This essay’s problem is based on the subordination of women that exists worldwide, more specifically on womens rights. The study examined six countries with case study as a method. The countries were chosen based on their ranking on the Global Democracy Ranking of 2015. The countries chosen were the two who got the best grades, the two in the middle and the two who came last. With three different theoretical foundations, the UN Women’s CEDAW-convention, Yvonne Hirdman’s gender theory and Global Democracy Ranking, the countries were examined and led to the following conclusions: the work with women’s rights have progressed further the higher ranking a country has on the Global Democracy Ranking and Hirdmans gender theory can be seen as one of the explanations for the existing inequality. The study also noted that there is a connection between the ratification of the CEDAW-convention and Women’s rights.

Countries around the world have different systems for parental leave. The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that do not offer any kind of paid parental leave, on a federal level, to its citizens. While some Americans have the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, Swedes have the right to 480 days of paid leave. Sweden and the United States are both countries that want to be in the forefront of human rights and according to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), states parties shall “introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances”. The two countries have signed the convention, but only Sweden has ratified it. The political systems and the view of the state, the individual and the family are other distinctions between the countries. Further, the history in which the countries’ welfare has been built has taken different ways. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the differences in parental leave in Sweden and the United States. The jurisprudence, the political systems, the ratification of the CEDAW and the history of welfare will be examined to try to answer the question why these two industrialized countries have a big distinction in the right to paid parental leave.

Den senaste av de internationella konventioner som rör kvinnors rättigheter är Istanbulkonventionen som trädde i kraft den 1 augusti 2014. Den och övriga konventioner som rör kvinnors rättigheter har ratificerats av Sverige som därmed gjort sig skyldiga att efterleva dess krav och rekommendationer. Genom en diskursanalys har Sveriges lagar granskats med stöd av ett täckande intervjumaterial för att ta reda på om Sverige faktiskt efterlever de internationella åtagande som staten tagit på sig i frågan om att bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor. Materialet har bearbetats utifrån en feministisk teoribildning där det diskuterats utifrån könens sociala konstruktion, genusordningen och maskulinitetsperspektivet. / The latest of the international conventions on women's rights are Istanbul Convention, which entered into force on 1 August 2014. This and other conventions on women's rights has been ratified by Sweden thus guilty to comply with its requirements and recommendations. Through a discourse analysis has Sweden's laws examined under a comprehensive interview materials to find out about Sweden actually comply with the international commitments, which the State accepted for the issue of combating violence against women. The material has been processed from a feminist theory where it is discussed on the basis of gender social construction, gender order and masculinity perspective.

Violence against women is a widespread global problem and a violation of human rights. An estimated 35% of all women in the world have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence, and the perpetrator in the majority of cases has been a current or former partner. This thesis addresses the topic of violence against women with a fatal outcome – femicide, which is a more extreme form of violence against women. The purpose of this work is to defend the thesis that femicide ought to be seen as a violation of human rights. A central assumption is that femicide is based on patriarchal structures and that it should, therefore, be regarded as a hate crime against women. In order to understand and interpret the pehnomenom of femicide, this work relies on an idea-analysis based on Michel Foucault and Raewyn Connell's relational power perspective. Conventions and declarations relating to femicide are analyzed to bring clarity to the violations that femicide constitutes. The results indicate that femicide is charactarized by misogynist- and structural violence and consitutes violations of the human rights. Protection from femicide is deficient, and femicide is often classified as murder. Several conventions and declarations exist that are designed for the purpose of protecting women from violence, but only one mentions violence against women with a fatal outcome. Power relations and patriarchal structures need to be highlighted and questioned in order to strengthen women's rights and freedom from violence and femicide.   Key words: Femicide, Violence against women, Human rights, Women’s rights, Patriarchal structures, Relational power.

