Call for Abstracts: ICFGL 2026 - Feminist Law-Making

Featured Keynote Speakers

Prof. Rosemary Hunter

Loughborough University, UK

A pioneer and leading global voice in the Feminist Judgments movement.

Prof. Aoife O'Donoghue

Queen's University Belfast, UK

Expert in feminist constitutionalism and international law.

A/Prof. Becky Batagol

Monash University, Australia

Lead editor of the Feminist Legislation Project.

Concept

What Feminist Law-Making Means

Feminist law-making can be defined as a legal methodology aimed at reforming the conceptual framework and patriarchal foundations of legal systems by rethinking and applying the law from feminist perspectives (Özsoy, 2023). Like feminist jurisprudence more broadly, it seeks to deconstruct the contemporary legal structure to expose its patriarchal, male-centric underlying ideologies and opinions, which often persist despite gender-neutral discourse (Özsoy, 2023).

Feminist law-making has furthered the development of feminism within law by “experimenting” with the reconstruction of these structures - imagining whether inclusive justice could be better achieved if the law and its application were transformed through feminist lenses (Cooper, 2023; Enright, O'Donoghue, & O'Rourke, 2025; Özsoy, 2023). This methodology reflects a critical shift in feminist legal consciousness, as feminist scholars have moved from standing “before the law” as outside critics to engaging “with the law” as active agents and legal insiders who appropriate and reconfigure legal tools (Hunter, 2026).

The Manifestations of Feminist Law-Making

Feminist judgments: Projects that rewrite court decisions by imagining how a feminist judge would have decided the case, for example by “asking the woman question”, and applying feminist practical reasoning and consciousness raising (Hunter, 2010, Cooper, 2023; Enright et al., 2025, Hunter, 2026).

Feminist law-writing (e.g. feminist legislation and constitution-writing): Projects aimed at integrating feminist perspectives into the drafting process, rethinking core legal concepts, institutions and processes (Dowds, Killean, & Hoyt, 2022; Enright et al., 2025). This includes projects where scholars rewrite statutory laws from feminist perspective, requiring dual impersonation of both statutory drafters and politicians (Hunter 2026).

Prefigurative law reform proposals: “DIY” projects initiated by feminist scholars to draft legal texts “as if” progressive feminist demands and perspectives have been fully accomplished and authorized (Cooper, 2023; Enright et al., 2025). An example includes a wage-based scheme for family caregivers (Thompson, 2025).

Position

Why This Theme Matters

The approach of feminist law-making involves the progressive and iterative integration of feminist perspectives into legal scholarship and practice, eventually forcing the legal system to adopt and change its own norms and rules (Özsoy, 2023). Unlike the gender mainstreaming approach, it does not attempt to reconcile with the current legal system to address and advocate for women's issues within an existing patriarchal framework (Özsoy, 2023).

Conversely, unlike critical/radical feminism, it does not demand an immediate, forceful replacement of the entire legal structure. Feminist law-making projects may initially be treated as purely academic efforts. However, they generate an “inconspicuous impact” that takes root in academic communities, gradually alters public opinions and legal norms and eventually leads to the piece-by-piece transformation of legislation (Cooper, 2023; Thompson, 2025).

The 2026 ICFGL adopts feminist law-making as its main theme. It focuses this methodology as an alternative to both gender mainstreaming - which is currently viewed as a practical way to maintain gender balance in the Vietnamese context and in other jurisdictions - and critical feminism, which often rejects direct engagement with law.

Conference Themes

The 2026 ICFGL invites scholars to submit abstracts related to the following architectural themes of Feminist Law-making:

Theme 1

Feminist Legal History and Uncovering “Inconspicuous Impact”

The Concept The theme invites scholars to explore the history of feminist legal advocacy and the often-overlooked impacts of women's movements on the law. It raises the question of whether feminist efforts must achieve immediate legislative results to prove their success.

Theme 2

Re-evaluating the Public/Private Divide: Violence, Family and Labour

The Concept The way the public/private dichotomy disadvantages women is a central argument of feminist legal critique. It focuses on the question of how the law can transcend the public/private divide to revalue the private sphere of the family, domestic labour, and intimate relationships.

