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Empregados da Fábrica de Fogos de Santo Antônio de Jesus e seus Familiares vs. Brasil

Background: On December 11, 1998, an explosion occurred in a fireworks factory in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Brazil. The factory consisted of a set of tents located in paddocks with shared worktables. As a result of the explosion, 60 people died and six were injured. Among those who lost their lives were 59 women, 19 of whom were girls, and one boy. Among the survivors were three adult women, two boys and one girl. Four of the deceased women were pregnant; one of them was able to give birth before dying.

Networkwide Exchange on Securing Land Rights for People and the Planet

On 27 April 2021, ESCR-Net co-hosted an online discussion on land rights. Over 50 members from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and North America, convened virtually to learn from each other’s experiences and strengthen shared analysis and...

A New Social Pact on Care is Urgent

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Ramuhovhi and Others v. President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (Legal Resources Centre (LRC) representing Thokozani Maphumulo as the intervening applicant)

Matodzi Ramuhovhi and Thinamaano Edson Netshituka applied to the Constitutional Court for confirmation of the Limpopo High Court, Thohoyandou’s ruling of invalidity of Section 7(1) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 (“Recognition Act”). The High Court ruled 7(1) to be invalid because it discriminated against women in polygamous marriages concluded before the Recognition Act on two grounds: (a) gender and (b) race, ethnic or social origin. This same section had been deemed unconstitutional as it related to monogamous marriages in Gumede vs.

Elizabeth Gumede vs. President of the Republic of South Africa and Others

The Gumedes were married in 1968, before the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998, which entered into force on November 15, 2000. Section 7(1) of the Recognition Act provided that customary marriages entered into prior to the date of the commencement of the Act (old marriages) were governed by customary law, while section 7(2) provided that customary marriages entered into after the date of commencement of the Act (new marriages) were marriages in community of property. Ms. Gumede was directly affected by Section 7 after Mr.

Makhosazane Eunice Sacolo (nee Dlamini) and Another vs. Jukhi Justice Sacolo and 2 Others (1403/16) [2019] SZHC (166)

When Makhosazane Eunice Sacolo, a Swazi woman, was left by her husband, she was unable to sell any of the livestock that they owned, even those that she had purchased with her own money. Under eSwatini’s common law of marital power, that property was registered in her husband’s name. This common law doctrine, as well as the Marriage Act of 1964, also prohibited married women from concluding contracts without her husband’s permission.

Opinion: Thinking about the pandemic from a feminist economy

From its origins, feminist economics has highlighted the need to advance in a broader conception of the economy and the economic system, which, in addition to the productive sphere, takes into account the reproductive sphere. In particular, this current points out the importance of unpaid care work for the development of people, but goes a step further by explaining how the provision of care is actually a social need, as it allows the reproduction of the working class, which in turn will be responsible for creating economic values in the reproductive sphere (that is, for reproducing the economic system).

Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES) v. The Republic of Sierra Leone

In 2014 and 2015, an outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone forced schools to close for nine months. One consequence of the closures was a significant spike in pregnancies among teenage girls (in some areas, rates went up 65%). As a result, the then-Minister of Education, Science and Technology publicly stated that pregnant girls would not be able to attend mainstream schools while they were pregnant in order to avoid adversely influencing their peers.

Members Urge Full Implementation of Systemic Gender Equality and Social Security Rights in UN Ecuador Case Concerning Unpaid Care Work

Case Filing Contributes to Collective Initiative to Develop a Feminist Global Social Pact on Care

Last month, in the case of ...

Sandesh Bansal v. Union of India and others (PIL) W.P. No. 9061/2008

The petitioner, Sandesh Bansal, is a health activist and member of Jan Adhikaar Manch, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working to raise concern over the high maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Madhya Pradesh as a part of their “Save our Mothers” campaign. The case was also part of Human Rights Law Network’s (HRLN’s) national litigation strategy to address India’s high maternal mortality and morbidity rates. Petitioner alleged that the state failed to provide basic and adequate maternal healthcare.