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Tristan Cummings - 17th March 2020
Whether and how a religious marriage is recognised in law has profound consequences for couples and their children. This is the question at the heart of the Court of Appeal decision in Attorney General v Akhter and Khan [2020]. Here, the judges were faced with determining the status of a religious ceremony, conducted in a […]
Oxford Living Wage Campaign - 6th March 2020
Last week, the University of Oxford announced its commitment to pay the Oxford Living Wage (OLW) to all of its employees starting August 1, 2020. Currently set at £10.21/hr, the OLW is set by the local city council to reflect the relatively higher cost of living in Oxford, one of the UK’s most unaffordable cities. […]
Frances Raday - 6th March 2020
Women’s rights seemed simple 72 years ago, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under the visionary leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, launched an international regime which outlawed sex discrimination and required states to ensure the equal rights of men and women. A Kuhnian shift of perception for humanity and a paradigm change for political philosophers […]
Tristan Cummings - 4th February 2020
For Jewish women, obtaining a religious divorce (Get) can be life-changing. Women denied a Get are considered ‘chained’ to their husband, preventing them from re-marrying within the faith (whilst not affecting the husband’s ability to re-marry). The power to grant the Get is usually considered the unilateral right of the husband. Because a purely religious […]
Keith Mundangepfupfu - 20th January 2020
On the 14th of November 2019, Judge Bere of the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled in favour of Ricky (Rikki) Nathanson, a transgender woman, who was suing the police for unlawful arrest, inhumane and malicious treatment while in custody. This is a landmark decision in the possibilities it opens up for future litigation in the […]
Paras Ahuja - 5th January 2020
In India, the minimum legal age for marriage is different for men and women. Section 4(c), Special Marriage Act, 1954 requires a male to have completed 21 years of age and a female the age of 18 years for the solemnisation of a marriage. Section 2(a), Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and Section 5(iii), […]
Simphiwe L Stewart and Dumisani C Dlamini - 24th December 2019
On October 9th, Ethel Dlamini (nee Gule), an elderly Swazi woman and a widow, approached the Courts to seek an interim interdict against Prince Chief Gasawa Ngwane (of Lavumisa), that would enable her to install a fence, build a pit latrine toilet and repossess a field at her residence in Umphakatsi of Qomintaba, Lavumisa. In […]
Amanda Dale - 11th December 2019
There is an initiative for a new treaty focused on violence against women that calls itself the “Every Woman Treaty”. It is proposed as a stand-alone United Nations (UN) treaty focused on violence against women. The initiative originates from outside the United Nations. Its proponents have been present at various international women’s rights gatherings for […]
Stergios Aidinis and Ivo Gruev - 26th November 2019
In March 2018, amid the rise of the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter, international media brought attention to a series of uninvited advances by an experienced defence counsel at the ICC towards a younger, female case manager during a professional trip. This incident arose in relation to the so-called ‘Article 70 case’ of Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba-Gombo […]
Sumaiyah Kholwadia - 25th November 2019
The UK’s Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, 2019 has been described as a ‘landmark’ piece of legislation. This recognition is due in part to the Bill’s extension of the definition of ‘domestic abuse’ to include ‘economic abuse’. However, due to recent political events pertaining to Brexit, the Bill has been side-lined and we have now entered […]
Shauna Olney - 25th November 2019
“For me, as for most women workers I know, this Convention and this Recommendation are personal… This Convention, and its recognition of violence and harassment as a range of behaviours and practices, tells me that what I have experienced counts.” – Worker delegate, at the adoption of Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206. On […]
Natalia Brigagao - 19th September 2019
The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) established a new precedent asserting that women who suffer domestic violence are entitled to a court-determined paid work leave of six months or less. Employers must pay the first 15 days of salary, while the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) is responsible for providing for the remaining […]