Call for Papers for conference on Dowry

[Julia Leslie]

Call for Papers

The Sixth International Conference on Dowry,

Bride-Burning and Son-Preference

3-6 January 2003, New Delhi, India



Conference Organisers:

Dr Julia Leslie, Ms Sîan Hawthorne, Ms Anwesha Bhattacharya

(Gender & Religions Research Centre, SOAS)

& Mr Himendra Thakur (ISADABBI)






Recent research on dowry-related deaths shows an alarming rate of
increase. Many women are being harassed, maimed and killed
despite active
campaigns and legal reforms. This has led to a sense of urgency
amongst
both academics and activists. As a result an ongoing series of
conferences
on dowry and dowry-related violence has been organized by the
International Society against Dowry and Bride Burning in India
(ISADABBI)
in collaboration with the Universities of Harvard and London (School
of
Oriental and African Studies, SOAS). All these conferences have
proceeded
on two fronts: as a venue for academic papers and discussion, and
as a
basis from which to formulate programs for practical action.



The First International Conference (Harvard Law School, October
1995)
established the primary contexts for dowry-related violence and
drafted a
six-point program for action. The issues and implications of this first
conference were further explored at the second (Harvard, 1996),
third
(SOAS, 1997), fourth (Harvard, 1998) and fifth (Delhi, 1999)
conferences.



The Sixth International Conference on Dowry, Bride-Burning and
Son-Preference, originally planned for January 2002, has now been
rescheduled for 3-6 January 2003. As the title indicates, the
conference
is extending its brief to include the related topic of son-preference,
thus recognising a key issue in the broader context of violence
against
women.



Call for Papers


Papers are invited on any of the following approaches:



  a.. Historical studies;
  b.. Textual analysis;
  c.. Legal issues;
  d.. Ethnographies;
  e.. Theoretical perspectives;
  f.. Practical proposals.


Possible topics include:



  a.. Patrilinear inheritance traditions;
  b.. Domestic violence;
  c.. Legal issues;
  d.. Son-preference;
  e.. Gender identity;
  f.. Family structures;
  g.. Dowry in the diaspora context;
  h.. Cross-cultural comparisons.


Abstracts


Please send 100-300 word abstracts (electronic copy) to Sîan
Hawthorne at
the address below or by email (sh79 at soas.ac.uk). Please indicate
whether
you would like your paper to be considered for either the academic
or
activist forum.

Deadline:  2 September 2002.



For further information contact:

Conference Organisers, GRR

Department of the Study of Religions

SOAS, University of London

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square

London WC1H 0XG