Women, law and human rights : an African perspective /
Fareda Banda.
- Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Hart Pub., 2005.
- 1 online resource (xlv, 407 pages)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-391) and index.
Half Title Page; Half Title verso; Title Page; Title verso; Preface; Acknowledgements; Contents; Table of Cases; Statutes and Legal Materials; 1. Introduction; 2. Law in Africa; 3. Human Rights in Africa; 4. Family Law, Gender Equality and Human Rights; 5. Violence against Women and Reproductive Rights; 6. Female Genital Cutting, Human Rights and National Legislation; 7. Culture, Development and Participation; 8. Conclusion; Appendix A; Appendix B; Bibliography; Index.
Africa, with its mix of statute, custom and religion is at the centre of the debate about law and its impact on gender relations. This is because of the centrality of the gender question and its impact on the cultural relativism debate within human rights. It is therefore important to examine critically the role of law, broadly constructed, in African societies. The book focuses on women's experiences in the family. This is because the lives of women continue to be lived out largely in the private domain, where the right to privacy is used to conceal unequal treatment of women which is justifi.