Role Of Law And Justice In Achieving Gender Equality

Law is pervasive and affects many aspects of people‟s lives, women and men alike. As we witness the growing „juridification‟ of life – that is, the expansion and penetration of the legal sphere into more and more aspects of other social (public and private) spheres – the prominence of law and rights in affecting people‟s lives becomes increasingly obvious. Law and justice impact people‟s capacity to accumulate endowments, enjoy returns to such endowments, access rights and resources, and act as free, autonomous agents in society. Inequalities in endowments, access to resources and rights, social (and household) status, voice and agency are perpetuated, codified, contested and redressed through norms and the institutions established or resulting from such norms, be they social or legal. Although these inequalities can affect both women and men, women are lagging behind men in many fields.