Sex Equality

Abstract

Abstract The last twenty years or so have witnessed crucial innovations in Latin America regarding constitutional design: from Argentina’s constitutionalizing of international law in 1994 to Ecuador and Bolivia’s consecration of good living as a constitutional principle. However, sex discrimination, as an argument, has just started to take root in legal mobilization and adjudication throughout the region. This chapter maps out these interventions to highlight the building blocks for the feminist constitutionalism to come, while acknowledging that constitutions have been hostile environments for women and that there have been good reasons for women to stay away. It starts by providing an account of how sex equality is mandated in the text of Latin American constitutions. It then describes the ways in which Courts have used sex equality in cases involving constitutional decisions. Finally, it describes three strategies used by feminist organizations to harness the power of constitutions to better the lives of women.