I Sverige har personer som saknar tillstånd att vistas i landet, så kallade papperslösa, sedan den 1 juli 2013 laglig rätt till både skolgång och viss sjukvård. Men att som papperslös få tillgång till skydd undan våld förefaller däremot svårt. Detta slår särskilt hårt mot papperslösa kvinnor, som till följd av sitt kön, juridiska status och som invandrare löper särskilt hög risk att utsättas för olika former av våldsbrott.  Syftet med den här studien är därför att undersöka huruvida Svenska staten både utifrån internationella åtaganden och nationell lagstiftning kan anses ålagd att även tillhandahålla skydd för våldsutsatta papperslösa kvinnor. Parallellt ämnar studien undersöka lagens tillämpning och hur kvinnornas möjlighet till skydd ser ut i praktiken. En geografisk avgränsning har gjorts till Stockholm, Göteborg och Malmö samt till att främst studera möjlighet att tillgå skyddat boende. Studien antar ett genusrättsvetenskapligt perspektiv och undersökningens genomförande omfattar en rättsutredning, litteraturöversikt samt åtskilliga intervjuer med bland annat anställda på kvinnojourer och socialkontor. Vad som framkommit är att det rimligen kan hävdas att det föreligger ett ansvar för Svenska staten och landets kommuner att även skydda våldsutsatta papperslösa kvinnor. Detta genom att stödja sig på landets internationella åtaganden men också nationella jämställdspolitiska mål samt socialtjänstlagen med socialstyrelsens tillhörande riktlinjer. Samtidigt visar studien hur hanteringen av fall med våldsutsatta papperslösa kvinnor både skiljer sig mellan och inom kommuner och att ideella kvinnojourer till följd av saknad statlig finansiering har svårt att placera papperslösa på sina skyddade boenden. Kvinnojourernas osäkra finansiering leder också till att fler jourer endast tar emot ”säkra” placeringar, förmedlade och finansierade av kommunens socialtjänst. Detta innebär att våldsutsatta papperslösa kvinnor får det än svårare att tillgå skydd då de av rädsla för utvisning undviker kontakt med myndigheter.

Can women`s rights be realized in a religiously conservative, non-liberal country such as Saudi Arabia? Viewed by many as THE leading Muslim nation in the Arab world, this oil rich kingdom is also well known to be friendly with the United States as well as other western countries. And also for creating and upholding some of the most conservative Sharia-based laws against its people, and especially against its women. Nevertheless, in the past few years women in Saudi Arabia have taken careful but courageous steps into public space, and an increasing number of Saudi women are now graduating and taking jobs abroad. How can women in Saudi Arabia strengthen their rights, and what are the most significant challenges they face in this process? How can the world community and especially western-liberal actors, states and organizations support this development instead of becoming an obstacle?All over the world women are faced with discriminatory power structures. A common contemporary view is that these power structures are at their strongest and most oppressive in Muslim countries and communities. Islam and Muslims are being demonized in the western part of the world. Violations against human rights and against women do take place in Muslim societies. Women in Saudi Arabia are in many ways being treated as lesser because of their gender. But is Islam really the main antagonist in this respect? I believe not. And I also believe it is important to challenge this much held view in order to make way for a fruitful discussion on how to empower women within the current normative frames of their societies and religion.Chandra Talpade Mohanty`s critique on “white” western-oriented feminism and Abdullahi Ahmed An Naʹim`s cross cultural perspectives on human rights and how to present these to the Muslim world in order for them to earn a permanent residence there along with Asifa Quraishi-Landes critical analysis of the way that western actors, states and organizations engage themselves in human rights violations taking place in Muslim societies will provide my theoretical background for this paper. Their perspectives will help design and present a more nuanced view on the possibilities and challenges facing the realization of women`s rights in a patriarchal society such as Saudi Arabia.Change is always possible. However, in order for a society to change its type if governance, its political power structure and its long held cultural and religious views and traditions it cannot simply be told by someone else that change is needed. Fundamental change of such vital factors has to happen from within the society itself. And the leading actors in this process will depend on its peoples support and the right kind of support from the outside world.

