Can the World's Poorest Women Be Saved: A Critical Third World Feminist Analysis of the CEDAW's Rural Women's Economic Rights and Alternative Approaches to Women's Economic Empowerment

This article argues that a re-examination of international conventional and treaty law concerning the protection and equality of women is necessary, given that globalization has tended to further economically marginalize women. The author poses two reasons why CEDAW has failed women economically and suggests that its economic articles pertaining to rural women could benefit from a Third-World Feminist Analysis (TWFA). The author critiques CEDAW using a TWFA from the point of view of women in the rural Indian village of Masure. The article concludes with three possible solutions for the improvement of women's economic situation where CEDAW has failed to protect women's economic rights in the new global economy.