Rashida Manjoo
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Rashida Manjoo is an Emeritus Professor at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and a social activist involved in the eradication of violence against women and gender-based violence. Manjoo was the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
'
Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women On 4 March 1994 the Human Rights Council passed Resolution 1994/45 on the question of integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women. This Resolution establishe ...
from June 2009 to July 2015."Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences"
United Nations Human Rights. Office of the High Commissioner.


Early life

Rashida Manjoo grew up in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa. Manjoo learned of the injustices towards women from a young age. Raised by two strong female influences, her grandmother and mother, she saw their strength in times of poverty in
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa. Living in apartheid South Africa allowed Manjoo to view the violence against women and lack of accountability from a young age.‘Bridging the Divide’: An Interview with Professor Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Rashida Manjoo and Daniela Nadj. 2015. Retrieved 11.15.2018 Through Manjoo’s parent's importance on education was expressed upon Manjoo and her five sister,South African Feminist a Global Voice for Women. Shamin Chibba. August 13, 2015. Retrieved 11.15.2018 Manjoo’s personal history with the apartheid and her higher education guided her into many civil society positions, advocating for improved human rights standards. Manjoo grew of age in South Africa during a time that extenuated the history of colonization, and a system that did not consider women equal, but inferior. Naturally, becoming interested in challenging oppression and discrimination in its many forms, she started working as a women’s liberation campaigner in anti-apartheid groups across South Africa.Champion of Women’s Rights Rashida Manjoo and Pioneering Criminologist Ronald V. Clarke to Receive Honorary Degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. CUNY.com. April 18, 2018. Retrieved 11.15.2018


Career

Manjoo is a professor in the Department of Public Law at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
. She previously served as the Parliamentary Commissioner on South Africa's Commission on Gender Equality, the Des Lee Distinguished Visiting Professor at
Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...
, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Fellow with
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
's Human Rights Program. Manjoo also taught at the
University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...
, Durban. Manjoo was an educator for not only her university students but lawyers and judges as well. Manjoo established and taught social context training for judges and lawyers, designing content and methodology intended to improve experiences within the judicial system. As an educator, Manjoo has held numerous visiting professorships around the globe; including the Des Lee Distinguished Visiting Professor at Webster University in the United States. At Webster University, she has taught courses on human rights, with a particular focus on women's human rights and transitional justice. Manjoo also was a clinical instructor for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School in 2005 and 2006 and the Eleanor Roosevelt Fellow at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
in 2006-07.


Social work

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Manjoo and many other feminist activists added focus to the intersectional perspective, by including race and gender in the discussion of inequality and discrimination. Manjoo and other intersectional feminists began forming coalitions or networks for women in South Africa, such as the ''Women’s Charter'' which Manjoo created in her province in South Africa. The different coalitions for women would reflect the desires and demands of the women in South Africa, especially in reaction to the treatment of women during the apartheid. During the time of apartheid and the following transition period towards democracy, there was rampant state-sponsored violence against women and other minority groups such as student protesters. The Women’s Charter and other groups focused their efforts on increasing awareness of the violence towards women and generating support for those women.Bridging the Divide’: An Interview with Professor Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Rashida Manjoo and Daniela Nadj. 2015. Retrieved 11.15.2018 Manjoo’s work for human rights for women led to her involvement in regional and international discussions on justice for women, including work on the Protocol on Women in Africa (
Maputo Protocol The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, is an international human rights instrument established by the African Union that went into effect in 2005. I ...
), the African Court on Human Rights, and the Rome Treaty (International Criminal Court). Manjoo worked internationally with these groups to recognize how violence against women is manifested and translated those manifestations into categories of crime under international criminal law. Through the Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice and the Coalition on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Manjoo worked to link women’s local knowledge and presence in global initiatives to support women, and to illuminate the existence of gendered violence and strengthen international criminal law to prevent and prosecute. Manjoo worked to expose the negative effects of violence against women, and the interplay between different individual, family, community, and social factors on violence and the perpetuation of violence against women.Keynote from Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences. Rashida Manjoo. October 29, 2011. Retrieved 11.15.2018 Manjoo worked as a human rights lawyer throughout her career, including for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to create shadow reports— which are disclosed reports that can be submitted by Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) to articulate and advocate for certain needs of citizens which are currently being unsupported or mismanaged by national governments. Manjoo spent time with CEDAW and other activists, drafting a submission on violence against women in both local and global communities, in theory, and practice. Manjoo subsequently served for five years as Parliamentary Commissioner in the Commission on Gender Equality to hold governments accountable to national constitutions; again, using various independent organizations (including NGOs) to regulate the accountability of national governments. This position gave Manjoo the ability to work within a state structure while emphasizing the national need for support of women in the discussion of human rights. Manjoo also used her position on the Commission on Gender Equality to reject the theory of solely analyzing civil and political rights independently, but rather urging for a holistic approach to human rights including intersectional experiences.University of Glasgow School of Law Presentation of Honorary Doctorate Degree. University of Glasgow. 2013. Retrieved 11.15.2018 During Manjoo’s lifelong career advocating for activism against oppression and discrimination, Manjoo dedicated much of her efforts to educate students across the globe.


