Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book is organized in five sections. It examines critical developments in the space that the UN, working in partnership with diverse women's movements, has created for the formulation and advancement of global gender norms; it looks bottom-up at the realization of rights in national and local contexts; it offers several broad overviews and a number of regional or country case studies of efforts to achieve full economic justice for women and girls; it dissects cultural, structural, and resource barriers to educating girls and eliminating the burdens on individuals and societies of child or early marriage. It reflects on the specific gender challenges presented by climate change and urgent new threats to our natural environment. Many contributors deliberately present a variety of perspectives and are not meant to achieve a consistent point of view.