In 2006, Janet Halley, Hila Shamir, Chantal Thomas and myself came together to write an article in the Harvard Journal of Gender and Law on governance feminism based on our realisation that feminists were no longer actors who were in an oppositional relationship vis-à-vis the state. They were instead often influential in making law and policy as well as shaping public opinion on matters of gender equality. While our initial preoccupation was with radical feminists invested in projects on violence against women, trafficking, sex work, pornography and domestic violence, we soon found governance feminism in other arenas including corporate law, family law, welfare law, and law and development. With Janet Halley, Hila Shamir and Rachel Rebouche (our editor at the Harvard Journal of Gender and Law), I have co-authored Governance Feminism: An Introduction and co-edited Governance Feminism: Notes from the Field.

Reviews

• Law & Society Review, September 2018
• Choice, August 2018
• Journal of International Affairs, September 2019
• International Journal of Constitutional Law, January 2019

Public Engagement

• Interview for The Wire: ‘Why Harsher Criminal Laws Won’t Make Sexual Violence Go Away’
• Interview for Live Law: ‘Criminalization Is Being Presented As A Solution To Social Problems’ – Dr Prabha Kotiswaran On Women Issues And Laws

Journal Articles

• Kotiswaran, P. (2017). A Bittersweet Moment: Indian Governance Feminism and the 2013 Rape Law Reforms. Economic and Political Weekly.
• Kotiswaran, P. (2007). Book Review of Split Decisions: How and Why to Take A Break From Feminism (2006) by Janet Halley, Feminist Legal Studies 15(3), 361-365.
• Kotiswaran, P., Halley, J., Shamir, H. and Thomas, C. (2006). From the International to the Local in Feminist Legal Responses to Rape, Prostitution/Sex Work, and Sex Trafficking: Four Studies in Contemporary Governance Feminism. Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 29(2), 335-423. (Most Cited Article in Vol. 29).

Book Chapters

Governance Feminism’s Others: Sex Workers and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, in Governance Feminism: Notes from the Field, eds Janet Halley, Prabha Kotiswaran, Hila Shamir and Rachel Rebouché. University of Minnesota Press (2019)