Reshaping Global South Feminism in International Relations

International relations (IR) have long been shaped by Western-centric perspectives, often sidelining the lived experiences of the Global South. Specifically, the situation of women in the postcolonial world does not enter the mainstream feminist debates very frequently. If it does, their concerns are not limited to wage disparities or the lack of women in leadership positions. As much as these matters are significant, they do not resonate with the issues of people in the Global South. This is where Global South Feminism provides a substantial change of lens through which to view the world [1]. This movement aims to bring to light the multiple oppression of women of the Global South and how colonial histories, economic violence, and often repeating injustices have defined their experiences. It condemns foreign policies that sustain these disparities in trade policies and military operations and seeks justice and equality. For instance, the war led by America in Afghanistan was sold as an effort to ‘free’ Afghanistan women from the Taliban [2]. However, two decades of war caused massive civilian losses and economic deterioration, which made many women worse off. According to the United Nations report published in 2021, female employment in Afghanistan declined sharply after the withdrawal of foreign troops, and rising socio-political unrest [3]. Global South Feminism challenges such approaches by pointing out that such approaches to disability often disguise anti-feminist policies in a feminist veil. This approach challenges policymakers to do more than make token decisions on gender issues; instead, they should adopt an integrated approach to fighting gender inequality.

Intersectionality, the idea that race, gender, class, and geography create different forms of oppression, is the main principle of Global South Feminism [4]. This movement maintains a focus on collective actions instead of individual achievements because the women’s liberation cause cannot be separated from other liberation struggles for economic, ecological, and social justice. From Ecuador, Nemonte Nenquimo, an Indigenous Kichwa leader, has been standing as the figurehead of the battle for the Amazon rainforest [5]. She has been central to the efforts to prevent drilling on Indigenous lands and challenging directly the multinational corporations and their backers in government. In her work, Nenquimo shows how Global South Feminism is a holistic approach of combining environmental activism with women’s rights activism owing to the fact that women are the most affected by the destruction of natural resources as they are often the backbone of their families and communities [5]. One more example is the Indian situation where Dalit women are discriminated against both for their caste and gender, and traditional feminism does not pay attention to it. The Indian activists for Dalit rights, like Ruth Manorama, have encouraged the policies of caste violence, land, and education [6]. They also prove that feminist advocacy should fit the context and circumstances of specific vulnerable groups and not generalise. By amplifying such experiences, Global South Feminism requires reimagining global structures. In essence, it requires that foreign policy is about more than just women’s rights and equal representation; it is about the three linked problems of poverty, climate change, and systemic oppression. It is not easy to apply the principles of Global South Feminism to foreign policy [7]. Some of the main issues include the continued influence of Western countries in international decision-making bodies. For example, the United Nations or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rarely allow substantive involvement from the Global South. This imbalance reduces the capacity of the subordinate countries to demand policies that suit them. An example is the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) the IMF carried out in the 1980s and 1990s [8]. These programs made countries from the Global South abide by structural adjustments that implied reduced social spending in healthcare and education. According to UNDP analysis, SAPs resulted in the deterioration of health services, particularly affecting maternity, leading to a high mother death rate in Sub-Saharan Africa [9].

