Proceedings: Global Conference on Gender and Politics

Date and Time: July 12, 2025, 12:59 PM (Duration: 125 minutes, 32 seconds)

Location: Seoul, South Korea (IPSA Conference)

 

Opening Remarks

Speaker: Professor Minh Go, Ewha Woman's University

Time: 00:24

 

Professor Minh Go, who teaches at Ewha Woman’s University and was also one of the organisers of the workshop, convened the session and gave the floor to Professor Ki Young Shin. 

Professor Shin is a professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences and the Institute for Gender Studies at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Washington and has conducted extensive research on gender politics in East Asia, including women’s political representation, feminist movements, and the #MeToo movement. She has published widely in journals such as International Political Science Review, Politics and Gender, and Pacific Affairs. Beyond academia, she has been instrumental in organizing the East Asian Research Network on Gender and Diversity in Political Representation, known as WONDER. She delivered a keynote address titled The Crisis of Representation: Gender, Democracy, and Resistance in East Asia. 

Keynote Address: The Crisis of Representation - Gender, Democracy, and Resistance in East Asia


Speaker: Professor Ki Young Shin, Ochanomizu University

Time: 03:37

Professor Ki Young Shin greeted the audience and expressed her pleasure and honour to deliver the keynote address. She thanked those who travelled to Seoul for the IPSA conference and the local participants for joining despite the July heat.

She focused her talk on the democratic crisis in East Asia and the need to reclaim and reimagine political representation. She noted that while political institutions in the region use democratic language, they often fail to reflect social diversity, civil engagement, and the demands for justice necessary for democratic resilience.

She recalled a recent protest in Seoul where young women wrapped in silver thermal blankets filled downtown plazas, symbolizing resistance. She highlighted the historical role of women in East Asia's democratic struggles, noting that despite their crucial contributions, they are often marginalized once democracy is restored. She termed this the "representation crisis," where women's voices are essential during upheaval but absent from political power structures.

She cited examples from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, emphasizing women's indispensable roles in democratization and peace movements. She also mentioned recent movements like #MeToo and the Candlelight Protests in Korea, and the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, where women were key actors but their contributions were later sidelined.

She pointed out the gap between civil society's vibrancy and the exclusionary nature of formal political institutions in East Asia. Citing 2025 data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, she noted that women's representation in national parliaments is low in the region, with Taiwan being an exception due to its proportional representation system with gender quotas. She also highlighted the lack of female representation at the local level in Japan and Taiwan.

She argued that these figures reflect a structural resistance to gender-inclusive politics, with formal political arenas dominated by elite, male-centered perspectives. She called for a reconceptualization of representation beyond numerical parity, emphasizing the need to address the systematic disconnection of women from politics.

She praised feminist movements for enacting new forms of political practice and called for their recognition as essential to reimagining democracy. She recalled the Candlelight Protests, where young women reconstituted the public sphere, creating a democratic forum that celebrated diversity and centered marginalized identities.

She concluded by questioning whether the new Korean government would break from the legacy of marginalizing feminist voices and emphasized that the new leadership owes a great debt to the women who helped bring it to power. 

 

Panel Discussion: Contemporary Topics in Gender and Politics

Chair: Professor Swarna Rajagopalan

Time: 24:10

Professor Swarna Rajagopalan greeted the audience and expressed her excitement to be in Seoul. She recalled that her first academic conference was IPSA Seoul in 1997, which marked the start of her career, and now, nearing the end of her career, it felt fitting to be back. She introduced the panel on contemporary topics in gender and politics and briefly introduced each speaker.

She first introduced Professor Amanda Gouws from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, a distinguished research professor and holder of the SARChI Chair in Gender Politics. She mentioned Professor Gouws' research focus on women’s citizenship, feminist activism, and gender-based violence, and her recent book Feminist Institutionalism in South Africa: Designing for Equality. She noted that Professor Gouws would speak on "Democratic Backsliding and Anti-Gender Ideology Globally and in Africa."

