- Table View
- List View
Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain
by Margaret WillsonA daring and magnificent historical narrative nonfiction account of Iceland's most famous female sea captain who constantly fought for women's rights and equality—and who also solved one of the country's most notorious robberies.Every day was a fight for survival, equality, and justice for Iceland's most renowned female fishing captain of the 19th century.History would have us believe the sea has always been a male realm, the idea of female captains almost unthinkable. But there is one exception, so notable she defies any expectation.This is her remarkable story.Captain Thurídur, born in Iceland in 1777, lived a life that was both controversial and unconventional. Her first time fishing, on the open unprotected rowboats of her time, was at age 11. Soon after, she audaciously began wearing trousers. She later became an acclaimed fishing captain brilliant at weather-reading and seacraft and consistently brought in the largest catches. In the Arctic seas where drownings occurred with terrifying regularity, she never lost a single crewmember. Renowned for her acute powers of observation, she also solved a notorious crime. In this extremely unequal society, she used the courts to fight for justice for the abused, and in her sixties, embarked on perilous journeys over trackless mountains.Weaving together fastidious research and captivating prose, Margaret Willson reveals Captain Thurídur's fascinating story, her extraordinary courage, intelligence, and personal integrity.Through adventure, oppression, joy, betrayal, and grief, Captain Thurídur speaks a universal voice. Here is a woman so ahead of her times she remains modern and inspirational today. Her story can now finally be told.Praise for Woman, Captain, Rebel:"Meticulously researched and evocatively written, Woman, Captain, Rebel provides not only a captivating insight into 19th-century Iceland, but also introduces readers to the inspirational, real-life fishing captain Thurídur, a tough and fiercely independent woman who deserves to be a role model of determination and perseverance for us all." —Eliza Reid, internationally bestselling author of Secrets of the Sprakkar"A crime has been committed in 19th century Iceland and in steps a mysterious seawoman moonlighting as a detective, dressed in male clothes. Margaret Willson unravels this legendary casework of Captain Thurídur, down to the finest detail, with a brilliant portrait of old Iceland by the sea." —Egill Bjarnason, author of How Iceland Changed the World"Reading about this remarkable woman's journey will challenge your ideas about history and change yours too." —Major General Mari K. Eder, author of The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line"All credit to Margaret Willson for excavating the story of Thurídur Einarsdóttir in a century which can at long last appreciate this feisty and resilient Icelandic seafarer. The meticulous research is worn so lightly that it reads like a saga." —Sally Magnusson, author and broadcaster"A beautiful story of one woman's perseverance against tragedy, hardship, and the open seas." —Katharine Gregorio, author of The Double Life of Katharine Clark"With a clear, compelling narrative voice, Willson illuminates the life of an extraordinary woman and brings rural Iceland to life for her readers." —Shelf Awareness
The Woman in the Room: A Jewish Life Through 100 Years of History
by Naomi B. Levine Sofia GroopmanBorn into a poor, immigrant family, Naomi B. Levine grew up in the Bronx and on Manhattan’s storied Lower East Side in an era when women were not encouraged to have lives of their own. Nevertheless, she managed to raise herself to prominence as a leader of Jewish affairs, champion of civil rights, and expert fundraiser.Poignant, direct, and inflected with Yiddishkeit, The Woman in the Room is the story of how Levine went from living in a crowded tenement with a shared bathroom to penning an amicus brief that was crucial in Brown v. Board of Education, assuming the Executive Directorship of the American Jewish Congress, and saving NYU from bankruptcy with the first billion-dollar capital campaign for a university.A lover of history, Levine describes not just her life but also articulates how the major historical events of the time emboldened her to take social and political positions that were in many circles unacceptable. She was an activist and a feminist before those concepts became part of our everyday parlance. The Woman in the Room not only illuminates the decades Levine lived but furnishes future generations with the strength and courage to face the challenges before them.
Woman Lawyer
by Barbara BabcockWoman Lawyertells the story of Clara Foltz, the first woman admitted to the California Bar. Famous in her time as a public intellectual, leader of the women's movement, and legal reformer, Foltz faced terrific prejudice and well-organized opposition to women lawyers as she tried cases in front of all-male juries, raised five children as a single mother, and stumped for political candidates. She was the first to propose the creation of a public defender to balance the public prosecutor. Woman Lawyeruncovers the legal reforms and societal contributions of a woman celebrated in her day, but lost to history until now. It casts new light on the turbulent history and politics of California in a period of phenomenal growth and highlights the interconnection of the suffragists and other movements for civil rights and legal reforms.
