Pathways is a partnership linking academics, activists and practitioners analysing what works to empower women. openDemocracy brings you the analysis and views of women working around the world. Earlier articles in this dialogue included contributions by Srilatha Batliwala, Andrea Cornwall, Mulki Al-Sharmani, Cecilia Sardenberg, Takyiwaa Manuh (you can also listen to Takyiwaa's interview here), Firdous Azim, Naila Kabeer, Emily Esplen, Ana Alice Alcântara and Rosalind Eyben. See also the related blog.

We would like to thank The Barrow Cadbury Trust and IDS,Sussex University, for supporting this project.

Women in post-earthquake Haiti: moving beyond survival

Yifat Susskind 26 May 2013

Haitian women who are living and organising in the displacement camps, together with international partners, have produced an essential blueprint for addressing rape. If adopted by the Haitian Parliament as revisions to the Haitian legal code, this would be a major advancement in legislation addressing gender-based violence and discrimination, says Yifat Susskind.

Sexual violence, access to justice, and human rights

Madeleine Rees 20 May 2013

The patriarchal framework of justice which reflects gendered stereotypes, cultural and traditional prejudice has to change. Whilst there is slow progress in implementation, international law is drifting inexorably into recognising the integrated role of human rights in addressing sexual violence, Madeleine Rees analyses how this can be done

Beyond war: women transforming militarism, building a nonviolent world

Scilla Elworthy 20 May 2013

If we want to ensure that humanity is not doomed to repeat its bloodiest century, the logical move would be to mount an international campaign to see that competent women are swiftly accepted into policy-making positions in all conflict countries, says Scilla Elworthy

Legacy of a feminist revolutionary

Kathleen B Jones 13 May 2013

American radical feminist Shulamith Firestone was a leading theorist of 70s feminism who died a lonely death last summer. Responding to Susan Faludi’s psychological profile of Firestone in The New Yorker last month, Kathleen B. Jones examines Firestone’s contribution to women’s liberation

Italy's inconvenient women: in praise of Laura Boldrini and Cecile Kyenge

Leonardo Goi 13 May 2013

The treatment of politicians Laura Boldrini and Cecile Kyenge highlights the persistent problem of the abuse of women in Italy's public sphere. This cannot be dismissed as just a debate about censorship. Italy’s gender question is a wound left unhealed. 

Zimbabwe: women debunking the myth of 'merit'

Jessie Fungayi Majome 13 May 2013

In preparation for Zimbabwe's forthcoming general election, the use of quotas to increase women’s occupation of political office remains one of the most effective tools for countering the patriarchal barrier to women of ‘merit’, says opposition MP Jessie Fungayi Majome.

The future is ‘smart’ but is it equal? African women’s digital agency

Fatimah Kelleher 6 May 2013

As mobile and smartphone use expands across Africa, Fatimah Kelleher asks what role African women play in digital futures, and how we build a more egalitarian digital present where African women can fully use and become more active in technological innovation.

Hope of a migrant

Marissa Begonia 29 April 2013

'Domestic work is the beginning of all labour; it is central to our lives and is at the heart of our economy and society.' Three years on from her award-winning article 'Cry of a migrant', Marissa Begonia reflects on the ongoing fight for the rights of migrant domestic workers in Britain. 

A call to engender Turkey’s peace process

Yakin Erturk 17 April 2013

Turkey’s agenda for peace aims to overcome the decades-old Kurdish question and raise democratic standards. While welcoming this initiative, Yakin Ertürk questions whether the end of conflict will bring peace to women if gender equality issues are not adequately addressed

India's anti-rape movement: redefining solidarity outside the colonial frame

Amrit Wilson 8 April 2013

The horrific rape of a student sparked a remarkable movement against sexual violence in India which has forced the government to change the laws on gender violence. While the struggle continues, a new organisation in Britain, the Freedom Without Fear Platform, redefines the notion of solidarity.

1% Feminism

Linda Burnham 8 April 2013

Since Sheryl Sandberg has taken it upon herself to jump-start the stalled feminist revolution it’s worth taking a look at the brand of feminism she espouses, says Linda Burnham 

The politics of sexual harassment in Spain

Liz Cooper 8 April 2013

A scandal related to women’s rights and the socialist party in Spain, PSOE, broke out last month on International Women’s Day. Liz Cooper looks at a case of sexual harassment by politicians at work that is at the heart of the current row in the PSOE.

A war against women: The CSW declaration and the Muslim Brotherhood riposte

Hoda Elsadda 3 April 2013

The statement issued by the Muslim Brotherhood in response to the UN Commission on the Status of Women draft Agreed Conclusions on violence against women, is nothing short of an assault on their most basic rights as citizens and human beings, says Hoda Elsadda ,

Will academia ever graduate from sexism?

Heather McRobie 18 March 2013

From the sexism of fresher’s week to under-employment after they graduate, to the closed walls of the highest echelons of academic institutions, Britain is failing its female students - even as their grades continue to rise

Panzi hospital: a critical pulse for justice, peace and health

Jessica Horn and Leah Teklemariam 18 March 2013

Congo's women survivors, standing in solidarity with Dr Mukwege and his staff at Panzi hospital, have become donors to their own cause and catalysts for deep social change.  Who is standing alongside them and the hospital patients to ensure that their transformative work continues? 

Women and the post-2015 agenda: are you on board the ark?

Alice Welbourn 18 March 2013

With the roller-coaster of the CSW just finished and the resignation of UNWomen Director Michelle Bachelet, the next year promises stormy seas ahead for setting the future agenda for women’s rights. Alice Welbourn sets out some priorities for civil society in relation to HIV, gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive rights.

The cost of masculine crime

Cynthia Cockburn and Ann Oakley 8 March 2013

Men are, by a huge margin, the sex responsible for violent, sexual and other serious crime. The economic cost of this ‘masculine excess’ in delinquency is staggering - to say nothing of its emotional toll. Why is the social shaping of masculinity not an urgent policy issue?

Afghanistan: the blind pursuit of peace and reconciliation

Massouda Jalal 6 March 2013

Our peace process is a vessel for enabling more human rights violations to ensue in the near future. We need the international community to join us in strengthening the human rights of Afghan women. Let no country stand alone in protecting its people, says Massouda Jalal

Beyond a war of words: will the UN agree to act to end violence against women?

Valeria Costa-Kostritsky 4 March 2013

The 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women opens today with member States - and thousands of women's rights advocates and organisations - set to debate how to end violence against women. Valeria Costa-Kostritsky reports from New York

'Traditional values' vs human rights at the UN

Maggie Murphy 18 February 2013

A dangerous process is taking place in the UN system that threatens the universality of human rights by seeking to make them contingent on subjective ‘traditional values’ such as ‘responsible behaviour’.

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