women as a result of the (nation-wide) Equal Credit Opportunity Act, airline stewardesses are permitted to work after they are married, pregnant women are not arbitrarily required to leave their place of employment, newspaper “classified” (job market) advertizing is no longer segregated by sex, and some progress has been made in the admission of women to traditionally male schools, Court award of child custody to fathers is becoming more common, as is a joint custody.

Type
Bibliographies
Copyright
Copyright © International Association of Law Libraries 1976 

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References

1 Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 756, 35 L.Ed. 2d 147 (1973).Google Scholar

2 Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 14 L.Ed. 2d 510 (1965).Google Scholar

3 Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691 et seq., 88 Stat. 1521, P.L. 93–495 (1974).Google Scholar

4 Sprogis v. United Air Lines, Inc., 444 F. 2d 1194 (7th Cir. 1971).Google Scholar

5 Cleveland Board of Education v. La Fleur, 414 U.S. 632, 94 S.Ct. 791, 39 L.Ed. 2d (1974).Google Scholar

6 Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, 413 U.S. 376, 93 S.Ct. 2553, 37 L.Ed. 2d 669 (1973).Google Scholar

7 Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed. 2d 551 (1972).Google Scholar

8 Two other legal treatises are: Sex roles in law and society: cases and materials, by Leo Kanowitz, Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1973. 706 p. and Barbara Allen Babcock, Ann E. Freedman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Susand C. Ross. Sex discrimination and the law – cases and remedies. Boston, Little, Brown & Co., 1975. 1092 p. These legal texts and Davidson, op. cit. supra., could be used as models for people writing treatises on women in developing countries or on an international basis.Google Scholar

9 Excellent articles on discrimination against women are:Google Scholar

McDougal, Myres S., Harold D. Lasswell and Lung-chu Chen. Human rights for women and world public order: the outlawing of sex-based discrimination. 69 American Journal of International Law 497–533 (1975). Examines the background to sex-based discrimination against women and those international law documents which are intended to proscribe such discrimination.Google Scholar

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader et al. The Status of women. 20 American Journal of Comparative Law 585–723 (1972). Partial contents: Great Britain, by Olive M. Stone; Sweden, by Gunvor Wallin; Norway, by Karin Bruzelius Heffermehl; France, by Daniele Alexandre; The Soviet Union, by Alice Erh-Soon Tay; Israel, by Plea Albeck; Senegal, by Maimouna Kane.Google Scholar

Lahav, Pnina. The status of women in Israel – myth and reality. 22 American Journal of Comparative Law 107–129 (1974).Google Scholar

Ginsburg, George. The role of law in the emancipation of women in The Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 23 American Journal of Comparative Law 613–652 (1975).Google Scholar

Taubenfeld, Rita Falk and Howard J. Taubenfeld. Achieving the human rights of women: the base line, the challenge, the search for strategy. 4 Human Rights 125–169 (Spring 1975).Google Scholar

Examines the status of women's rights in international law and suggests several types of reforms of the U.N. to advance women's rights.Google Scholar

1 Typically informative articles include:Google Scholar

Hern, Warren M. Is pregnancy really normal: 3 Family Planning Perspectives 5–10 (Jan. 1971). Goldsmith, S. Birth control and the new woman. 3 Family Planning Perspectives 64–66 (Apr. 1971). Moore, E. To S.F. my God, we've been telling you. 4 Family Planning Perspectives 2–4 (Jan. 1972). For African women, work, motherhood do not compete. 7 Family Planning Perspective 1–9 (1975). Germain, A. Women at Mexico: beyond family planning acceptors. 7 Family Planning Perspectives 235–238 (1975). Fortier, Lisa. Women, sex and patriarchy. 7 Family Planning Perspectives 278–281 (1975).Google Scholar

2 Vide, e.g., Alberta. Women's Bureau. Laws of interest to women. rev. Edmonton, Queen's Printer, 1970. 38 p. concerned with women's legal status.Google Scholar

Laws for Athenians. rev. 1974. Edmonton, Queen's Printer, 1974. 38 p. explains laws that concern women. Howarth, Joyce and Susan Secord. The Female Google Scholar

3 “None of the FAO publications deal specifically with women's rights, but rather have a broader orientation on women's economic and social contributions to agricultural and rural development.”Google Scholar

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Program of concerted international action to promote the advancement of women and their integration in development; status of rural women, especially agricultural workers; addendum; report. New York. 1973. 48 p. E/CN.6/583/Add.2. Strategies for change – FAO's involvement according to consultation with FAO officers – problems and prospects.Google Scholar

2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Women's groups in rural development: an evaluation of an approach to development in the special rural development areas through women's leaders and their groups. by Jennifer Berger, Linus Ettyany and Timothy Gatara. Pokos-Nairobi, 1975. 76 p. MI/H2496/E2.76/1/2000.Google Scholar

3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Women's leadership in rural development: report on a national workshop to coordinate and plan for the women's group programme. Institute of Adult Studies, Kikuyu, August 1974. Pokos-Nairobi, 1975. 26 p. 71. MI/H2498/E/ 2.76/1/2000.Google Scholar

