ABSTRACT

In August 2005 a diverse group of about 50 students, scholars, activists and lawyers from China, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway gathered for a few days in Malmö, Sweden, for a conference on gender and human rights in China and the Nordic countries. That is, their discussions focused on Nordic and Chinese problems and experiences in the field of gender equality and human rights. They questioned the categories of gender and human rights and discussed the links between theories on gender equality, democracy and justice and practical political, legal and social struggles for gender equality in China and the Nordic countries. Generally speaking, the majority of those who were present and interested in either of these cultural and political contexts could be said to know of the other, rather than actually ‘knowing’ the other. This produced a challenge to the conversation, the dialogue that was at the heart of the meeting. But this also meant that taken-for-granted assumptions could be addressed and opportunities were given to view one’s own society from alternative perspectives. Maybe human rights are a sensitive issue in China, but why are they controversial in Norway? What strategies are used to bring the notion of homosexuality to public attention in China? How do the mythically egalitarian Nordic countries fare when we scrutinise the situation of women who have migrated to these societies? Some discussions were filled with stereotypes embarrassing those exposed to them, other conversations were heated, moving, and sometimes surprising.