Next, she introduced Professor Meredith Weiss from the University at Albany, State University of New York, who specializes in comparative politics with a focus on Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore. She highlighted Professor Weiss' research on social mobilization, civil society, and queer politics, and her book The Roots of Resilience: Party Machines and Grassroots Politics in Southeast Asia. She mentioned that Professor Weiss' talk was titled "Scapegoating Queers: Pink-Blocking as a State Strategy."

She then introduced Dr. Anna Neistat, an interdisciplinary researcher bridging international relations, development studies, and feminist analysis. She noted Dr. Neistat's focus on oil politics, China’s rise, and gender politics in authoritarian regimes, with an emphasis on Russia. She mentioned that Dr. Neistat would present on "Researching State-Sponsored Anti-Feminism under Authoritarian Regimes."

Finally, she introduced Professor Young-Im Lee from Sookmyung Women’s University, South Korea, an associate professor of political science with extensive publications on gender quotas, women’s representation, and gender policy in East Asia. She noted that Professor Lee's topic was "Research Topics on Gender and Politics in East Asia." 

 

Presentation 1: Democratic Backsliding and Anti-Gender Ideology Globally and in Africa

Speaker: Professor Amanda Gouws, Stellenbosch University

Time: 32:43

"Good afternoon, and thank you for this opportunity to discuss an urgent issue. I want to start with democratic backsliding. We see illiberal democracies run by populist leaders, democracies without rights, and undemocratic liberalism run by technocratic elites. Populism—with its politics of enmity, critique of independent institutions, and unmediated popular rule—is on the rise. Are we also seeing a shift toward fascism, where the nation is viewed as homogeneous under a mythical leader?

Having lived under apartheid until 1994, I recognize the authoritarianism I see in many countries today, including the United States. It’s deceptive—not a sudden break from democracy, but a slow dismantling of norms, rights, and institutions, with a toleration of violence and a clampdown on civil liberties like freedom of speech and association. This causes polarization around race, religion, class, education, and citizenship, undermining the rule of law and elected representatives’ law-making capacities.

Social media, rising inequality, and multiculturalism are often cited as causes, but too little attention is paid to gender as a central factor. Anti-gender ideology, often spearheaded by religious organizations like the Catholic Church, challenges gender equality by framing it as a threat to traditional values. This disrupts power structures, prompting a pushback from a privileged patriarchal elite with deep networks and resources.

In Africa, this backlash is evident. In South Africa, the Traditional Courts Bill undermines women’s rights by empowering traditional leaders to adjudicate disputes, often to women’s detriment. Cuts to U.S. aid funding have devastated HIV/AIDS programs, affecting millions. This reintroduces stigmatization and halts critical research.

How are we, as feminists and gender scholars, strategizing against this pushback? Transnational social mobilization is crucial. The networks of the right are extensive and well-resourced; we need wider, deeper networks to counter them, given the speed at which these gains are being dismantled."

 

Presentation 2: Scapegoating Queers - Pink-Blocking as a State Strategy

Speaker: Professor Meredith Weiss, University at Albany

Time: 46:54

"What inspired my talk is Malaysia’s experience after the 2018 elections, though it’s relevant to the U.S. and elsewhere. In January 2023, Malaysia’s newly elected Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, once jailed for alleged sodomy, made a policy statement on TV addressing the LGBTQ+ community. The 2018 election marked Malaysia’s first power turnover since independence, with promises of democratizing reforms. Instead, crackdowns followed—arrests for lesbian sex, a raid on a gay club to 'mitigate LGBT culture,' and a brutal attack on a trans woman.

Malaysia has never been a queer haven. It retains colonial-era laws like Section 377, criminalizing same-sex relations, with punishments escalating since the 1980s. Ideology drives this antipathy—'Asian values' from the 1980s and 90s frame queer rights as a Western import, while political Islamism, evident in the 2022 and 2023 elections, amplifies it.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition, despite progressive promises, engaged in 'pink-blocking'—using anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to affirm moral purity and appeal to conservative voters. This contrasts with 'pink-washing,' where states feign progressiveness. Pink-blocking is strategic, scapegoating queer communities for political gain, a trend seen globally in places like Poland and Hungary.

