by Colleen Morton

Created on: October 02, 2009

Gender in International Relations

The relation between the genders is all about power and so are relations among nations. It is not therefore surprising that gender is an important subtheme to many elements of international politics, economics and society, though its significance is frequently ignored.

Human trafficking, slave labor, female genital mutilation, religious persecution of women, lack of economic opportunities for women and girls, lack of political enfranchisement for women, and all sorts of social stereotyping, media discrimination, and harassment have arisen as topics of international disputes and debates in recent years.

A good example is the current fracas over the arrest of director Roman Polanski over the rape several decades ago of a 13-year old girl (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/celebrities/ 6639645.html). The case could become an international cause clbre between the United States, France, Switzerland and Poland; pitting the supporters of the arts against the supporters of victims' rights, and particularly those of women rape victims.

Another recent example relates to the case of the Somali woman Ayaan Hirsi Magan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayaan_Hirsi_Ali), who became another flashpoint for relations between Islam nations and the Netherlands when she became a Dutch legislator and her criticisms of Islam and female genital mutilation gained more international attention. Her support for and involvement with the Theo Van Gogh movie Submission led to death threats, and since Van Gogh's death at the hands of Islamic extremists in 2004, she has been in hiding.

US President Obama made women's and girl's rights a key component of his address to the Arabic world in his speech in Cairo when he said, I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons. Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity - men and women - to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. And that is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-b y-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/)

Rape was first defined

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