EXPLORING THE ROUTE FROM NAIROBI TO BEIJING PLUS TWENTY: FEMINIST ACTIVIST REFLECTIONS ON RIGHTS ADVOCACY by Susan Margaret Bazilli B.A., Queen’s University, Canada, 1978 LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, Canada, 1984 LL.M., University of British Columbia, Canada, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Law) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2019 © Susan Margaret Bazilli, 2019 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Exploring the Route from Nairobi to Beijing Plus Twenty: Feminist Activist Reflections on Rights Advocacy submitted by Susan Margaret Bazilli in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Law Examining Committee: Margot Young Supervisor Lisa Sundstrom Supervisory Committee Member Rebecca Johnson Supervisory Committee Member Nora Angeles University Examiner Debra Parkes University Examiner ii Abstract This dissertation consists of five written chapters and a film chapter. The thesis explores how a selected sample of feminist activists used certain international human rights mechanisms and processes within the United Nations (UN) over a thirty-year period, from 1985 to 2015, to achieve women’s equality and human rights. The findings document the opinions and perceptions of forty-five feminist activists working in the transnational feminist movement. The written chapters situate the historical context of that thirty-year time frame within UN world conferences, outline the methodology of the research process and the making of the film, and share the research findings. A review of feminist scholarship is provided on feminist movement theory, violence against women, and international human rights law and policy. The research shows that these feminists believe that engaging with the UN system has strengthened some women’s organizations and coalitions through networking and sharing of strategies. They think that their work has resulted in changes to the UN system itself and to international law and policy on issues of women’s rights, especially violence against women. They believe that global and local perspectives work together as part of a dynamic, intersectional paradigm, wherein different actions and objectives call for different strategies, both globally and domestically. The conclusion reviews current debates about whether and how the transnational women’s movement should continue to engage with the UN system. iii Lay Summary The thesis consists of five written chapters and a film chapter. The objective was to seek out the opinions of the selected forty-five women’s rights activists on how they saw working with the UN as a strategy to gain women’s equality. My research shows that the non- representative sample of interviewees believe that activism and advocacy must be done at both the international and local level in order to have the greatest impact on women’s lives. They believe that engaging with the UN system has strengthened women’s organizations and coalitions through the networking and sharing of strategies and ideas. They see changes to the UN system itself and to international law and policy on issues of women’s rights, especially violence against women. They believe that the work of feminist activism and advocacy must be done at both the international and local level, and that different strategies call for different actions, globally and domestically. The thesis concludes with a discussion of specific activities and events planned for 2020. iv Preface This dissertation is an original intellectual product of the author, Susan Margaret Bazilli. The research for this dissertation was conducted in New York, USA; Geneva, Switzerland; Bangkok, Thailand; The Hague, The Netherlands; Vancouver, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; and Kampala, Uganda. The design and methods of this research were submitted and approved by the Behavioural Research Ethics Board (BREB) of the University of British Columbia (Canada). The BREB’s Ethics Certificate is H15-00036. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ......................................................................................................... iv Preface ....................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................... viii List of Supplementary Material ............................................................................. x Acknowledgements................................................................................................. xi Dedication ............................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 From the Personal to the Political (to the Transnational) ............................................... 1 1.2 Some Notes on Terminology .......................................................................................... 5 1.3 Time Frame .................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Which Side of the Street? ............................................................................................. 11 1.5 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 13 1.6 United Nations Processes ............................................................................................. 17 1.7 Challenges .................................................................................................................... 28 1.8 Significance of the Research ........................................................................................ 30 1.9 Organization of Chapters ............................................................................................. 31 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...............................................................................34 2.1 Introduction to the Review ........................................................................................... 34 2.1.1 The Purpose ........................................................................................................... 34 2.1.2 A Caveat: The Voices in this Chapter ................................................................... 36 2.1.3 The Labyrinth of Neoliberalism ............................................................................ 37 2.2 Feminist Movement Building ....................................................................................... 40 2.2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 40 2.2.2 Feminist Social Movements .................................................................................. 41 2.2.3 Transnational Feminist Movements ...................................................................... 45 2.2.4 Violence Against Women ...................................................................................... 49 2.2.5 Autonomy .............................................................................................................. 52 2.2.6 Unlocking Intersectionality ................................................................................... 54 2.2.7 Solidarity and Sisterhood, or Not? ........................................................................ 59 2.2.8 Do Movements Need NGOs? ................................................................................ 64 2.2.9 What About the Local? .......................................................................................... 67 2.3 The Tangible — Documents, Processes, and Space .................................................... 72 2.3.1 Mapping Continued ............................................................................................... 72 2.3.2 The Main Acronyms: CEDAW, BPfA, and CSW................................................. 77 2.3.3 Moving Forward Post Beijing ............................................................................... 83 2.4 The Intangible: Women’s Rights are Human Rights ................................................... 87 2.4.1 A Sectoral Road Map ............................................................................................ 87 2.4.2 What Does Law, or Love, Have to Do With It? .................................................... 88 2.4.3 Violence Against Women, Again!......................................................................... 91 2.4.4 Interrogate the Instruments .................................................................................... 94 2.4.5 Whose Party? Catered or Potluck? ...................................................................... 101 2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 109 vi Chapter 3: Methodology ......................................................................................111