States oscillate between pink-washing and pink-blocking based on political calculations. In Malaysia, it’s about appeasing the ethnic-religious right. Queer visibility, though growing, makes them an easy target. This strategic homophobia aligns with broader anti-gender trends, divorced from the lived realities of those it harms."

 

Presentation 3: Researching State-Sponsored Anti-Feminism under Authoritarian Regimes

Speaker: Dr. Anna Neistat, University of Wolverhampton

Time: 1:01:49

"Today, I’ll discuss state-sponsored anti-feminism in authoritarian regimes, focusing on Russia. We’ve heard about 'Asian values' and 'African values' framing queerness and feminism as untraditional. In Russia, it’s 'Russian traditional values.' Despite diverse contexts, the same patterns emerge, showing the utility of feminist theory in explaining global politics.

In Russia, feminist activists face severe repression. Yulia Tsvetkova was prosecuted for her art, labeled pornography. Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot was deemed a 'foreign agent.' Alexandra Skochilenko faced six years in prison for anti-war activism but was recently released in a prisoner exchange. Theater director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are jailed for 'justifying terrorism' in their play about women and ISIS.

Women in protests play a dual role, reinforcing and disrupting gender stereotypes. In 2022, Russian feminists staged public mourning performances, reclaiming femininity as dissent against the state’s masculine power narrative. This challenges Putin’s effort to reimagine Russia through 'traditional values.'

The regime criminalizes feminist expression—recently banning 'child-free ideology'—and activists face violence, exile, or silence. This slow deterioration of institutions mirrors post-fascist trends, a warning to democracies worldwide."

 

Presentation 4: Research Topics on Gender and Politics in East Asia

Speaker: Professor Young-Im Lee, Sookmyung Women’s University

Time: 1:19:11

"I’ll reflect on research in gender and politics in East Asia. This region’s diversity—democracies and authoritarian systems, varying economic development—makes it an ideal testing ground for social science theories. It faces structural challenges like population aging and digitalization, with dynamic gender politics marked by feminist movements and backlash.

Existing scholarship focuses on women’s representation, social movements (e.g., #MeToo), and the political economy of gender, like occupational segregation and welfare policies. East Asian research stands out for its emphasis on intersectionality—gender with class, ethnicity, and regional identities—and a historical link between academia and activism.

Emerging agendas include the backlash against gender equality, particularly among youth; the political economy of care amid aging populations and declining fertility; and digital feminism’s rise. These topics reflect East Asia’s unique context and global relevance."

 

Q&A Session

Moderator: Professor Swarna Rajagopalan

Time: 1:33:24

 

Question 1: "How can feminist scholars resist the backlash against gender equality?"

Professor Amanda Gouws: "We need transnational solidarity and allies within institutions. Mentoring students and creating safe spaces for dialogue are also key."

 

Question 2: "What are the political consequences of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in Malaysia?"

Professor Meredith Weiss: "It’s a strategic move to appeal to conservative voters, a global trend of scapegoating queer communities for political gain."

 

Question 3: "How do authoritarian regimes like Russia suppress feminist movements?"

Dr. Anna Neistat: "Through legal persecution—labeling activists as 'foreign agents'—and criminalizing feminist expression, forcing many into exile."

 

Question 4: "What are emerging research agendas in East Asian gender politics?"

Professor Young-Im Lee: "The backlash against equality, the political economy of care, and digital feminism are key, driven by demographic and technological shifts."

 

Closing Remarks

Speaker: Professor Minh Go

Time: 2:03:37

Professor Minh Go thanked the panelists and attendees for their engaging discussion. She announced a short break and invited everyone to enjoy the Korean traditional snacks and brownies provided.