Two steps forward, one step back?: The field of women's human rights

Abstract

This article offers an overview of the genesis of women�s human rights and some of the debates surrounding them. It argues that, despite the considerable international activity relating to women�s human rights, these rights have fragile protection. It begins by examining the development of women�s human rights, and then moves to how women�s rights are viewed today: with their articulation and expansion under Optional Protocols,regional Conventions and UN General Comments, and the critiques of general human rights norms from a feminist perspective. It ends with proposals for the future of women�s rights, particularly the need to counter the perceived conflict between �culture� and women�s rights, and to challenge conservative development via feminist methods to promote women�s rights.