Introduction: Feminist Advocacy, Constitutions and Law

The programs and projects of the last few decades of feminist advocacy have been applauded, resisted, andvilified. Despite these divergent responses, there is no doubt that in societies across the globe women’s voices in the legal and political realm are no longer muted. Organizing and lobbying on all five continents, aided and abetted by the liberating possibilities of the innovative communications technology, especially the internet, women advocates have created the discursive space in the political, legal, social, and economic realm to influence governmental policies, law and practice. Developments in the last few decades have illustrated the concerted efforts by women activists and scholars from across the globe to bring women’s issues from the margins of political and legal discourse to a place where women’s concerns and priorities are at least recognized. The contributors to this volume of the International Review of Constitutionalism explore some contemporary feminist legal issues