The Universality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through a Feminist Perspective
Institution: | Roskilde University |
---|---|
Department: | |
Year: | 2015 |
Keywords: | Human Rights; Feminism; Women's Rights; Universality |
Record ID: | 1120492 |
Full text PDF: | http://rudar.ruc.dk/handle/1800/23272 |
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has major influence on legislation in several countries today, and it is the main document for articulating the most broadly accepted perception of human rights. Therefore it is important that this document in actuality embodies the claimed inherence of universality, as to ensure equality for all human beings. When taking a critical approach to the document, it can be questioned to what extent the discourse of the document actually does epitomize equality in regards to gender. This has been analysed through a feminist lens supported by Foucauldian discourse analysis and social constructivism. The language in the document uses male-generic pronouns, and women are only mentioned in relation to marriage and children. This portrayal of women uphold an archaic idea of gender roles and keep women in the margin of the document, thus implying women to be of less importance in human rights. This is where we argue that a gender imbalance of this declaration is evident.