Theme 3

“Sceptical Pragmatism” and the Limits of Legal Mobilization

The Concept Feminists have long argued whether the law, which has a strong foundation on patriarchal views, can effectively be used to erase inequality. How can feminist lawmaking maintain critical, subversive goals and not simply reproduce or reinforce patriarchal norms?

Theme 4

Intersectionality, Inclusion, and Marginalized Voices in Law

The Concept This theme welcomes research on how feminist lawmaking intersects with diverse identities. For example: How can legislative frameworks accommodate or support non-family structures, LGBT+ individuals and minority groups? How to ensure accessibility and incorporate the “lived experiences” and “common knowledge” of marginalized women into policymaking and law reform?

Theme 5

How to Actually Write Feminist Laws

The Concept Feminist law-making is about how law is written. Scholars are invited to explore ways to write laws that directly incorporate stories and daily realities of women, rather than just using abstract legal norms.

Theme 6

Imagine the Law Differently (Feminist DIY Law, Law-writing, and Judgments)

The Concept Feminists do not wait for the government to change the law. They write legal texts and judgments “as if” women's voices and equality were fully respected.

Submission Requirements

Abstract Length 300-500 words

Language English

Required Details Title, Author Affiliation, Short Bio (max 150 words), and 3-5 Keywords

Publication Opportunity To be announced

Important Dates

Abstract Deadline 15 May 2026 (extended)

Notification of Acceptance 20 May 2026

Full Paper (Optional) 15 August 2026

Conference Date 18 September 2026

Submission Hub

Ready to contribute? Follow the process below to submit your abstract through our official platform.

Step 01

Prepare your abstract (300-500 words) and short bio according to the requirements listed above.

Step 02

Access the Online Submission Form and complete all required fields for author information.

Step 03

Submit your application before the 15 May 2026 (extended) deadline to be considered for peer review.

Submit Online Abstract Form

For inquiries, please contact the Organising Committee

feminism.uel.conference@uel.edu.vn

We are looking forward to your submission of abstracts.
ICFGL 2026 Organising Team

The ICFGL Excellence Travel Grant

The International Conference on Feminism, Gender and Law (ICFGL) welcomes outstanding and impactful scholarship for its 2026 conference in Ho Chi Minh City. To support participation from a diverse and global community of scholars, the Conference is pleased to offer the ICFGL Excellence Travel Grant for authors of selected high-quality final manuscripts.

A total of 19 authors will receive full travel support, including 12 domestic participants and 7 international participants, based on the quality of their final paper submissions.

Category	Number of Awards	Coverage
International	7	Round-trip international airfare and 1 night of hotel accommodation
Domestic (outside Ho Chi Minh City)	12	Round-trip domestic travel and 2 nights of hotel accommodation

Note: Domestic travel support includes two nights of accommodation to enable participation in both the Pre-Conference Seminar and the Main Conference.

References

Cooper, D. (2023). Crafting prefigurative law in turbulent times: Decertification, DIY law reform, and the dilemmas of feminist prototyping. Feminist Legal Studies, 31, 17-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-022-09515-4

Dowds, E., Killean, R., & Hoyt, M. (2022). New methodologies in feminist legal studies: Legislative drafting project: Workshop report. Queen's University Belfast.

Enright, M., O'Donoghue, A., & O'Rourke, C. (2025). Prefiguring feminist constitutions: An experimental legal writing method for Northern Ireland? International Journal of Constitutional Law, 23(3), 693-716. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moaf059

Hunter, R. (2010). ‘An Account of Feminist Judging’ in Rosemary Hunter, Clare Mcglynn, and Erika Rackley (eds), Feminist Judgments: From Theory to Practice. Hart Publishing 2010.

Hunter, R. (2026). The emergence of feminist lawmaking. Griffith Law Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2026.2643561

Özsoy, E. C. (2023). Critical feminist law-making: Imitative spaces and improvised coalitions. Australian Feminist Law Journal, 48(2), 265-294. https://doi.org/10.1080/13200968.2022.2153490

Thompson, S. (2025). The inconspicuous impact of feminist pressure through law. Current Legal Problems, 78, 29-64. https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cuaf003.