Woman Suffrage and Women’s Rights
by null Ellen Carol DuBoisAn essential examination of the woman suffrage movementIn recent decades, the woman suffrage movement has taken on new significance for women's history. Ellen Carol DuBois has been a central figure in spurring renewed interest in woman suffrage and in realigning the debates which surround it. This volume gathers DuBois' most influential articles on woman suffrage and includes two new essays. The collection traces the trajectory of the suffrage story against the backdrop of changing attitudes to politics, citizenship and gender, and the resultant tensions over such issues as slavery and abolitionism, sexuality and religion, and class and politics. Connecting the essays is DuBois' belief in the continuing importance of political and reform movements as an object of historical inquiry and a force in shaping gender. The book, which includes a highly original reconceptualization of women's rights from Mary Wollstonecraft to contemporary abortion and gay rights activists and a historiographical overview of suffrage scholarship, provides an excellent overview of the movement, including international as well as U.S. suffragism, in the context of women's broader concerns for social and political justice.
Womanist Bioethics: Social Justice, Spirituality, and Black Women's Health (Religion and Social Transformation)
by null Wylin D. WilsonOffers Bioethics a bold approach to redress its failing of Black womenBlack people, and especially Black women, suffer and die from diseases at much higher rates than their white counterparts. The vast majority of these health disparities are not attributed to behavioral differences or biology, but to the pervasive devaluation of Black bodies.Womanist Bioethics addresses this crisis from a bioethical standpoint. It offers a critique of mainstream bioethics as having embraced the perspective of its mainly white, male progenitors, limiting the extent to which it is positioned to engage the issues that particularly affect vulnerable populations. This book makes the provocative but essential case that because African American women– across almost every health indicator– fare worse than others. We must not only include, but center, Black women’s experiences and voices in bioethics discourse and practice.To this end, Womanist Bioethics develops the first specifically womanist form of bioethics, focused on the diverse vulnerabilities and multiple oppressions that women of color face. This innovative womanist bioethics is grounded in the Black Christian prophetic tradition, based on the ideas that God does not condone oppression and that it is imperative to defend those who are vulnerable. It also draws on womanist theology and Black liberation theology, which take similar stances. At its core, the volume offers a new, broad-based approach to bioethics that is meant as a corrective to mainstream bioethics’ privileging of white, particularly male, experiences, and it outlines ways in which hospitals, churches, and the larger community can better respond to the healthcare needs of Black women.
Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil
by Emilie M. TownesThis groundbreaking book provides an analytical tool to understand how and why evil works in the world as it does. Deconstructing memory, history, and myth as received wisdom, the volume critically examines racism, sexism, poverty, and stereotypes.
Womanist Theological Ethics: A Reader
by Katie Geneva Cannon Emilie M. Townes Angela D. SimsIn this new volume in the Library of Theological Ethics series, nine African American women scholars reflect on what it means to live as responsible doers of justice. This book presents analytical strategies for understanding the story of womanist scholarship in the service of the Black community.
A Woman's Guide to Divorce: How to take control of the whole process, including finances, children and the emotional journey
by Phyllida Wilson Maxine PillingerThis book will inform and empower women who have decided to divorce, or are deciding whether to do so.It will give them the `heads up` on what to expect, and the confidence to manage and control the formidable process; from the first meeting with a solicitor to the financial implications, the court processes, communication with the `ex`, and managing children, family and friends.It offers guidance on living arrangements and emotional aspects, and on the characteristics of `extreme` divorces including violence, harassment, custody battles, non-compliance and aggressive financial deprivation.
