The World Courts of Women are public hearings that give a forum to those who are traditionally excluded from formal political and legal proceedings. Organized around particular topics relevant to the hosting country, these unofficial public enquiries highlight the injustices that women face. They include testimonies of personal experience, analyses by scholars and activists, and skill-sharing and strategizing. Through these, the World Courts aim to educate and raise awareness, record injustice and human rights violations, give voice to marginalized women, and develop alternative visions and strategies for the future.

Overview

World Courts of Women are symbolic processes that hold unofficial public enquiries into crimes against women, including the violation of their basic

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

. The main function of these hearings is to allow an opportunity for participants to relate experiences that are not widely publicized by traditional media sources and

public discourse The public sphere (german: Öffentlichkeit) is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning the ...

. It aims to challenge dominant public discourse by pointing to contradictions between principles of human rights and the experiences of women. The secondary function is for the

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. ...

to provide a resource for

social movements A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and ma ...

and

political movements A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

working for

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

and

women's liberation The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

, which seek to hold powerful governments and other entities accountable to human rights standards and

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

and "transform the dominant paradigm of politics." The World Courts of Women have been inspired and promoted by Corinne Kumar, an activist leader in the Tunis-based

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

and human rights advocacy group, El Taller International. In the countries where these occur, the intent is to hold their governments accountable to both international law and human

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

. While such courts lack official legitimacy, by pointing out the failures of formal laws to protect women, they can help undermine the popular acceptance of government authority that is based in patriarchy. In this sense, they aim to increase

popular sovereignty Popular sovereignty is the principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any ...

and to delegitimize institutions, bureaucracy, and other social groups which are thought to be inadequate in punishing persons who violate the ethics and norms, if not also the formal laws, governing society. They challenge the traditional notion of power and powerholders; according to Kumar, "moving out of the patriarchal mindset would mean refusing the mono-dimensional definition of power, seeking to redefine and relocate power, to discover an alternate concept of power, to find new patterns of power." There are many gender biases’ in the courts especially against women. Women can be denied equal justice, equal treatment, and equal opportunity (Harbour). Women have had laws passed to protect them against violence. It took many years to actually allow them to recognize women as victims of stalking or sexual harassment. Eventually laws were passed to protect these victims. Many women have experienced and lived through the domestic violence that was done to them and no one believed them. Now society is finally recognizing the violence against women more than ever before. Even though women are still put down compared to men in certain situations or jobs the world has evolved to better the understanding that women are just as capable as men.

People's tribunals

People’s tribunals assert that targeted judicial systems are failing to provide access for low-income, minority, and other non-elite groups and individuals to

prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tr ...

or even bring forth a

criminal charge A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can ...

. Investigation is also made into laws recognized by states that fail to consider

personal and cultural values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live ( normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of ...

and

dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...

. These tribunals are also intended to help strengthen international conventions or norms to which governments and other

elites In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. ...

are held. The

social space A social space is physical or virtual space such as a social center, online social media, or other gathering place where people gather and interact. Some social spaces such as town squares or parks are public places; others such as pubs, websit ...

s where the World Courts of Women occur are communities in which "social categories are suspended,

roles A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given indiv ...

become fluid and

interaction Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to: Science * Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition * Interaction (statistics) * Interactions o ...

is privileged." The symbolic use of the World Courts of Women intends to provide

influence Influence or influencer may refer to: *Social influence, in social psychology, influence in interpersonal relationships ** Minority influence, when the minority affect the behavior or beliefs of the majority *Influencer marketing, through individ ...

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

, and

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

for victims unable to find resolution in official judicial systems and institutions. The first

International War Crimes Tribunal The Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal, Russell–Sartre Tribunal, or Stockholm Tribunal, was a private People's Tribunal organised in 1966 by Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and Nobel Prize winner, and ...

was an investigative body immediately followed the 1966 publication of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

's book, ''War Crimes in Vietnam''. The tribunal investigated and evaluated the United States of America's foreign policy and military intervention in Vietnam and provided a model for further tribunals related to war crimes,

human rights violations Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

, and

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

. The

International Tribunal on Crimes against Women The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women was a people's tribunal which took place on March 4–8, 1976 in Brussels.Doughty, Frances. ''lesbians and International Women's Year: A Report on Three Conferences'', in ''Our Right to Love: A Les ...

was a people's tribunal which took place on March 4–8, 1976 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. The event was created with the intention to "make public the full range of crimes, both violently brutal and subtly discriminatory, committed against women of all cultures."

History

What follows is a partial list of past World Courts. In 1992 the first World Court of Women, called the "Asia Court on Violence Against Women" was held in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, Pakistan. The Courts of Women organized by Asian Women's Human Rights Council (AWHRC) in the

Asia Pacific region Asia Pacific Region can refer to: * Asia-Pacific * WOSM-Asia-Pacific Region * WAGGGS-Asia Pacific Region * Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, e ...

inspired courts in other regions, particularly in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. In 1995 Arab women organized the Arab Women's Court with the assistance of human rights organizations including the international NGO, El Taller. That year the court held a public hearing in Beirut, Lebanon on violence directed against women. In 1996 the ''Mahkamate El Nissa El Arabiya'' (Permanent Arab Women’s Court) was established. Different member organizations were to host this court on a rotating basis. The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery was held in December 2000. It was a people's tribunal convened to gather testimony from victims, and then, based on international laws that were in place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, to try groups and individuals for

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

or sexual slavery, i.e., forcing women to sexually service Japanese soldiers. The World Court of Women Against War, for Peace was held March 8, 2001 in

Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to be the largest

, Cape Town, South Africa to bear witness to the enormous violence and

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

caused by wars around the world. 4,000 people from around the Republic of South Africa and the world participated. World Court of Women on U.S. War Crimes took place in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, India, on January 18, 2004, as part of the 2004

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...

. The 36th Court of Women, "Daughters of Fire : The Indian Court of Women on Dowry and Related Forms of Violence Against Women" was held in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, India on July 26–29, 2009. The 37th Court of Women, "Southeast Asia Court of Women on HIV and Human Trafficking" was held on August 6, 2009 during the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in

Nusa Dua Nusa Dua is a resort area built in the 1970s in the southern part of Bali, Indonesia. Known as an enclave of large five-star resorts, it covers 350 hectares of land and encloses more than 20 resorts. It is located 22 kilometers from Denpasar, t ...

, Bali. Twenty-two women, from six Southeast Asian countries (

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

) spoke about living with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

and their experiences with human trafficking,

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

, and

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...

. "World Court of Women on Poverty in the United States: Disappeared in America" was the first US example, held in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, USA, from May 10–13, 2012. Representing the western region of the country, the focus was on poverty in the U.S. In 2013, another World Court of Women was held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania. The 2015 session took place in Bangalore, India, to witness the violence and injustice, and highlight the political lessons and resistance, and oppose "the unending wars against women".

References

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