Is the rights focus the right focus? Nicaraguan responses to the rights agenda

This article explores the limitations of a rights focus for furthering women's claims for social change and, more specifically, as a focus for mobilising women around these claims. It analyses the experiences of a feminist NGO that has used a rights approach and draws on interviews undertaken with key representatives of women's groups in Nicaragua. Many groups use the rights discourse and see utility in its unifying language, around which collective actions can be mobilised. However, the notion of 'rights based development' is a little understood concept in the women's movements and, when recognised, is seen to be part of the donor agenda. The paper explores what this means for women's actions for change, questioning the repackaging of gender as rights and raising concerns about the ability of a rights focus alone to challenge unequal power relations.