SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN

Letter from the Editor (PDF)

Mai Truong

Editor-in-Chief (2010-2011)

INTERVIEWS

Corporate Responsibility in the “Women’s Century” (PDF)

An Interview with Muhtar Kent, CEO of The Coca Cola Company

Muhtar Kent is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Kent joined The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978. From 1999 to 2005, he served as President and CEO of the Efes Beverage Group, the majority shareholder of Turkish bottler Coca-Cola Icecek, and returned to The Coca-Cola Company in May 2005. Mr. Kent holds a BS in economics from Hull University, England, and an MS in administrative sciences from London City University.

Empowering Women in Conflict Zones (PDF)

An Interview with Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi is the Founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a grassroots humanitarian and development organization helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. She is also the author of two books and the recipient of the 2010 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award, the Forbes Trailblazer Award, and Time Magazine’s Innovator of the Month award. Ms. Salbi is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader as well as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative Lead program. She also serves as a member of the UN Secretary General’s Civil Society Advisory Group on UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Ms. Salbi has a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and a BA in sociology and women’s studies from George Mason University.

Building Democracy from Below in Venezuela (PDF)

An Interview with Maria Corina Machado

María Corina Machado is the cofounder and former president of the all-volunteer electoral watchdog group, Súmate, in Venezuela. A champion of civil society development and community participation, Ms. Machado was a Yale University World Fellow in 2009 and currently serves as a representative in the Venezuelan National Assembly.

Investing in Women’s Education in Afghanistan (PDF)

A Conversation with Yale World Fellows Aziz Royesh and Orzala Ashraf Nemat

Aziz Royesh and Orzala Ashraf Nemat worked close to each other in Pakistan and Afghanistan for many years as leading civil rights activists focused on education, but they did not cross paths until they became Yale World Fellows. A leading advocate for equal access to primary and secondary education in Afghanistan, Mr. Royesh founded a school for Afghan refugees in Pakistan in 1994. With a focus on critical thinking and human rights, the school eventually moved to Afghanistan where it now teaches 2,500 Afghan students, about half of whom are girls.

Orzala Ashraf Nemat became a Yale World Fellow in 2008. She founded the Youth & Women’s Leadership Centre in 2010 and was previously the founder and chair of Humanitarian Assistance to the Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA). Ms. Ashraf Nemat has established training programs for Afghan women and children in refugee communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan and launched underground literacy and health education programs for women and girls. She is also increasingly involved in political advocacy and development at the national level and is on the board of directors of the Afghan Women’s Network.

ARTICLES

Women and the Global Economy (PDF)

By Isobel Coleman

Closing gender gaps and bringing women in emerging markets into the global economic mainstream represents a tremendous force for stability and prosperity worldwide. As multinational corporations increasingly search for growth in developing countries, they should focus on creating opportunities for women—not simply out of the goodness of their hearts, but because it makes strong business sense. The private sector can and should be a powerful partner to governments and non-governmental organizations in a transformative 21st century push for improvements for women around the world. Companies stand to improve the world and their own bottom lines at the same time.

HIV and Women: Incongruent Policies, Criminal Consequences (PDF)

By Aziza Ahmed

UN Women must take an aggressive role in the standardization of laws and policies at the global and national level where their incongruence has negative and often criminal consequences for the health and lives of women and girls. This article focuses in on three such examples: opt-out testing of HIV, criminalization of vertical transmission, and the new World Health Organization guidelines on breastfeeding.

How Existing U.S. Policy Limits Global Health and the Achievement of Millennium Development Goals to Improve Maternal Health and Promote Gender Equality (PDF)

By Jamila Taylor & Anu Kumar

The nexus between global health and U.S. national security, including women’s rights and health, is explicitly discussed in the U.S. National Security Strategy. This accompanies the announcement of the $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI). This article argues that the U.S. role is hampered by policies and practices that diminish its potential impact, specifically, the Helms Amendment and the ongoing effects of the Mexico City Policy.

Thinking Outside the Blog: Women’s Voices and a New Generation of Communications Technology (PDF)

By Ashley Belyea

As inter-governmental and nongovernmental organizations attempt to identify and help address the needs of women around the world, innovative new communications technology can provide an invaluable tool. However, many of the existing generation of communications-based programs were designed without considering women’s underlying economic, legal, and social inequality. Implementing these programs will not only fail to provide the desired results, but by purporting to provide access for (and to) women, may serve to mask the reporting problems that plague national and international efforts in addressing women’s needs.