Woman's Identity and Rethinking the Hadith (Islamic Law in Context #1)
by Nimat Hafez BarazangiThe Prophet Muhammad’s reported traditions have evolved significantly to affect the social, cultural, and political lives of all Muslims. Though centuries of scholarship were spent on the authentication and trustworthiness of the narrators, there has been less study focused on the contents of these narratives, known as Hadith or Sunnah, and their corroboration by the Qur`an. This book is a first step in a comprehensive attempt to contrast Hadith with the Qur`an in order to uncover some of the unjust practices by Muslims concerning women and gender issues. Using specific examples the author helps the reader appreciate and understand the magnitude of the problem. It is argued that the human rights and the human development of Muslim women will not progress in a meaningful and sustainable manner until the Hadith is re-examined in a fresh new approach from within the Islamic framework, shifting the discourse in understanding Islam from a dogmatic religious law to a religio-moral rational worldview. The author argues that such re-examination requires the involvement of women in order to affirm their authority in exegetical and practical leadership within Muslim societies, and she encourages Muslim women to stand up for their rights to effect change in understanding the role of sunnah in their own life.
Womb Politics: A Short History of the Future of Human Reproduction (The International Library of Bioethics #99)
by Frida SimonsteinThis book offers a vision of politics that govern the womb; from antiquity (‘be fertile and replenish the earth’), through the ages (hysterectomy, to extirpate women’s ‘hysteria’), up to the present time (abortion wars; assisted reproduction), and into the future (reprogenetics; the artificial womb). It explores how the womb has served humanity, either tacitly or explicitly, through the ages and examines how women have accepted and still perceive the rules created by men as natural - including the new anti-abortion laws in the USA - because ‘that is the way things are.’ The book also explores how the emerging of assisted reproduction technologies and novel genetic tools (reprogenetics) will pose additional challenges to womb bearers, as all women will be made to reproduce with IVF. What is more, the advent of the artificial womb is in sight; the gender and social implications of this development would be enormous. Certainly not just another organ, the womb has been and remains a powerful tool that cannot be left to the decisions of half of the population. This book engages a wide audience, including women and men, professionals and laypersons who are interested in gender, politics, legislation, women’s health, and ethics.
Women Accused of Sexual Harassment
by Leslie MargolinThis book examines whether sexual harassment allegations against women in colleges and universities are different from harassment allegations against men and whether they are judged differently, more harshly and restrictively. Do women accused of sexual harassment receive less social support and more condemnation than men accused of sexual harassment? Do women receive the same due process, the same penalties, the same chances for redemption? Through thematic and narrative analysis of publicly available sexual harassment records and archival sources, as well as college and university newspapers, social media posts, blogs, and videos, chapters demonstrate how sexual harassment allegations, when directed against women, represent another form of gender discrimination and a different way of impugning (sexually harassing) women. This book is relevant to scholars and students in gender and sexuality studies, feminist theory, criminal justice, and legal studies.
Women, Agency and Religion: Social and Legal Issues in the Mediterranean Public Space (Routledge-Giappichelli Studies in Religion, Law and Economics in the Mediterranean Space)
by Ilaria ValenziOn both Mediterranean shores, women’s agency is articulated by new social and legal actors that face the religious factor both as an asset and as a brake. This book explores how female agency is defined and takes place in the region. The collection brings together contributions of both theoretical and thematic nature mapping various experiences on the public role of women in the Mediterranean context. In particular, the book relates the two sides, observing affinities and differences in the affirmation of women’s agency. This synoptic approach avoids essentialist contraposition and dialectic between different cultural, religious and political universes and emphasizes the role of a common geopolitical space where women's agency is playing an increasingly decisive role in the building and defense of constitutional democratic political systems. The reflection is enriched by the specific analysis of the role of a “religious factor” in the process of affirmation or, in contrast, as a restraint on women’s agency. The book focuses both on the role of women believers in the processes of transformation of the political contexts of the North African and Euro-Mediterranean area, and on the role of women within religions, questioning from inside the patriarchal traditions of the latter. The book applies a multidisciplinary approach to the theme of women’s agency, in which law, sociology, theology and philosophy interact with each other. As such, it will be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of Human Rights Law, Law and Religion, Socio-legal Studies and Gender Studies.
