In the 21st Century

Of Women

A vital book on how we bring about gender equality

Thought-provoking ... Chakrabarti draws in every chapter on stories from India or Kenya or Latin America as well as home ... This book is likely to appeal to people who have frankly had enough of reading about the politics of waxing or the deeper meaning of Beyoncé, and who worry that western feminism is in danger of disappearing up itself in pursuit of rather glossy and superficial concerns, but still don't for one minute think the battle is won ... A welcome global perspective on gender injustice

[A] crisp, contemporary treatise on the rights of women ... punchy, passionate and fiercely rational ... If just half of her ideas were put into practice, gender equality could be well within reach

A powerful polemic ... An informative and impassioned primer

Shami Chakrabarti is a leading British human rights lawyer and campaigner who has written and broadcast widely and held a number of public roles in recent decades. A legislator in the House of Lords, she is the author of On Liberty and Of Women. Director of Liberty (the National Council for Civil Liberties) from 2003 to 2016, she was Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2016 to 2020.

This book starts from the position that gender injustice is the greatest human rights abuse on the planet. It blights First and developing worlds; rich and poor women. Gender injustice impacts health, wealth, education, representation, opportunity and security everywhere. It is no exaggeration to describe the position of women as an apartheid, but it is not limited to one country or historical period. For this ancient and continuing wrong is millennial in duration and global in reach. Only radical solutions can even scratch its surface. However, the prize is a great one: the collateral benefits to peace, prosperity, sustainability and general human happiness are potentially enormous. All this because we are all interconnected and all men are of women too.

On Liberty

On Liberty is the story of today's threats to our freedoms and a highly personal, impassioned plea in defence of fundamental rights, from Shami Chakrabarti, Britain's leading human rights campaigner 
 
On 11 September 2001, our world changed. The West's response to 9/11 has morphed into a period of exception. Governments have decided that the rule of law and human rights are often too costly. In On Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti explores why our fundamental rights and freedoms are indispensable. She shows, too, the unprecedented pressures those rights are under today. Drawing on her own work in high-profile campaigns, from privacy laws to anti-terror legislation, Chakrabarti shows the threats to our democratic institutions and why our rights are paramount in upholding democracy. 
 
'Probably the most effective public affairs lobbyist of the past 20 years' - David Aaronovitch, The Times 
 
'The undaunted freedom fighter' - Observer 
 
'The most dangerous woman in Britain' - Sun

Shami Chakrabarti

A fierce and thoughtful answer to those who thoughtlessly criticise the whole idea of human rights and its core values of dignity and equality - but also a blueprint for how human rights thinking might help us solve the great problems of the day - cyberspace and AI, armed conflict and climate change - and give democracy a future

An ideal introduction to the subject of human rights ... Chakrabarti is excellent on the historical origins of her subject ... and shows how the idea of human rights can have a direct bearing on the problems of today, whether war, climate change, poverty or artificial intelligence. In Chakrabarti&rsquo;s hands, the underlying values are what matter about human rights, forming a roadmap to civilised living at a time of change and crisis. I cannot offhand think of a better, more attractive introduction to the subject for those curious to know more about it than the occasional newspaper headline ... Chakrabarti has an enviable writing style, her fluency in print matching her bewitching speaking skills; many times I could hear her voice coming through the text ... pugilistic in her defence of human rights, Chakrabarti is a key high priest in this, the most important of our secular religions

An impassioned, thoughtful reminder of why the principle of human rights is a universal force for good, at a moment when some in power would have us believe otherwise. Read and feel inspired

Full of passion and idealism but also fine scholarship, this book sets out a plan for how Humanity can avoid a cruel, Hobbesian future. It will be required reading for anyone who believes that Human Rights offer a better path forward for global society than the Manichean one it is presently treading

A book that is as passionate, as precise, as needed, as human rights themselves. After 30 years as a lawyer and campaigner at the rock face of human rights work, Shami Chakrabarti argues the case for defending and promoting these rights with reason, lyricism and subtlety, offering us comfort and a compass for the future

I would follow this woman to the end of the earth. If you are a human you need to read Shami Chakrabati's Human Rights. If you are not then don't. We need this book now more than ever

