Abortion, divorce and
the family: How did the state make policy decisions in these areas in Argentina, Brazil and Chile during the last third
of the twentieth century? As the three countries made the transition from
democratic to authoritarian forms of government (and back), they confronted
challenges posed by the riser of the feminist movement, social changes, and
the power of Catholic Church. The results were often surprising: Women's
rights were expanded under military dictatorships, divorce was legalized in
authoritarian Brazil but not in democratic Chile, and no Latin American
country changed its laws on abortion. Sex and the State, explores
these patterns of gender-related policy reform and shows how they mattered
for the people of Latin America and for a broader understanding of the
logic behind the state's role in shaping private lives and gender relations
everywhere.
Mala Htun is a member of the
faculty of the political sciences department at New School University and a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard
University.
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