A Feminist Jurisprudence

Feminist Jurisprudence, more commonly known as feminism, originated in 1978 and comprises a competing and, at times, contradicting collection of social theories, political movements and moral philosophies. Feminism is attributed mainly to women's experiences, particularly with respect to women's social, political and economic inequalities. Advocates of feminist jurisprudence were unable to concur on the most effective way of achieving the end goal of equality for women. Traditionally, advocates promoted either liberalism, based on the concept of ‘sameness’, or culturalism, based on the concept of ‘differences’. While both liberal and cultural feminism have valid grounds, the main argument of this monograph is based on reconstructive feminism because it promotes gender equality by recognising that women as parents have dual familial and societal roles and makes necessary adjustments to empower women in their venture to succeed in both. In addition, reconstructive feminism considers changes in women's roles as mothers through the lenses of shared responsibility with fathers, therefore, parents’ entitlements have to be considered as a whole in any future policy development.

1 Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism—among other varieties of feminism—provides the strongest authority and foundation for other feminist theories. By definition, liberal feminism is a ‘feminist theory that believes gender inequality is created by lowering access for women and girls to civil rights and allocation of social resources such as education and employment’. The main principle is that individuals should have the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and that no one should bar those rights. The roots of liberal feminism were acquired from the liberal political philosophy in the enlightenment period, and the movement focuses on autonomy, universal rights, equal citizenship, and democracy. Liberal feminists are essentially concerned with deconstructing structural obstructions, including discriminatory laws, which keep women in oppressive gender roles and hinder them from actively participating in the workplace and society.

Liberal feminism can be classified into two categories, namely assimilationist and androgynous. The assimilationist paragon assumes that all people have equal status and should consequently be treated according to the same rules and principles. In addition to forcing women to abide by the rules created by men, the assimilationist ideal ignores the core elements of women's identities by declaring men's behaviour and lifestyle as the standard.