(Dis)Embedded Women

[This article is part of a symposium: Should the International Legal Regime Accept a Collective or Individual Paradigm to Protect Women’s Rights?]The article takes the position that women’s rights are individual rights. Stemming from the idea that individualism and collectivism are not a dichotomy, but rather a continuum, the author goes on to illustrate that the tension between the two does not simply exist between the West and the non-Western world. Furthermore, the author asserts that to group ‘women’ into a common collectivity is artificial. Instead, she sees women as being sociological individuals defined not only by their varying degrees of embededness in society, but also by their distinct roles and relationships, religious affiliations and ethnic groups. Nonetheless, the author points out that by acting in concert (as individuals coming together) women are more likely to attain their rights.