10.032016

Feminist perspectives on the law on the use of force

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Article 2(4) of the UN Charter concerning the prohibition on the use of force by nation states fails to incorporate the diversity of feminist approaches to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Instead it predicates itself narrowly on discussion about when and how force is justified. That is the argument put forth in this publication, which analyses Article 2(4) and other structural, organisational, and normative structures from a variety of feminist perspectives. It also puts forward insights and recommendations on how such perspectives could be incorporated into and benefit international law.

 

The author, Gina Heathcote, points to the lack of female representation at all levels of the United Nations and other international bodies and governments, which she links to the gendering of international legal categories. Heathcote then explains how this can contribute to the harm and discrimination women experience globally. Next, she notes critically that the Security Council’s women, peace, and security resolutions support and legitimise the use of force, and recommends a focus on the prohibition of force instead. Heathcote discusses in detail the role of women as participants in decision-making structures, including the Security Council, before turning to the topic of feminist peace activism.

 

Heathcote suggests that rather than acting as a prohibition on force, Article 2(4) is instead viewed as a trigger mechanism used to justify force. Acknowledging and incorporating feminist discourse and agency within Article 2(4) would necessarily shine a light on this dynamic, and force us to speak and seek peace, and not just war. Such an approach would highlight the contradictory nature of invoking women's plights to justify violence, only to worsen their suffering through said violence and it's long-lasting negative...

10.032016

Rapping feminism, rapping the family: hip hop, the Mudawwana, and the monarchy in Morocco

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Feminisms can be expressed in many forms, in a variety of complex sub-cultural systems that are full of synergies and contradictions. One such arena is music. In this paper, Casey Jo Brege examines the types of feminism expressed through rap and hip hop in Morocco, in the context of the Mudawwana and the monarchy. Since the 1999 coronation of King Muhammed VI, Morocco has undergone large-scale legal reform via the nation’s Islamic family and personal status laws (the Mudawwana), gendered social roles and gender equality, and accepted modes of feminist political engagement in public space.

Brege uses the work of cultural theorist Stuart Hall to look at the music of two hip hop artists, Fnaire and MC Soultana, to demonstrate the ways that musicians work within and reflect the contemporary landscape of Moroccan feminism, political resistance, and reconstructions of gendered identities, all while working with, through, and around the regime’s co-optive power. The paper is structured in three parts: an introduction to the Moroccan Mudawwana, and analysis of the two artists work.

Brege notes that the differences between the artists provides a telling look at developments in both feminist thought and political environment. Hip hop group Fnaire's “Ma Tqich Bladi” evokes the symbolically potent khamsa (a palm-shaped amulet) to engage directly with regime rhetoric, employing the language of Islam in an apolitical way. Fnaire speaks of women, but does not include their voices or bodies in song or video. By contrast, MC Soultana reflects the calls of the 20 February Movement, which emerged during the Arab Spring, for political action disengaged from official regime channels. She raps publicly about gendered concerns from a position of experience, and no longer depicts women as passive national symbols but as active citizens of the nation.

The gap between these musicians discourse and action remains a potentially rich field of investigation. Both Fnaire and MC Soultana engage in activities that can be seen as both confirming and denying regime legitimacy, e.g. large-scale music events that affirm regime control over public space. Rather than making judgement on the relative ethics of musical output, it is Brege’s aim to highlight these discrepancies to demonstrate the complex, shifting nexus of individual agency, socio-musical expression, and external political pressure in contemporary Moroccan hip hop. Understanding this nexus can provide a deep insight into the multi-faceted expressions of hip hop artists and their fans, and doing so begs a re-evaluation of both protest and culture as widely perceived.

Brege concludes that there is still work to be done in exploring the intersections between regime legitimacy, feminist opposition, and emerging hip hop artists in Morocco. A deeper understanding of the history and construction of gendered social spaces, and the Kingdom’s use of religious rhetoric as a mode of legitimation, would provide a strong starting point for examining the continued evolution of Moroccan feminist...

10.032016

Stella Oyedepo and the feminist vision in the Rebellion of the Bumpy-Chested

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Feminist activism and civic participation can come in many forms, including theatre. The prolific playwright Stella Oyedepo is arguably one of the most visible practitioners of theatre in Nigeria today, with plays including Survive, We Will, The Missing Ingredient, and Brain has no Gender. Oyedepo’s feminism strongly informs her work, which centres around the many ills, perversions, and misplaced social values she perceives in Nigerian society. Her drama has spoken out against the violence women face in society, and has proffered educational empowerment of women to address their marginalisation.

This essay by John Yeseibo examines one of Oyedepo’s plays in particular, The Rebellion of the Bumpy-Chested, to identify and analyse Oyedepo’s feminist vision. It begins by offering a synopsis; a club of impressionable women, led by a frustrated and "beefy" Captain Sharp, embark on a rebellion against the injustices meted out by their husbands. The women take on many roles traditionally regarded as being in the domain of men, but when the men do likewise and take on the roles of women, the disgust felt by one wife, Salwa, spells doom for the rebellion.

Having analysed the play, Yeseibo concludes that the purpose of the play is to challenge institutionalised male monopoly of leadership in decision-making roles, and to emphasise the need to reverse this trend. Also predominant however is the belief that men themselves need to be liberated as a necessary condition in redressing the marginalisation of women. Oyedepo is of the view that radical feminism will not work in the Nigerian context, and will not lessen the denigration of women in society. Instead, complementarity is needed as the panacea for socio-political-economic...