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Thanks
for your note to FEMINIST.COM.
Your note actually arrived just
as I felt like I have had one
too many conversations about
why we can't conflate the term
feminism with human rights.
My argument being that "human
rights" still needs a gender
lens. For instance, the grounds
for human rights abuses are
just beginning to take into
consideration such things as
rape as a weapon of war. Similarly,
"asylum" for reasons of human
rights has only had hints of
including female genital mutilation
in their list of accepted reasons.
There are a few organizations
who have been initiating these
conversations over the past
many years, too. Specifically,
there is Equality
Now, under the leadership
of Jessica Neuwirth, and also,
the Center
for Women's Global Leadership,
under the leadership of Charlotte
Bunch. Both are trying to "feminize"
human rights--and, therefore,
may be appropriate places to
contact for more specifics.
Unfortunately, I am not familiar
enough with "legal theory and
international documents" to
know if the "term gender..include[s]
sexual orientation." However,
I wouldn't think so, given that
the former has to do with gender
and the latter with sexual preference--regardless
of gender. Likewise, I am not
familiar enough with the UN's
past and/or present to know
what their current approach
is. However, based on what I
know about the UN's approach,
I would conclude that the UN
hasn't yet gotten to a focus
on women's rights--therefore,
it doesn't seem likely that
it would have moved from women
to human rights, but vice versa.
Contacting the above mentioned
organizations might help to
answer both of your questions.
—Amy
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