Women and Austerity: The Economic Crisis and the Future for Gender Equality (Routledge IAFFE Advances in Feminist Economics)
by Maria Karamessini Jill RuberyAusterity has become the new principle for public policy in Europe and the US as the financial crisis of 2008 has been converted into a public debt crisis. However, current austerity measures risk losing past progress towards gender equality by undermining important employment and social welfare protections and putting gender equality policy onto the back burner. This volume constitutes the first attempt to identify how the economic crisis and the subsequent austerity policies are affecting women in Europe and the US, tracing the consequences for gender equality in employment and welfare systems in nine case studies from countries facing the most severe adjustment problems. The contributions adopt a common framework to analyse women in recession, which takes into account changes in women’s position and current austerity conditions. The findings demonstrate that in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, employment gaps between women and men declined — but due only to a deterioration in men’s employment position rather than any improvements for women. Tables are set to be turned by the austerity policies which are already having a more negative impact on demand for female labour and on access to services which support working mothers. Women are nevertheless reinforcing their commitment to paid work, even at this time of increasing demands on their unpaid domestic labour. Future prospects are bleak. Current policy is reinforcing the same failed mechanisms that caused the crisis in the first place and is stalling or even reversing the long term growth in social investment in support for care. This book makes the case for gender equality to be placed at the centre of any progressive plan for a route out of the crisis.
Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration
by Evelyn Shea Sławomir Redo Helmut KuryThis work compiles experiences and lessons learned in meeting the unique needs of women and children regarding crime prevention and criminal justice, in particular the treatment and social reintegration of offenders and serves as a cross-disciplinary work for academic and policy-making analyses and follow-up in developing and developed countries. Furthermore, it argues for a more humane and effective approach to countering delinquency and crime among future generations. In a world where development positively depends on the rule of law and the related investment security, two global trends may chart the course of development: urbanization and education. Urbanization will globalize the concepts of "justice" and "fairness"; education will be dominated by the urban mindset and digital service economy, just as a culture of lawfulness will. This work looks at crime prevention education as an investment in the sustainable quality of life of succeeding generations, and at those who pursue such crime prevention as the providers of much-needed skills in the educational portfolio. Adopting a reformist approach, this work collects articles with findings and recommendations that may be relevant to domestic and international policymaking, including the United Nations Studies and their educational value for the welfare of coming generations. The books address the relevant United Nations ideas by combining them with academic approaches. Guided by the Editors' respective fields of expertise, and in full recognition of academic freedom and "organized scepticism", it includes contributions by lawyers, criminologists, sociologists and other eminent experts seeking to bridge the gap between academic and policy perspectives, as appropriate, against the international background, including the United Nations developments. The second volume opens with Part IV, which presents articles on different kinds of crime prevention. The effectiveness of punishment and, in particular, imprisonment is examined by contrasting it with alternative sanctions and the following questions are raised: Does harsh punishment have a crime preventive effect? What are the side effects of imprisonment on the offenders and their families? Are alternatives, such as restorative justice or mediation, more effective and cheaper? Part V outlines proactive strategies of crime prevention, e. g. for potential sex offenders or in the domain of internet crime. Part VI envisions a more peaceful and inclusive society, which would be realized by improving the protection of women and children in their everyday life, and easing the reintegration of those who have become offenders. The importance of the role played by the UN in formulating these goals is underlined. The volume concludes with an epilogue of the 70th President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Martin Sajdik, and a post scriptum of the editors. p>
Women And The Criminal Justice System
by Katherine Van Wormer Clemens BartollasAn empowerment approach to women in the criminal justice system. Women and the Criminal Justice System, Fourth Edition, presents an up-to-date analysis of women as victims of crime, as offenders, and as professionals in the justice system. The text features an empowerment approach is unified by underlying themes of the intersection of gender, race, and class; and evidence-based research. Personal narratives highlight the information provided to help students connect the text material with real-life situations. An emphasis on critical thinking teaches students to look beyond media hype concerning female offenders to study the real stories behind women affected by and working in the justice system.
Women and Domestic Violence Law in India: A Quest for Justice
by Shalu NigamThis book critically examines domestic violence law in India. It focuses on women’s experiences and perspectives as victims and litigants, with regard to accessibility to law and justice. It also reflects on the manner in which the legal process reproduces gender hierarchies. This volume: Analyzes the legal framework from a gender perspective to pinpoint the inherent stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory practices that come into play while interpreting the law; Includes in-depth interviews and case studies, and explores critical themes such as marriage, rights, family, violence, property and the state; Presents alternatives beyond the domain of law, such as qualitative medical care and legal aid facilities, shelter homes, short-stay homes, childcare facilities, and economic and social security provisions to survivors and their children. Drawing on extensive testimonies and ethnographic studies situated in a theoretical framework of law, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of law, gender, human rights, women’s studies, sociology and social anthropology, and South Asian studies.
