The Latin American women

A fascinating scene played out in San Francisco in 1945 when a group of feminists from the Latin American delegations battled for the inclusion of women’s rights in the UN Charter, despite opposition from the traditional Western powers. The UN Charter became instrumental in shaping international norms as it was the first international agreement to recognize the equal rights of men and women.¹ This chapter will critically examine why global norms, with the case study of the inclusion of women`s rights in the UN Charter, is often credited Western actors even though historical records can tell us otherwise. The rediscovery of Latin American agency in the creation of the global hegemonic norm of gender equality provides additional evidence to shatter the hegemonic myth that international agency—especially progressive and feminist agency—was and is Western.