[...] Reproductive and labour rights of women are of interest because they are mutually linked and reinforcing. Firstly, it is through reproduction policies and rhetoric that women are limited to their role in preserving the continuance of the nation. In turn, this serves the benefit of the demographic policies of ethnocracies. It is important to note that it is through these policies that hierarchical and patriarchal structures are reinforced. As a logical consequence, this is supposed to have an impact on the enjoyment of women's labour rights because following this argumentation, it is not in the interest of ethnocracies to involve women equally to men into paid labour but rather to reinforce their primary task of reproduction by discriminating them through certain policies related to the labour market.
This is why the aim of this research is to analyse how these specific politics and policies related to reproduction and labour have affected the enjoyment of certain women's human rights. Therefore I will first review certain policies and politics of religious and nationalistic leaders to point out what initiatives they have undertaken in regards to women's reproductive rights. Moreover the thesis will elaborate the enjoyment of women's social, economic rights and cultural rights, such as labour rights (art.6 CESCR) and the right to family life (art.10 CESCR) that are set in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1966. Thus, it will be of interest to see how women's participation in the labour market has developed within the framework of changing political ideology and whether we can see significant developments not only for the question of whether women are being employed but also about which types of labour women are carrying out.
[...]
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Theoretical Framework
1.1 Politics of Identity
1.1.1 Community
1.1.2 Identity, Nation and Ethnicity
1.2 Gender and Nationalism
2. The Situation of Women in the Former Yugoslavia- How Socialist Ideology Affected Women's Rights
2.1 The Political Ideology of Socialism and Women
2.2 Reproductive Rights of Women
2.3 Labour rights
3. Nationalist Ideology in Serbia and How it Affected Women's Rights
3.1 The Political Ideology of Nationalism and Women
3.2 Reproductive Rights
3.2.1 Politics and Policies
3.2.2. Enjoyment of Women's Reproductive Rights
3.3 Labour Rights
3.3.1 Politics and Policies
3.3.2 Enjoyment of women's labour rights
Conclusion
Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This master's thesis examines the complex relationship between gender, identity politics, and nationalism in Serbia, specifically focusing on how these intersecting forces have influenced the human rights of women regarding reproductive choices and labor market participation during and after the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
- The intersection of nationalist ideology and prescribed gender roles.
- The historical transformation of women's status from socialist Yugoslavia to the post-conflict nationalist era.
- An analysis of legislative frameworks and policies governing reproductive health and employment rights.
- The impact of re-traditionalization and economic crises on the marginalization of women.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1.1 Community
The nature of what community is has been of interest to anthropologist, philosophers and sociologists alike. However, the dispute if the impact of social change has affected our sense of community is highly controversial. At the bare minimum the term community can be associated with a collection of people who live in the same geographical area sharing common interests and Colin Bell states in this regard that “the failure to define what is community is not due to any lack of interest. Indeed the problem is that there are, if anything, too many rather than too few attempts at defining the term”. This leads to assume that the term of community is rather vague and that the vast number of definitions is additionally contributing to complicate a coherent use of the latter. However, the term as such has not lost significance although societal changes have resulted in modifications of its have organisational shape.
Bauman describes community as conveying “all of them promising pleasures, and more often than not the kind of pleasures we would like to experience but seem to miss” and that there is a common conception that a community is where we can “count on each other’s good will. If we stumble and fall, others will help us to stand on our feet again” ultimately protecting us from any hardships that we may face. He therefore suggests that the concept of a community is simply idealistic and something that is socially constructed by us in order for us to gain a sense of protection and security. They are therefore “essentially mental constructs, formed by imagined boundaries between groups”.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the research connection between gender and nation, establishing the constructivist approach to analyzing women's human rights within Serbian nationalist discourse.
1. Theoretical Framework: Introduces core concepts of identity, community, and the interplay between nation and gender as social constructs instrumentalized by political elites.
2. The Situation of Women in the Former Yugoslavia- How Socialist Ideology Affected Women's Rights: Analyzes the socialist era, noting that while legal rights like abortion and labor participation were granted, patriarchal structures remained deeply embedded.
3. Nationalist Ideology in Serbia and How it Affected Women's Rights: Investigates the post-socialist era, detailing how nationalist rhetoric and re-traditionalization negatively impacted women's reproductive autonomy and labor market inclusion.
Keywords
Gender, Nationalism, Serbia, Politics of Identity, Reproductive Rights, Labour Rights, Yugoslavia, Socialism, Patriarchy, Ethnocracy, Social Construct, Human Rights, Marginalization, Re-traditionalization, Political Ideology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The work investigates the intersection of gender and nationalism in Serbia, exploring how identity politics and nationalist ideologies have constrained women's human rights, particularly in reproduction and employment.
What are the central themes of the research?
The core themes include the social construction of gender, the instrumentalization of women's bodies for demographic goals, the legacy of socialist gender policies, and the impact of nationalist re-traditionalization on women's societal roles.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if a direct connection exists between the politics of identity, upheld by nationalist leaders, and the construction of policies that interfere with women's enjoyment of specific human rights.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The thesis employs a constructivist approach to nationalism and gender, utilizing a historical perspective to analyze political ideology and legislation across two distinct periods of Serbian political change.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main sections cover the theoretical grounding of community and identity, a comparative analysis of women's rights under socialist versus nationalist regimes, and a detailed look at abortion laws and labor market statistics.
Which terms best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as politics of identity, reproductive rights, labour rights, re-traditionalization, and patriarchal state structures.
How does the author define the 'white plague' phenomenon mentioned in the thesis?
The author describes the 'white plague' as a concept used by nationalist figures to blame women for declining birth rates, framing it as a threat to the nation that justifies state control over women's reproductive choices.
How did the 1995 Abortion Law in Serbia affect women's rights?
The 1995 law represented a significant decline in reproductive rights, as it restricted legal abortion to the first ten weeks of pregnancy and required commission approval for later procedures, effectively sidelining personal social and economic reasons.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Juliane M. (Autor:in), 2010, Gender and Nationalism in Serbia: The impact of political ideology on women's human rights , München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/172412
