Imperial Sexism

Imperial Sexism is a must-read for scholars and students across international studies, human rights, and gender studies. Denise Walsh expertly tackles some of the toughest women's rights-related debates of our time, making a convincing case that they are not a clash between gender equality and cultural specificity - indeed 'the clash' isn't inevitable, or as sharp as many scholars and policy-makers would have us believe. Building on conciliatory stories, intersectional perspectives, and critiques of imperial sexism, Walsh offers a path forward where academics and practitioners can see women as advocates for themselves within, not against, their cultural contexts. * Laura Sjoberg, Kloppenburg Official Fellow and Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Exeter College, Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford * Denise Walsh's book boldly challenges the prevailing idea that culture and women's rights are on a collision course. Drawing on archival research and 100 interviews across France, South Africa, and Canada, she reveals how this notion of a ""clash""-rooted in colonialism, sexism, and cultural essentialism-harms the very women it claims to protect. In this nuanced and compelling book, Walsh develops a new framework for understanding rights by amplifying the voices of minority women through powerful stories of resistance. In her account, these women are not victims of culture but agents of change. This elegantly written book offers a transformative vision, in which cultural and gender justice are not only compatible but essential to each other. * Aili Mari Tripp, Vilas Research Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison *