Global Movements

Global and transnational women’s movements are campaigns and groups nationwide and around the world that use a variety of tactics to change women’s position in society. Women’s movements goals are not necessarily wanting women to be higher than men, they just want women to have the same equal opportunities and rights as men. These movements go off the fact that women are entitled to the same rights as men, regardless of where women live, and their ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and social class. Transnational movements also recognize that feminist movements are different everywhere dependent on all the different cultures.

Although people think transnational women’s movement are recent, the first dated back to 1858. Founded in Switzerland, Association Internationale des Femmes resulted in the first formal international women’s organization, ICW (International Congress of Women).  This first step in the door led to advocates for women’s suffrage by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and also a push towards women’s talk in the League of Nations, later the United Nations. Transnational women’s movements have a huge effect in the global economy, politics, and overall social life around the world and how the world reacts and treats women as a whole.

A recent example of a transnational women’s movement is called WLUML, standing for “Women Living Under Muslim Laws”. After starting in 1984 due to a case of three Muslim women’s death, WLUML works as a transnational movement hosting different campaigns. Their most recent campaign is the “Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning of Women”. While advocating for women’s rights all the time, they also provide counseling and shelter to those women affect by harsh and unfair treatment, usually Muslim women. This is a good example of a transnational women’s movement because the stoning of women would not be a huge issue in America. Although there are many deaths in America, it is not common to be stoned. Plus, most of our society is Christian, not Muslim, so these advocates are not needed as much in America as they are in some parts of the world. We have our own movements in America that are appropriate to our culture.