About the Book

Should feminism be consigned to history? Are women now equal to men? At first glance, it would seem that the battle for women’s rights has largely been won. More women are working, more girls are being educated, there are women in politics, business, even the military.

But beneath the surface there is another, disturbing reality. Women still make up 70 per cent of the world’s poor. More than half a million die unnecessarily each year from the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Every day, in every country in the world, women are beaten and sexually assaulted by male relatives. And the gains that women have made over the last 10 years are being slowly and systematically eroded by a religious backlash that sees women as the symbols of identity and culture.

Vivid testimonies from courageous women and men around the world explain why, even in this ‘post-feminist’ age, women’s rights are still very much an issue – for men and women alike.

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Contents

Introduction

1. The new war on women

2. Birth and death

3. Poverty, development and work

4. Shopping and talking: woman as global consumer

5. Women and the environment: making the long march longer

6. Power, politics and the law

7. Literacy and learning: make education your husband

8. Double jeopardy: violence against women

9. Sexuality, relationships and old age

10. Organized women

The end and the beginning

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About the Author / Editor

Nikki van der Gaag is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist magazine.

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