Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:30:38.758Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Regional Advocacy Networks and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2007

Melinda Adams  and
Alice Kang
Melinda Adams
Affiliation:
James Madison University
Alice Kang
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While there has been a significant amount of research on transnational feminist activism at the global level, many feminist transnational advocacy networks are mobilizing within world regions. The lack of attention to the regional level has created a considerable imbalance in research on transnational activism. This article's first objective is to define regional advocacy networks (RANs) as a collection of individuals and organizations from the same world region working together toward a common goal. The article's second objective is to explore the conditions under which RANs are influential. We investigate conditions for RAN success through a case study of an African network that helped create one of the world's most progressive treaties on women's rights, the African Union Protocol to the Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. From an analysis of primary sources and interviews with key participants, we suggest that three factors are crucial for network success: whether a RAN builds alliances with key politicians and civil servants, whether a RAN is able to participate in the decision-making process, and whether a RAN's goals overlap with the target institution's priorities. The broader implication of our study is that scholars seeking to understand the creation of women's rights commitments, the diffusion of women's rights norms, and compliance with women's rights treaties need to look beyond the international and domestic levels of action to include the regional level in their analyses.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 2007 , pp. 451 - 474
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

African Union. 2002. “Decision on the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Relating to the Rights of Women in Africa.” July 5–8. CM/Dec.39 (LXXIV).Google Scholar
African Union. 2003a. “Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.” March 28. MIN/WOM/RTS/DRAFT.PROT(II)Rev. 5.Google Scholar
African Union. 2003b. “Decision on the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Relating to the Rights of Women.” July 10–12. Assembly/AU/Dec.19 (II).Google Scholar
African Union. 2003c. “Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.” July 11. http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/women_en.html (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
African Union. N.d. “List of Countries Which Have Signed, Ratified/Acceded to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.” http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/List/Protocol%20on%20the%20-Rights%20of%20Women.pdf (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
AWCPD (African Women's Committee on Peace and Development). 2002. “Durban Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender and Women's Effective Participation in the African Union.” http://www.fasngo.org/en/whatnew/doc/pressjun02%20decla%20e.pdf (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Alvarez, Sonia. 1999. “Advocating Feminism: The Latin American Feminist NGO ‘Boom.’” International Feminist Journal of Politics 1(2): 181–209.Google Scholar
Alvarez, Sonia, et al. 2003. “Encountering Latin American and Caribbean Feminisms”. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 28(2): 537–79.Google Scholar
Basu, Amrita, ed. 1995. The Challenge of Local Feminisms: Women's Movements in Global Perspective. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Berkovitch, Nitza. 1999. From Motherhood to Citizenship: Women's Rights and International Organizations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Byanyima, Winnie. 2005. “Intervention.” African Union Commission's Technical Consultative Meeting on the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africahttp://www.africa-union.org/Gender/SOLEMN/Home.htm May 15, 2007.Google Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel. 2001. “Judicial Rulemaking and the Institutionalization of European Union Sex Equality Policy.” In The Institutionalization of Europe, ed. Stone Sweet, Alec, Sandholtz, Wayne, and Fligstein, Neil. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 113–36.Google Scholar
Clark, Ann Marie, Friedman, Elisabeth, and Hochstetler, Kathryn. 1998. “The Sovereign Limits of Global Civil Society: A Comparison of NGO Participation in UN World Conferences on the Environment, Human Rights, and Women”. World Politics 51(1): 1–35.Google Scholar
Desai, Manisha. 2005. “Transnationalism: The Face of Feminist Politics Post-Beijing”. International Social Science Journal 57(2): 319–30.Google Scholar
Dezalay, Yves, and Garth, Bryant, eds. 2002. Global Prescriptions: The Production, Exportation and Importation of a New Legal Orthodoxy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebeku, Kaniye. 2004. “A New Hope for African Women: Overview of Africa's Protocol on Women's Rights”. Nordic Journal of African Studies 13(3): 264–74.Google Scholar
Equality Now. 2003. “African Regional Consultation Meeting on the Draft Protocol on the Rights of Women.” January 4–5, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Farrell, Amy, and McDermott, Patrice. 2005. “Claiming Afghan Women: The Challenge of Human Rights Discourse for Transnational Feminism.” In Just Advocacy? Women's Human Rights, Transnational Feminisms, and the Politics of Representation, ed. Hesford, Wendy and Kozol, Wendy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 33–55.Google Scholar