Women and Entrepreneurship in India: Governance, Sustainability and Policy (Women and Sustainable Business)
by Harpreet KaurThe Indian Constitution is the largest written constitution that guarantees equality to women and empowers the State to take affirmative actions in favour of women. India has adopted International conventions for protection of rights of women and granting them equality and ratified the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the year 1993. The National Policy for Women Empowerment was presented in 2001, the goal of that policy to bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women and enable women to become financially independent. Currently, India is the only country where the economic gender gap is larger than the political gender gap. Women are required to understand their own potential and overcome social barriers. With constant support of the government, change in stereotype mindset and skill development in women, India will continue witnessing gradual increase in women entrepreneurship in future. The aim of this book is to show the latest state of knowledge on the topic of women entrepreneurship, the role of women in business and women empowerment in India. Many aspects relating to role of women in business, sustainable business development and aspects going beyond economic empowerment of women are discussed in addition to presenting legal and regulatory frameworks. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of entrepreneurship, empowerment, gender studies, and law.
Women and Genocide: Survivors, Victims, Perpetrators
by Elissa Bemporad and Joyce W. WarrenEssays that use “gender as a critical lens for staging intersectional, multidisciplinary investigations of genocide in the 20th and 21st centuries” (Reading Religion).The genocides of modern history—Rwanda, Armenia, Guatemala, the Holocaust, and countless others—and their effects have been well documented, but how do the experiences of female victims and perpetrators differ from those of men? In Women and Genocide, human rights advocates and scholars come together to argue that the memory of trauma is gendered and that women’s voices and perspectives are key to our understanding of the dynamics that emerge in the context of genocidal violence. The contributors of this volume examine how women consistently are targets for the sexualized violence that serves as an instrument of ethnic cleansing, how female perpetrators take advantage of the new power structures, and how women are involved in the struggle for justice in post-genocidal contexts. By placing women at center stage, Women and Genocide helps us to better understand the nexus existing between misogyny and violence in societies where genocide erupts.“It elegantly bridges the historical divide between the study of political violence and the study of gendered violence in the so-called domestic sphere . . . Women and Genocide is an immense scholarly accomplishment that has the potential to fund creative advances in each of the scholarly disciplines it engages, as well as human rights, peace, and anti-violence programs of advocacy.” —Reading Religion
Women and Immigration Law: New Variations on Classical Feminist Themes
by Sarah Van Walsum Thomas SpijkerboerThis book examines immigration law from a gender perspective. It shows how immigration law situates gender conflicts outside the national order, projecting them onto non-western countries, exotic cultures, clandestine labour and criminal organizations. In doing so, immigration law sustains the illusion that gender conflicts have moved beyond the pale of European experience. In fact, the classical feminist themes of patriarchy, the gendered division of labour and sexual violence are still being played out at the heart of Europe's societies, involving both citizens and migrants. This collection of essays demonstrates how the seemingly marginal perspective of immigration law highlights Europe's unresolved gender conflicts and how a gender perspective can help us to rethink immigration law.
Women and International Human Rights Law: Universal Periodic Review in Practice (Routledge Research in Human Rights Law)
by Gayatri H. PatelThis book presents the findings of the first comprehensive study on the most recent and most unique and innovative method of monitoring international human rights law at the United Nations. Since its existence, there has yet to be a complete and comprehensive book solely dedicated to exploring the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Women and International Human Rights Law provides a much-needed insight to what the process is, how it operates in practice, and whether it meets its fundamental aim of promoting the universality of all human rights. The book addresses the topics with regard to international human rights law and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students interested in the monitoring and implementation of international human rights law at the United Nations. In addition, it will form supplementary reading for those students studying international human rights law on undergraduate programmes and will also appeal to academics and students with interests in political sciences and international relations.
