Alarming accounts of abuses of womens human rights appear
regularly in todays media. Accounts tell of families who sell
daughters for sex or servitude, of honor killings, of forced or
prevented abortions, of the growing problem of aids among women,
of worldwide incidences of domestic violence - and these are
only a few of the issues of concern. However distressful, the
prevalence of such sensational reports offers a unique opening
to explore historical attitudes about about women and their
position in society. Integrating primary source readings and
student awareness activities into commonly taught topics are two
ways to do so. In this article I model these approaches by
discussing two short internet available source readings, and
provide follow-up discussion questions. I also direct teachers
to links to internet sources on this topic from commonly taught
world history periods, and a list of suggestions for their use.
Women's human rights - a new concept: Only relatively recently
has the fact that womens righ