The threat to human rights is ever increasing and the practical way this book informs us is commendable. The book gives us a road map of what we are facing that is easy to understand. People across the world face more conflict than ever. Wars that have nothing to do with ordinary people going about their daily lives come from the governments that are supposed to protect them. The book is worth reading

Human rights need informed and passionate supporters, perhaps now more than ever. Shami Chakrabarti is both, her eloquence and persuasiveness evident in every page of this lively and accessible book

Even within the most open of societies, the case for human rights has to be refashioned in each generation. Shami Chakrabarti's pages glow with the persuasive gifts and 30 years' of practical experience she brings to her task

A clear, impassioned case for human rights law&hellip; absorbing&hellip; For Chakrabarti the ECHR isn&rsquo;t just a set of amalgamated legal safeguards but a source of &ldquo;sheer poetic insight&rdquo; into human nature&hellip; This is law essentially willing civilisation into action, and as with difficult music or the higher reaches of maths, there is a hidden beauty in it

At once primer and urgent clarion call, Shami Chakrabarti’s brilliant history and defence of human rights could not have come at a better time. Lucid, exacting and passionate, this book is required reading for critics and advocates alike. Chakrabarti reminds us that rights are not there to make us comfortable, and nor should they be traded for political points. Rights exist to keep us – and our democracies - free

Chakrabarti’s bracing defence of human rights against their sceptics is as accessible as it is necessary. Connecting historical struggles for justice under law with today’s challenges on a burning and wartorn planet, she has made another indispensable contribution to our public life

In a world which increasingly threatens the rights and values many of us have come to take for granted, Chakrabarti’s book is a timely reminder of both the history of these hard won freedoms and how they have come to shape what a just and fair society looks like.  Her powerful, important book reminds us why we must continue to hold human rights up to the light, ensuring they protect not only the human dignity of the most vulnerable but the health and strength of a democratic society

The Case for the Defence

Our human rights are endangered. After the devastation of World War Two the international community united to enshrine fundamental rights to refuge, health, education and living standards. They protected privacy, fair trials and free speech and outlawed torture, slavery and discrimination. Their goal was greater global justice, equality and peace. That settlement is now under attack from opponents on both left and right and populist and authoritarian movements worldwide. Simultaneously, we are threatened by war, inequality, new tech and climate catastrophe, crises human rights can help us address. 
 
In this urgent, powerful book, Shami Chakrabarti, demonstrates why human rights matter and why we need to secure further rights to deal with challenges of the present and future. Outlining the historic national and international struggles for human rights, from ancient Babylon to the present day, Chakrabarti is an indispensable guide to the law and logic underpinning human dignity and universal freedoms. This book equips supporters in the battle of ideas and will encourage doubters to think again. 
 
To believe in human rights is to believe in human beings. If they - and we - are to survive, these rights must be owned and understood by everyone.

Shami Chakrabarti

Praise for Human Rights

A fierce and thoughtful answer to those who thoughtlessly criticise the whole idea of human rights and its core values of dignity and equality - but also a blueprint for how human rights thinking might help us solve ...

An ideal introduction to the subject of human rights ... Chakrabarti is excellent on the historical origins of her subject ... and shows how the idea of human rights can have a direct bearing on the problems of toda ...

An impassioned, thoughtful reminder of why the principle of human rights is a universal force for good, at a moment when some in power would have us believe otherwise. Read and feel inspired

A fierce and thoughtful answer to those who thoughtlessly criticise the whole idea of human rights and its core values of dignity and equality - but also a blueprint for how human rights thinking might help us solve ...

An ideal introduction to the subject of human rights ... Chakrabarti is excellent on the historical origins of her subject ... and shows how the idea of human rights can have a direct bearing on the problems of toda ...

An impassioned, thoughtful reminder of why the principle of human rights is a universal force for good, at a moment when some in power would have us believe otherwise. Read and feel inspired

A fierce and thoughtful answer to those who thoughtlessly criticise the whole idea of human rights and its core values of dignity and equality - but also a blueprint for how human rights thinking might help us solve ...

An ideal introduction to the subject of human rights ... Chakrabarti is excellent on the historical origins of her subject ... and shows how the idea of human rights can have a direct bearing on the problems of toda ...

An impassioned, thoughtful reminder of why the principle of human rights is a universal force for good, at a moment when some in power would have us believe otherwise. Read and feel inspired

Books by Shami Chakrabarti

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