Towards Gender Equality in Law An Analysis of State Failures from a Global Perspective

This Open Access book aims to find out how and why states in various regions and of diverse cultural backgrounds fail in their gender equality laws and policies. In doing this, the book maps out states’ failures in their legal systems and unpacks the clashes between different levels and forms of law—namely domestic laws, local regulations, or the implementation of international law, individually or in combination. By taking off from the confirmation that the concept of law that is to be used in achieving gender equality is a multidimensional, multi-layered, and to an extent, contradictory phenomenon, this book aims to find out how different layers of laws interact and how they impact gender equality. Further to that, by including different states and jurisdictions into its analysis, this book unravels whether there are any similarities/patterns in how these states define and utilise policies and laws that harm gender equality. In this way, the book contributes to the efforts to devise holistic and universal policies to address various forms of gender inequalities across the world.

This volume will be of interest to scholars and students in Gender Studies, Sociology, Law, and Criminology.

Part I. Law is neutral?

Chapter 2. Stereo(typical) roles: Human rights versus gender stereotyping (by Olga Franczak)

Chapter 4. Judging divorce in Ben Ali’s Tunisia (by Sarah Grosso)

Part II. Law is coherent?

Chapter 5. Constitutional and legal guarantees for transgender in Pakistan: Reforms and backlashes in Law (by Amna Rashid and Umar Rashid

Chapter 6. Rural women’s land-use rights in China: Acceptance and enforceability (by Pia Eskelinen)

Chapter 7. One step further, two steps back: An analysis of Turkey’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention in addressing gender-based violence (by Gizem Guney)

Chapter 8. 21st century women solicitors in England and Wales: Inconsistency between equality law and its implementation in legal practice (by Julia Winstone)

Chapter 9. The enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights: A case study of sex workers in Kenya (by MaryFrances Lukera)

Chapter 10. The Gender Violence Act: Criminalising machismo advertising in Spain (by David Davies)

Part IV. Law is popular?

Chapter 11. Gender as a danger: Backlash against the notion of ‘gender’ and the law on gender equality in Armenia (by Siran Hovhannisyan)

Chapter 12. Hate speech law and equality: A cautionary tale for advocates of ‘stirring up gender hatred’ offences (by Jen Neller)

Chapter 13. Conclusion (by David Davies, Po-Han Lee, and Gizem Guney)