United Nations Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women (UNSPVAW)

Manjoo’s dedication to action on issues of social justice within her many capacities, compounded with her strife for personal and community education and equal opportunities, made her widely known within the international women’s movement. Due in part to her notoriety, Manjoo was nominated and appointed to UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences, in 2009, by the UN Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
with the support of the
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
(UNHRC) Manjoo’s local and national work for gender and race equality logically culminated in her appointment to the UNHRC. As the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women (UNSPVAW), Manjoo continually worked to display the gap between government promises and the action taken to support women afflicted by violence. Manjoo has done so by prioritizing many issues of violence against women as thematic mandates submitted to the UNHRC. Manjoo provided a range of thematic reports to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. These thematic mandates report on the research collected by the UN Special Rapporteur and their recommended procedures. Manjoo has continually provided thematic mandates on a variety of issues regarding violence against women. These thematic mandates include: * violence against women and girls with disabilities * gender-motivated killings of women and their role in the continuum of violence * pathways to incarceration and their resulting consequences * reparations for women who have been victims of violence * the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in violence * the state’s responsibility to due diligence and the elimination of violence against women. The thematic mandates exposed the gap in international criminal law between human rights standards and the treatment and violence against women. She has attempted to influence more accountability on the part of national governments globally, stating states are not being held responsible for their role in violence against women; calling for responsibility “necessary” to for countries to be intolerant to violence against women properly. This call for accountability is clear in Manjoo’s final two thematic reports which claimed, under international law, there are no provisions that impose legally binding obligations on member states to eliminate violence against women. Manjoo is also notable for exposing governments or organizations that are or complacent in the harm of women, which occasionally has led to criticism. Most notably, Manjoo gained national media coverage when, after a 16-day investigation of the UK, Manjoo expressed that the UK had a more visible presence of sexism and sexist portrayals of women, claiming that the British media was to blame for its responsibility in the “negative and over-sexualized portrayals of women” and the “marketization of their bodies.” Many people were upset by this characterization of the UK and criticized Manjoo for her opinions, deeming them an unfair interpretation and representation of the UK In 2014, Manjoo submitted a report on violence and sex crimes in India believing the violence to be widespread and systematic. Referencing her many discussions with women and experts in India as evidence of deep-rooted physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of women occurring in the private sphere and accepted by the State. Officials from India denied that violence against women is systematic, and criticized Manjoo’s statements for being simplistic and an over generalization. Manjoo called for a global treaty to end violence against women in 2014, citing the "absence of a legally binding agreement at the international level represents one of the obstacles to the promotion and protection of women’s rights and gender equality." She was succeeded by Dr. Dubravka Šimonović in July 2015.


Awards and honors

* William McKinley Award for Good Governance - ''
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...
'' (2013)Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Retrieved 11.15.2018 * International Human Rights Award -
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
(2014) * Honorary degree of Doctor - ''
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
'' (2015)


Written work

* Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences (2017) * * * *Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Addendum : Mission to India: comments by the State on the report of the Special Rapporteur (2014) *Trafficking of Women: Norms, Realities, and Challenges (2014) * The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission- A Model for Gender Justice (2012) * * Gender-based Violence and Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict Areas (2011) * * *The Recognition of Muslim Personal Laws in South Africa: Implications of Women’s Human Rights (2007) *What’s in a Name? The Identity and Reform of Customary Law in South Africa’s Constitutional Dispensation (2006) * *Gender Rights Within the Framework of Traditional or Group Cultural Norms and Rights (2005) *


See also

*
Women's rights in 2014 2014 was described as a watershed year for women's rights, by newspapers such as ''The Guardian''. It was described as a year in which women's voices acquired greater legitimacy and authority.Rebecca Solnit"Listen up, women are telling their stor ...


References


Further reading


Statement by Ms. Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences"
Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-eighth session, 11 March 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Manjoo, Rashida Year of birth missing (living people) Living people South African women's rights activists South African officials of the United Nations Academic staff of the University of Cape Town