4 Unesco has published a wealth of publications and kindly supplied a bibliography that can be found in appendix C, “Unesco reports, studies and publications on women.” It includes publications and periodicals dealing with education, science, social science, culture and communications. In education, for example 19 International Review of Education 1973 included articles on women, also 5 Prospects (quarterly review of education) no. 3. 1975; Training for Agriculture and Rural Development (annual review) 1975; 8 Convergence no. 1. 1975. See also 20 Impact of Science on Society (Jan-Mar. 1970) issue on “Women in the age of Science and Technology” 25 Impact of Science on Society. (April–June 1975) “Women in Science: a man's world.” In social science 14 International Social Science Journal no. 1. 1962. “Image of women in Society.” International Social Science Journal – an authoritative international review of scholarship on topics of interest and significance in the social science. Other publications are Unesco Chronicle, a monthly bulletin on the Organization's activities which carries articles on women's rights, Unesco Courier a monthly in English, French and Spanish.Google Scholar

5 Szalai, Alexander. The situation of women in the United Nations. New York, UNITAR, 1973. 49 p. (Research report no. 18).Google Scholar

6 Young Women's Christian Association. Montreal. Women's Center. Women and the law in Quebec. Montreal, YWCA Women's Center, 1974. 32 p.Google Scholar

Young Women's Christian Association. Roles of Women Study Committee. Bibliography. Rev. ed. Montreal, 1966. 47 p.Google Scholar

Strategy for knowing how: papers on vocational training prepared as a result of World WYCA Consultation held in Athens, Greece, November 1970. Geneva, World Young Women's Christian Association, 1971. 70 p.Google Scholar

Alliance Universelle des Unions chrétiennes de jeunes filles. Women and the economy: focus for the year 1975. Geneva: World Young Women's Christian Association, 1974. 38 p.Google Scholar

World Young Women's Christian Association. People on the move. Geneva.Google Scholar

World Young Women's Christian Association, 1974. 43 p.Google Scholar

7 The United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women issues many publications and some of them are:Google Scholar

United Nations. Commission on the Status of Women. Study on the interrelationship of the status of women and family planning; report of the special Rapporteur. New York, 1973. 102 p. E/CN.6/575/Add.1Google Scholar

Partial contents: The concept of family planning. – The importance of family planning for women as individuals and its impact on their roles in society. –The status of women as a factor influencing fertility. – Implications for the status of women of current population trends.Google Scholar

Partial contents: The concept of family planning. Study on the interrelationship of the status of women and family planning; report of the special Rapporteur. New York, 1974. 58 p. E/CN.6575/Add.2Google Scholar

Partial contents: The concept of family planning. Consideration of proposals concerning a new instrument or instruments of international law to eliminate discrimination against women; report of the working group to the Commission on the Status of women. New York, 1974. 21 p. E/CN.6/574.Google Scholar

8 Galey, Margaret E. International protection of women's rights; preliminary report. New York, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace. 1975. 24 p. p. 4: “Establishment, Structure and Procedures of the Commission”. The United Nations formal interest in women's rights is set forth in the Charter, as noted above. Notwithstanding the preambular paragraph and the several Charter articles, the Charter did not call for the establishment of a Commission on the Status of Women, though in Article 68 it provided for a commission to promote human rights.Google Scholar

At its first session, the Economic and Social Council established by Resolution 5(I) a Sub-Commission on the Status of Women to advise the Commission on Human Rights on the special problems of women. During the Council's second session, the United States proposed that the Sub-Commission be raised to a full commission reporting to the Council in recognition of special problems of the status of women in the World. The Economic and Social Council approved this change in Resolution 11 (II) of 21 June 1946, and later amended the Commission's terms of reference to read:Google Scholar

To prepare recommendations and reports to the Economic and Social Council and educational fields, and on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights with the object of implementing the principle that men and women shall have equal rights.”Google Scholar

9 Id. at pp. 910 Google Scholar

10 According to Politica No. 22423 of March 9, 1976 p. 3:Google Scholar

“In Brussels, Belgium, an extraodinary International Court is in session. It bears the official title of the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women. About 700 women from 27 countries are taking part in this proceeding as delegates or respective women's organizations. At the beginning of this proceeding it was pointed out the goal of this proceeding is to create a public judgement against women's discrimination, as well as the appearance of more and more violations on women. The well known French writer Simone de Beauvoir, prevented by sickness from taking part in this proceeding, in a letter of greeting called it ‘A great historical event which marks the beginning of a radical decolonization of women.’ Belgian delegate Nicol von de Ven opened the session of the Women's International Court. “Google Scholar

Za “dekolonizaciju zena”. U Briselu zaseda neobican megunarodni sud. Zvanicno nosi naziv Prvi Megunarodni Tribunal o Zlocinima Protiv Zena. Oko 700 zena iz 27 raznih zemalja ucestvuje na ovom sugenju kao delegati pojedinih zenskih organizacija. Na pocetku zasedanja izneto je da jecilj suda da izazove javnu osudu neravnopravnog polozaja zena, kao i pojavu ucestalih nasilja razne vrste nad zenama. Poznata francuska knjizevnica Simona de Bovoar, sprecena bolescu da prisutvuje ovom sastanku, nazvala ga je u pozdravnom pismu “veliki istoriski dogadgaj koji obelezava pocetak radikalne dekolonizacije zena”. Also appeared in La Libre Belgique, March 5, and 9. 1976.Google Scholar