FAS (Femmes Africa Solidarité). 2004. Women Building Peace in Africa: The Case of the African Women Committee on Peace and Development. Geneva.Google Scholar
FAS (Femmes Africa Solidarité). 2005. “African Gender Award.” http://www.africangenderawards.org/ (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
FDC (Foundation for Community Development). 2003. “Report on the Proceedings.” Women's Pre-Summit Meeting. Maputo.Google Scholar
Goetz, Anne Marie, and Hassim, Shireen, eds. 2003. No Shortcuts to Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making. New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Grewal, Inderpal, and Kaplan, Caren, eds. 1994. Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational Feminist Practices. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Hesford, Wendy, and Kozol, Wendy, eds. 2005. Just Advocacy?: Women's Human Rights, Transnational Feminisms, and the Politics of Representation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Imam, Ayesha, and Medar-Gould, Sindi. 2003. “Please Stop the International Amina Lawal Protest Letter Campaigns – For Now”. May 2. Women Living Under Muslim Laws News and Views. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd%5B157%5D=x-157-4556 (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Inter-American Commission of Women. 2001. “Second Biennial Report of the Inter-American Commission of Women on Compliance with Resolution AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97), “Promotion of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women, Convention of Belém Do Pará.” May 3. OEA/Ser.G, CP/doc.3440/01 rev. 1.Google Scholar
Joachim, Jutta. 2003. “Framing Issues and Seizing Opportunities: The UN, NGOs, and Women's Rights”. International Studies Quarterly 47(2): 247–74.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Khagram, Sanjeev, Riker, James and Sikkink, Kathryn, eds. 2002. Restructuring World Politics: Transnational Social Movements, Networks, and Norms. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
McAdam, Doug. 1996. “Conceptual Origins, Current Problems, Future Directions.” In Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings, ed. McAdam, Doug, McCarthy, John, and Zald, Mayer. New York: Cambridge University Press, 23–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendoza, Breny. 2002. “Transnational Feminisms in Question”. Feminist Theory 3(3): 295–314.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine. 2005. Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OAU (Organization of African Unity). 1981. “African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.” http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/charter_en.html (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
OAU (Organization of African Unity). 2001. “Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (as adopted by the Meeting of Government Experts in Addis Ababa on 16 November 2001).” November 22. CAB/LEG/66.6/Rev.1.Google Scholar
Narayan, Uma. 1997. Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third-World Feminism. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Risse, Thomas. 2002. “Transnational Actors and World Politics.” In Handbook of International Relations, ed. Carlsnaes, WalterRisse, ThomasSimmons, BethThousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 255–74.Google Scholar
Risse, Thomas, Ropp, Stephen, and Sikkink, Kathryn, eds. 1999. The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Seidman, Gay. 1999. “Gendered Citizenship: South Africa's Democratic Transition and the Construction of a Gendered State.” Gender & Society 13(3): 287–307.Google Scholar
Sikkink, Kathryn, and Smith, Jackie. 2002. “Infrastructures for Change: Transnational Organizations, 1953–93.” In Restructuring World Politics: Transnational Social Movements, Networks, and Norms, ed. Khagram, Sanjeev, Riker, James, and Sikkink, Kathryn. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 24–46.Google Scholar
Sperling, Valerie, Marx Ferree, Myra, and Risman, Barbara. 2001. “Constructing Global Feminism: Transnational Advocacy Networks and Russian Women's Activism”. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 26(4): 1155–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarrow, Sidney. 2005. The New Transnational Activism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tripp, Aili. 2003. “Women in Movement: Transformations in African Political Landscapes”. International Feminist Journal of Politics 5(2): 233–55.Google Scholar
Tripp, Aili. 2005. “Regional Networking as Transnational Feminism: African Experiences”. Feminist Africa 4. http://www.feministafrica.org/04-2005/2level.html (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
True, Jacqui, and Mintrom, Michael. 2001. “Transnational Networks and Policy Diffusion: The Case of Gender Mainstreaming”. International Studies Quarterly 45(1): 27–57.Google Scholar
Walby, Sylvia. 2004. “The European Union and Gender Equality: Emergent Varieties of Gender Regime”. Social Politics 11 (1): 4–29.Google Scholar
Wandia, Mary. 2004. “Rights of Women in Africa: Launch of Petition to the African Union.” June. http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1944.html (May 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Wing, Susanna. 2002. “Women Activists in Mali: The Global Discourse on Human Rights.” In Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics, ed. Naples, Nancy and Desai, Manisha. New York: Routledge, 172–88.Google Scholar
WiLDAF (Women in Law, and Development in Africa). N.d. “The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Additional Protocol on Women's Rights”. WiLDAF News.Google Scholar
Winslow, Anne, ed. 1995. Women, Politics, and the United Nations. Westport, CT: Greenwood.Google Scholar