ST. JOHN'S LAW REVIEW

This article reviews the issue of physical abuse of Indigenous women and begins with an examination of the sovereign nature of the tribal nations within the parameters of both international law and U.S. jurisprudence. It also addresses the way in which some international instruments relate to the rights and protection of Indigenous people, including specific provisions for protecting women. Furthermore, this article provides an overview of the American Indians' shared world view, revealing values in sharp contrast to those of the majority of American society.

The author Nina J. Crimm recalls a newspaper article of an ethnographic study of a matrilineal society, Vanatinai. Ideologies of male superiority are non-existent in Vanatinai, thus illustrating that female subordination is not inevitable. Crimm goes on to describe the various abuses women face in many societies – physical injury, mental injury, and denial of basic political, civil, and legal rights. She applauds several societies that have progressed in achieving gender equality but quickly mentions others that have regressed.

This article provides a description of the “Women’s Rights as International Human Rights Symposium.” The symposium dealt with the extent of female invisibility in manners such as not being allowed political participation. Participants also discussed the presence of systematic discrimination and its endangering effects. Lastly, the symposium advocated several approaches to the problem of women’s rights as human rights. Women must unite and network together and since they are not a homogenous group, critiques of human rights must reflect their various backgrounds.

Despite global and regional promotion of human rights, the United Nations consistently receives reports of human rights violations which cast doubt upon the commitment of many member nations. One specific area of violation and questionable commitment on the part of states is that concerning the rights of women. Even the regional instruments purporting to give effect to the obligation o promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, which states assumed under the U.N. Charter, pay only passing attention to the issue of human rights.

Taking the 1993 United Nations World Conference on Human Rights (the "Vienna Conference") as her starting point, the author notes that the women's rights movment has successfully exposed women's issues as separate concerns but is still struggling to show how women and gender issues pervade all aspects of human rights. The process of documenting and interpreting the meaning of violence against women is another step. In this short note, the author suggests areas which need attention in the field of women's international human rights.