Section 1, Definitions, Basu

"Globalization of the Local/ Localization of the Global: Mapping Transnational Women's Movements", Amrita Basu
International feminism has been marked by two decades. the first, from 1975-1985 saw a strong division along north-south lines, with the north reaching for transnational alliances and the south looking to correct local issues such as fuel and employment. The second decade, from 1985-1995 , brought the two sides together, under the need to affirm the human rights of women, shifting beyond single-issue politics to reach out globally. In the US the most important critiques of feminism have come from African American and Latina women. In 1995 the Cairo conference was attended by conservative Islamic and Christian groups. The growth of the religious right has actually reduced north-south tensions. The ability of these vastly different groups, Muslim, Protestant and Catholic, to reach agreements on issues of abortion, homosexuality and motherhood have inspired feminists to do the same.
Recently certain discourses have acquired great importance, particularly the violation of women's rights a a human rights abuse. This was recognized in the UN declaration on the elimination of violence against women, which defined "gender violence to include violence against women in the public and private sphere". Transnational women's groups have become extremely diverse in their membership, and have attracted a variety of funding from outside sources, allowing for the address of certain problems more effectively at the transnational level, as opposed to the local (where groups may be facing strong repression). Campaigns against religious fundamentalism have employed global tactics, but also sponsor local events, bringing the issue closer to home. Individual narratives of the victims of sexual violence also encourage personal identification and invite activism.
Transnational linkage is most effective when asserting women's civil and political rights rather than economic, and when the transnational association's primary purpose is not to provide funding, which creates the possibility of dependence and resentment. There is a danger in both crediting and critiquing women's networks too strongly.
That said, women make up 70% of the world's 1.3 billion living in poverty and 2/3 of the illiterate.