Women’s Cultural Rights and access to UNESCO World Heritage Sites: a case of discrimination?

Abstract

International protection of cultural sites aims at defining which cultural heritage is so exceptional for humanity as to require the participation of the whole international community in its safeguard, with the purpose of guaranteeing its transmission to future generations. This mechanism of selection is influenced by several factors that might affect the result: on one hand the general, even though partially overcome, subordinated role of Cultural Rights compared to other Human Rights; on the other hand, the marginal and circumscribed recognition of Women’s Rights. Consequently, Women’s Cultural Rights become bearers of a double burden. This thesis aims to investigate on how gender dynamics affect the decision of cultural properties and on how UNESCO, the main organization in this field, despite placing gender equality among its global priorities, reproduces those systems, listing as World Heritage Sites, properties whose access is forbidden to women.