Bea Campbell and Rahila Gupta in conversation with Liz Kelly

In 1995, the UN vowed to advance ‘equality, development and peace for all women, everywhere.’ Instead, in the Beijing Declaration’s thirtieth anniversary year, the world is lurching dangerously away from such democratic and progressive ideals—reinventing nationalist identities based on toxic-masculine values, and embracing economic policies against women’s interests. This reality exists in every type of country. Why does oppression, rather than feminism, still dominate our world?

This book reveals patriarchy’s many faces in the age of globalisation, exploring the political systems and cultures of eight very different societies. It takes readers from the extraordinary anti-capitalist women’s revolution in Kurdistan to the theocracies of Islamic State and Saudi Arabia; from China’s one-party state to Iceland’s democracy; and to South Africa, Russia and El Salvador—all radically changed since the fall of apartheid, communism and military dictatorship respectively.

Despite patriarchy’s remarkable shapeshifting powers to undermine feminist solidarity, Planet Patriarchy is equally a story of sisterhood and resistance, interviewing defenders of women’s rights about their cause and their country. Gender inequality endures, everywhere—but so does feminism. Campbell and Gupta’s fascinating discoveries show us how this timeless showdown is taking shape in, and being shaped by, the systems we live under today.

A snippet of the reviews:

‘Urgent, incisive and hugely readable. The authors—two of our most brilliant advocates for women’s rights—make visible the often hidden ways in which patriarchy remains so resilient.’ — Monica Ali

‘Two brilliant feminist writers survey the world and the inequality that is still meted out to women everywhere. This heartbreaking book describes ongoing patriarchal power in all its cruel manifestations, cataloguing the ways in which gains made by women are being subverted and rolled back through the rise of populist nationalisms. A powerful condemnation but also a call to arms!’ — Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC

‘A vital, passionate and superbly written global dispatch from two of the most respected stateswomen of feminist activism.’ — Samira Ahmed, journalist and broadcaster

About the Authors

Beatrix Campbell OBE is a writer, broadcaster and playwright, and recipient of several honorary doctorates. Her pathbreaking Wigan Pier Revisited won the Cheltenham Festival Prize.

Rahila Gupta is a freelance journalist, author and activist, and Chair of Southall Black Sisters, which campaigns for Black/Global South women escaping violence in the UK.

This event will be chaired by Professor Liz Kelly, Co-Director of CWASU, who said: ‘My two favourite women to think with have been thinking with each other about why patriarchy does not die, and more importantly, how it adapts and shapeshifts in different contexts. This book helps us imagine how to dismantle the systems that deny women freedom.’

Southall Black Sisters (SBS) is a not-for-profit, secular organisation established in 1979 to support Black, minoritised, and migrant women facing domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls. SBS provides holistic frontline services – including advice, advocacy, and counselling – alongside strategic litigation, training, and campaigning to influence law, policy, and public attitudes. SBS is especially recognised for its pioneering work with women who have insecure immigration status and are denied access to safety and justice because of it. https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/

The Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) at London Metropolitan University is recognised as a centre of excellence, with an international reputation for research, evaluation, training and consultancy. We have three decades of experience in conducting independent feminist research that creates useful knowledge for policy makers, practitioners, survivors, supporters and activists. CWASU is the only research unit in Europe that integrates a focus on all forms of violence against women and child abuse. CWASU staff have completed over 140 research and evaluation projects. https://cwasu.org/