Welcome to 'Politics of Gender'

This is a guest blog from current IDS MA students Moe, Ana, Precious, Stacey, Mohamed, Pramita, Jungyoun, Ahra & Ulrica who are organising a mini-conference - 'The Politics of Gender' - on Monday 24 March, IDS Room 121, 10am -12pm.

• How does the law shape our understanding of gender and citizenship? 
• How do different ways of structuring political institutions affect how women and men participate as citizens and their chances of accessing decision-making positions and authority? 
• What meaning do concepts like justice and human rights have in the process of implementing gender? 

These - and many other questions - have been touched upon in the module called 'Politics of Implementing Gender'. In the course, we have been talking about the basis of politics, the state, citizenship, and democracy. How do states institutionalize patriarchal values? What are the implications of the public/private divide for women's political aspirations? We have debated representation and quota systems, and reflected on the law and legal activism. There have been many good discussions and personal reflections based on the different experiences in the group, and we are now ready to take our thoughts on the politics of gender one step further and share them in a wider context. 

As part of our assessment, we have arranged a mini-conference where we shall present on topics that have emerged from the course. 

The purpose of the conference is to reflect on how the law shapes our understanding of gender, citizenship, and identity. We will explore concepts like social justice, transformative legal reform and quota systems, as well as human rights and family law. 

We want the conference to be an opportunity for reflection and sharing, and engage the audience in exploring spaces for transformative change in policy and law to achieve gender equality. 

We want to discuss, share, and learn with you! Welcome to 'Politics of Gender'!