Documents You Can Use: What the Open Budget Survey 2010 Tells Us about the Global State of Transparency (PDF)

By Harika Masud & Jason M. Lakin

The state of global budget transparency is poor. The results of the International Budget Partnership’s recent 2010 Open Budget Survey (OBS) reveal that seventy-four countries assessed fail to meet basic standards of transparency and accountability. This article explains the importance of budget transparency and analyzes the results of the Survey. Drawing on OBS findings from previous years, this article concludes that, while the current state of transparency is dismal, the trajectory is positive.

Negotiating with Only One China on Climate Change: On Counting Ourselves Lucky (PDF)

By Doaa Abdel Motaal

Seldom in international climate negotiations do we feel grateful that China is one country. Rather, China—a country of approximately 1.3 billion people that has the highest level of carbon emissions in the world—is seen as a recalcitrant emissions giant that must somehow be lured into the tent. This article argues that the wide disparity in income, per capita emissions and energy efficiency levels across China already turn climate policy emanating from Beijing into a very delicate balancing act.

Governments, the Financial Markets, and International Human Rights: The State’s Role as Shareholder (PDF)

By Salar Ghahramani

The role of state-sponsored entities as participants in the financial markets is often overlooked in the human rights discourse. This paper will examine the role of the state in financial markets not as the lawmaker, regulator, or utilizer of hard power, but as an equity investor of publicly traded companies. In particular, the study will consider how government organs such as public pension funds and sovereign wealth funds can pursue international human rights objectives and impact international affairs.

OP-EDS

The Important Role of Women Soldiers in the New Security Paradigm (PDF)

By Probal DasGupta & Jason Jacob

How women soldiers can help reduce violence in counterinsurgencies through the use of softer, more inclusive approaches that engage local populations and help initiate peace dialogues.

Women and Climate Change: An Opportunity to Address Gender Inequality (PDF)

By Kevin Samy

On harnessing the untapped potential of women to better address climate change vulnerability and simultaneously promote women’s empowerment.

Turkey’s Invisible Cold War: Islamist and Secular Communalizations (PDF)

By H. Akin Ünver

Why Turks need to realize that their compatriots who vote for the rival party are also Turks, not some extraterrestrial entity that threatens to “take over” Turkey.

Neo-Imperialism and the Anti-Security Blanket in Africa: The Need for Nuance on the Debate about AFRICOM (PDF)

By Jason Warner

“Security” is the new dirty word in Africa. Why common criticisms of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) are unfounded.

Linking Animal Health and International Affairs: Trade, Food, Security, and Global Health (PDF)

By Sigfrido Burgos & Joachim Otte

Animals play pivotal roles in providing food for a growing world population but also harbor disease agents that pose threats to humans. Why making investments to improve animal health can help reduce risks to governments and societies.

Can Nations “Pursue” Non-State Actors across Borders? (PDF)

By Lionel Beehner

On the “hot pursuit” of non-state actors in sovereign territory in the fight against terrorism.

Brazil’s Maritime Claim: A Threat to UNCLOS? (PDF)

By Kari Lipschutz

Why the international community should be concerned about Brazil’s recent unilateral expansion of its offshore borders.

Home Alone, Too (PDF)

By Ryan Kaminski

How the detention of the 2010 Nobel Peace Laureate and his wife exemplifies a growing tension between China’s rise and its increasingly paranoid and erratic actions both domestically and abroad.

FILM & BOOK REVIEWS

Film Review: Courting Justice (PDF)

Review by Hannah Brenner

Film created by Ruth B. Cowan and directed by Jane Thandi Lipman

Hannah Brenner is a Lecturer in Law at Michigan State University College of Law, where she teaches courses on law, gender, and domestic violence; she is also a core faculty member with the Center for Gender in the Global Context at MSU. Her research interests include women’s advancement, equality, and leadership in the legal profession, and violence against women. Immediately prior to her current appointment, she served as the first executive director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law.

Book Review: The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (PDF)

Review by Christopher Chambers-Ju

Edited by Javier Corrales and Mario Pecheny

Book Review: Confronting Poverty: Weak States and U.S. National Security (PDF)

Review by Deirdre Shannon

By Susan E. Rice, Corinne Graff, and Carlos Pascual