Women and Islamic Law in a Non-Muslim State: A Study Based on Decisions of the Shari'a Courts in Israel
by Ahron LayishThis book is methodologically unique in scholarly literature on Muslim society. Its originality lies in the fact that the rich material offered by the shari'a courts is given a thorough analysis with a view to drawing conclusions about the present-day phenomena in Arab society and processes that the society has been undergoing in modern times.Aharon Layish examines every aspect of the social status of Muslim women that finds expression in the shari'a courts: the age of marriage, stipulations inserted in the marriage contract, dower, polygamy, maintenance and obedience, divorce, custody of the children, guardianship, and succession. Each chapter opens with a short legal introduction based on all the sources of law applying in shari'a courts, followed by social analyses and a study of the attitudes and approaches of the qadis, or Muslim religious judges. Layish examines the relationship between shari'a and Israeli legislation: Do shari'a courts have regard to the provisions of Israeli law? What is the relationship between shari'a and social custom, and which is decisive in regard to Israeli Muslim women? To what extent does Israeli law actually affect Israeli Muslim women? What is the attitude of the qadis, toward Israeli legislation?Women and Islamic Law in a Non-Muslim State is an important and original study that will be of interest to students and scholars of Islamic law, comparative law, sociology, and modernization.
Women And The Law, 4th (University Casebook Ser.)
by Dorothy Roberts Libby Adler Lisa Crooms-Robinson Judith Greenberg Martha MinowOrganized around three central topics of work, family, and body, this book reflects a multiplicity of feminist stances and critiques. Highlights include treatment of same-sex marriage developments; sustained treatment of perspectives and problems affecting women of color; contemporary assessments of sexual harassment law; expanded treatment of women and the labor market, the economics of divorce, pornography, and prostitution; federal civil rights and state tort law responses to domestic violence; and current regulation of women's reproductive decisions and critiques of reproductive technologies.
Women and Leadership in Islamic Law: A Critical Analysis of Classical Legal Texts (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)
by David Solomon JalajelIslamic law has traditionally prohibited women from being prayer leaders and heads of state. A small number of Muslims today are beginning to challenge this stance, but they face considerable opposition from the broader Muslim community. ‘Women and Leadership in Islamic Law’ examines the assumption within much existing feminist scholarship that the patriarchal nature of pre-Islamic and early Muslim Near Eastern Society is the primary reason for the development of Islamic legal rulings prohibiting women from leadership positions. It claims that the evolution of Islamic law was a complex process, shaped by numerous cultural, historical, political and social factors, as well as scriptural sources whose importance cannot be dismissed. Therefore, the book critically examines a broad survey of legal works from the four canonical Sunni schools of law to determine the factors that influenced the development of the legal rulings prohibiting women from assuming various leadership roles. The passages that elaborate rulings about women’s leadership are presented in translation as an appendix to the research, and are then subjected to a variety of critical analyses to identify the reasons, influences, and assumptions underlying those rulings. This is the first time works of all four schools of law have been subjected to this kind of analysis for the express purpose of determining the extent to which gender attitudes have influenced and determined the rulings. This book will therefore be a vital resource for students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Religious Studies and Gender Studies.
Women and The Magna Carta: A Treaty for Control or Freedom?
by Jocelynne ScuttOn the eight-hundredth anniversary of the Magna Carta, Women and the Magna Carta investigates what the charter meant for women's rights and freedoms from an historical and legal perspective.
Women and Parliament in Later Medieval England (The New Middle Ages)
by W. Mark OrmrodThis Palgrave Pivot provides the first ever comprehensive consideration of the part played by women in the workings and business of the English Parliament in the later Middle Ages. Breaking new ground, this book considers all aspects of women’s access to the highest court of medieval England. Women were active supplicants to the Crown in Parliament, and sometimes appeared there in person to prosecute cases or make political demands. It explores the positions of women of varying rank, from queens to peasants, vis-à-vis this male institution, where they very occasionally appeared in person but were more usually represented by written petitions. A full analysis of these petitions and of the official records of parliament reveals that there were a number of issues on which women consistently pressed for changes in the law and its administration, and where the Commons and the Crown either championed or refused to support reform. Such is the concentration of petitions on the subjects of dower and rape that these may justifiably be termed ‘women’s issues’ in the medieval Parliament.