Även om den internationella arenan har sett en god utveckling när det gäller att skydda mänskliga rättigheter och inte kränka dem, har vissa länders regeringar, som Turkiet, ignorerat sina löften inför FN att skydda mänskliga rättigheter och inte kränka dem, även om Turkiet var ett av de första länder under det senaste århundradet att ratificera FN:s stadga för att skydda mänskliga rättigheter. Men enligt internationella organisationer som arbetar med mänskliga rättigheter är Turkiet ett av de länder där mänskliga rättigheter har minskat de senaste åren, särskilt efter kuppen 2016. Bevis visar att den turkiska regeringen har begått våldsamma kränkningar mot aktivister, politiker, civila och fria medier. Därför kommer uppsatsen att belysa en av minoriteterna i Turkiet, den kurdiska minoriteten, och de kränkningar de utsatts för. Uppsatsen kommer också att ta upp nedgången i kvinnors minskade rättigheter och det våld som turkiska kvinnor utsätts för idag till följd av Turkiets utträde ur Istanbul Fördraget. Uppsatsen kommer utifrån teorier att analysera kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter. Vidare kommer analyseras regeringssystemet i Turkiet. Den turkiska regeringen är en autokratisk regim och det är därför den kurdiska minoritetens rättigheter kränks, och även kvinnors rättigheter minskade och de utsattes för kränkningar som ett resultat av turkisk politik. Denna studie genomfördes också genom en fallstudie och analytisk ram eftersom detta tillvägagångssätt var lämpligt för att få en djupare förståelse av situationen för kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter i Turkiet.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att få kunskap om globalt utvecklingsarbete angående rätten till en säker abort, och det sociala arbetets relevans för att stärka kvinnors rättigheter i frågan. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och ett globalt, kritiskt och feministiskt perspektiv analyseras kvinnors rätt till säker abort utifrån strategiska dokument; styrdokument, policys och globala utvecklingsmål från Förenta Nationerna (FN), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) och International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW). Studiens resultat visar att globala utvecklingsmål och policys är nödvändiga för att stärka kvinnors rättigheter inom sexuell och reproduktiv vård och hälsa. Genom att länder och professioner tar del av de globala organisationernas gemensamma tillvägagångssätt och riktlinjer skapas förutsättningar för ett gemensamt utvecklingsarbete gällande kvinnors rätt till en säker abort. Vidare uppmärksammas betydelsen av ett starkt samarbete mellan olika professioner (inter-professionella samarbeten) inom sexuell och reproduktiv vård för att se till kvinnors fysiska, psykiska och sociala behov, och de utmaningar som finns för att uppnå en säker abortvård globalt. Socialt arbete står ofta utanför beslutsfattande inom abortvården, trots att beslut och lagar på global nivå influerar utövandet av det sociala arbetet på lokal nivå. I studien argumenteras för att socialt arbete som profession kan bidra med viktiga sociala dimensioner och perspektiv i globalt utvecklingsarbete för kvinnors rätt till en säker abort, för jämlikhet i vården och för att stärka kvinnors rättigheter globalt. / <p>2018-06-05</p>

The Egyptian Revolution 2011 created a space and opportunity to forward important demands concerning different social and political issues, amongst these matters related to women's status and situations in the society. Feminist and women's rights proponents in Egypt conceptualize the aims of a feminist or women's rights agenda as (women's) human rights and citizen's rights, independence, freedom and choice, though such universal concepts are understood in accordance with particular cultural or individual contexts. Feminist struggles must be seen in the cultural and social environment in which they take place in order to be properly understood. Feminist struggles in Egypt takes place in an overarching religious context. Religion constitutes a source of legitimacy in the Egyptian society and feminist activists appropriate religious language to pose their political demands and to make them comprehensible at a local level. Feminist demands are generally brought forward strategically, in order to achieve acceptance and enhance cultural legitimacy. A patriarchal culture is perceived as the main obstacle to advance women's status and situations. For that reason, addressing and changing that patriarchal culture is seen as the main objective for feminist struggles. Individual agency is highlighted in this respect. The interest and responsibility of securing and forwarding women's rights is mainly perceived to lay in the hands of feminist activists and women's rights groups themselves. The Egyptian Revolution was an outcome of individual and collective agency. In the revolution, women may have enacted more of a public agency than an individual agency to realize their interests. During the revolution women transcended gender roles and exposed some images of women as stereotypes. The Egyptian Revolution broke a barrier of fear in the society and invoked in men and women a sense of dignity and rights. The post-revolutionary public and political discourse constituted a backlash for women's rights, but it may also have produced a renewed interest for feminist struggles and women's rights. After the revolution, the participation in the society may have increased and men and women might not be as easily intimidated as before.

Iraq has in recent decades been with internal conflicts between ethnic groups. Despite the enormous wealth of natural resources, more than half of the population remains poor. War and corruption has led to lack of resources and worsening quality of the health sector leading to deteriorating health situation among the population. Womens role and experiences of health and health promotion is important in conflict affected countries to create health and well-being within the family. Objective: the objective of this study was to investigate the maternal experiece of promoting the health of children in an Iraqi context. Method:Aqualitative research methodology with semi-structured interviews was chosen.Six mothers from diffrent neighborhods in the city of kirkuk were interviewed. Data set was analyzed by using content analysis. Results: the results showed the theme of health promotion motherhood in a war-torn country with four categories.1-Health is life welfare.2-In powerlessness shadow.3-Knowledge and sisterhooa and4- anees for new health promoting community structures. Mothers were every day occupied with health promoting their children despite the obstacles to promote health. The results also showed that mothers valu sisterhood, education and security as access to healthier life. Mothers belife in change for a healthier future of children in iraq lies in the goverments ability to develop an infrastructure for health promotion with basic services,a functioning health care system and better hom environments.