But there is also an emerging potential for change. Civil society organisations in the Global South are at the forefront of experimentation in responding to structural violence. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign in Nigeria brought awareness of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram with a focus on gender, education and security [10]. Thanks to the actions of people like Oby Ezekwesili, the movement put pressure on the Nigerian government and the international community to take action, proving that feminism in the global south can be incredibly effective at changing policy on the global stage. Also, a new form of cooperation, South-South cooperation, allows the voiceless countries to unite and speak. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which is a regional bloc comprising countries such as Venezuela and Bolivia, among others, has embraced and integrated feminism into its social policies, including those that seek to promote the rights of women to quality health and free from gender-based violence [11]. Despite the controversies and obstacles, such endeavours are pioneering the way for policies informed by the Global South. The Global South Feminism is a concept that disrupts power and resistance as it is understood in world politics. In mainstream IR, power is often associated with dominance military might, economic influence, and the ability to impose. The latter is regarded as passive, a form of reaction to domination. The Global South Feminism presents the other side of the power as working together, and the process of resistance is presented as an attempt to create better structures. An excellent example of this is Colombia’s feminist peace movement [12]. The Colombian peace negotiation process between the government and FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, included women’s organisations. For example, Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres was trying to demand that women be allowed to participate in the peace process so that issues like sexual violence or returning seized land could be addressed [13]. It provided a practical demonstration of how gender mainstreaming could be used to obtain the optimal and lasting results for the post-conflict society as well as to shape the content of the peace agreement.

Similarly, the anti-sweatshop campaign has demonstrated how women have been key in the struggle against neo liberal trade policies. Women in the shear butter industry in Ghana have come together in groups in order to combat multinational companies that offer unsavoury prices for shea butter [14]. Women have got more control over the means of economic production through coming together in an act of resistance to global economy. It is also a protest in action because Global South Feminism is not simply about shouting against the existing systems today. By framing women’s voices from postcolonial and Third World this movement offers a direction for envisioning power and resistance in world politics. It puts pressure on policymakers to move out of the more or less direct rhetoric on diversity and realise the approaches that aim at the roots of the prejudice of the system.

[1] Ruppert, Uta, Tanja Scheiterbauer, and Helma Lutz. 2020. “Feminisms of the Global South: Critical Thinking and Collective Struggles: An Introduction.” European Journal of Women’s Studies 27 (4): 329–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506820951938.

[2] Council on Foreign Relations. 2024. “A Timeline of the U.S. War in Afghanistan.” Council on Foreign Relations. 2024. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan.

[3] “Human Rights Council.” 2023. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g23/125/67/pdf/g2312567.pdf.

[4] Giada Bonu Rosenkranz. 2024. “Intersectionality and Feminist Movements from a Global Perspective.” Sociology Compass 18 (5). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13211.

[5] “Nemonte Nenquimo.” 2021. Goldman Environmental Foundation. https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/nemonte-nenquimo/.

[6] “Ruth Manorama.” 2021. Right Livelihood. https://rightlivelihood.org/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/ruth-manorama/.

[7] Anzouk, Aya. 2022. “What Feminism Means to the Women of the Global South.” Valencia Voice. https://valenciavoice.com/31151/opinion/what-feminism-means-to-the-women-of-the-global-south/.

[8] Selowsky, Marcelo. 1987. “Adjustment in the 1980s: An Overview of Issues: The Policy Choices before Governments.” Finance & Development 24 (002). https://doi.org/10.5089/9781616353698.022.A003.

[9] Musarandega, Reuben, Michael Nyakura, Rhoderick Machekano, Robert Pattinson, and Stephen Peter Munjanja. 2021. “Causes of Maternal Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of Studies Published from 2015 to 2020.” Journal of Global Health 11 (October). https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.11.04048.

[10] “BRING BACK OUR GIRLS.” 2021. Bringbackourgirls.ng. https://bringbackourgirls.ng/.

[11] “Home.” 2004. ALBA-TCP. https://www.albatcp.org/en/.

[12] “Feminist Peace Movements from around the World: Sisma Mujer (Colombia).” 2024. CID Fraen an Gender. November 2024. https://cid-fg.lu/en/news/sisma-mujer-colombia/.

[13] “Ruta Pacifica de Las Mujeres | Sin Pausa Por Una Paz Incluyente Para Las Mujeres.” 1996. https://rutapacifica.org.co/wp/.

[14] “STAR-Ghana AVID Project: A Game Changer for Women’s Shea Butter Quality and Income.” 2023. Agrilinks. September 19, 2023. https://agrilinks.org/post/star-ghana-avid-project-game-changer-womens-shea-butter-quality-and-income-1.