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Belgium

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I am a final-stage PhD researcher in Public Law at VUB, with extensive experience editing journal articles, PhD chapters

Profile Summary

I am a final-stage PhD researcher in Public Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), specialising in comparative public law, human rights, and socio-legal analysis, with a particular focus on gender, religion, governance, and democratic institutions. I am completing a publication-based doctorate with my defence scheduled for 2026, and all required peer-reviewed publications finalised. My academic work combines doctrinal legal analysis with policy and governance research across European and Global South contexts, particularly France and India. I am co-editor of Minority Women, Rights and Intersectionality: Agency, Power, and Participation (Routledge, 2025) and have published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Q1 outlets. Through this work, I have developed strong expertise in structuring complex arguments, refining theoretical frameworks, and ensuring analytical coherence in long-form academic writing. Alongside my research, I provide academic editing and research consultancy services for PhD candidates, early-career researchers, and policy-oriented academics. My work includes substantive editing of journal articles and doctoral chapters, reviewer-response revisions, grant and fellowship application support, and methodological framing in law and social sciences. I specialise in strengthening argumentation, clarity, and structure while preserving the author’s voice and ensuring academic integrity. I am particularly well-suited to projects in law, political science, gender studies, governance, human rights, and interdisciplinary social science research. I work efficiently, confidentially, and to high academic standards, and I prioritise clear communication and realistic timelines.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Political Science
• ☆ Gender Studies
• ☆ Identity
• ☆ Democracy
• ☆ Environmental Law
• ☆ Medical Law
• ☆ Human Rights Law
• ☆ European Law
• ☆ Constitutional Law
• ☆ Intellectual Property Law
• ☆ International Law
• ☆ Labor Law
• ☆ Criminal Law
• ☆ Law Enforcement & Intelligence
• ☆ Discrimination Law

Services

• Writing

Writing Business & Legal Writing, General Proofreading & Editing

Work Experience

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

- Present

Academic writer

Academic Minds

November 2021 - Present

External Consultant

Independent

December 2015 - August 2017

Consultant

Legal League Consulting

October 2012 - July 2014

Consultant

Clifford Chance Business Services

September 2010 - September 2012

Education

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

- Present

PhD Law

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

January 2026 - Present

Achieving Gender Equality through Economic Rights (Department of Public Law )

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

December 2018 - Present

Advanced LL.M. in International and European Law

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Institute of European Studies)

September 2017 - July 2018

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Shilpi Pandey (2025). Narrative Injustice and the Legal Erasure of Indigeneity: A TWAIL Reframing of the Kashmiri Pandit Case in Postcolonial International Law . Laws.

Shilpi Pandey (2025). Narrative Injustice and the Legal Erasure of Indigeneity: A TWAIL Reframing of the Kashmiri Pandit Case in Postcolonial International Law . Laws.

Shilpi Pandey (2025). Beyond Emancipation and Oppression: Post-Secular Intersectionality and the Muslim Woman in the French Republic . Religions.

Shilpi Pandey (2025). Beyond Emancipation and Oppression: Post-Secular Intersectionality and the Muslim Woman in the French Republic . Religions.

Beyond Emancipation and Oppression: Post-Secular Intersectionality and the Muslim Woman in the French Republic @article{53d9d2aa588e4bde8fd64e2e04070925, title = "Beyond Emancipation and Oppression: Post-Secular Intersectionality and the Muslim Woman in the French Republic", abstract = "This paper critically interrogates the French model of secularism (la{\"i}cit{\'e}) and its implications for Muslim women{\textquoteright}s rights in contemporary France, particularly within post-colonial and post-secular contexts. It explores how historical legacies of colonial governance continue to inform current regulatory frameworks around religious expression, especially regarding the wearing of Islamic veils in public institutions. While la{\"i}cit{\'e} is officially presented as a principle of neutrality and universalism, its practical enforcement often targets Muslim women, functioning as a mechanism of exclusion that conflates religiosity with political threat. Drawing on intersectional feminist theory and recent debates on post-secularism, the paper examines how dominant feminist movements in France have struggled to incorporate the lived experiences and agency of pious Muslim women, frequently aligning with state-led narratives that instrumentalises gender equality in service of national identity and securitisation. Drawing upon the concept of intersectional post-secularity as discussed in recent scholarship, this article offers a new contextualised framework from within the French system of la{\"i}cit{\'e} for analysing how secular governance, feminist discourse, and colonial legacies converge to regulate Muslim women{\textquoteright}s visibility and subjectivity. This approach moves beyond binaries of secularism versus religion and emancipation versus subjugation, offering new insights into the entangled politics of faith, gender, and national identity. Ultimately, the paper calls for feminist and civic discourse that upholds democratic inclusivity, accommodates religious diversity, and resists the racialised governance of Muslim women{\textquoteright}s bodies in the name of la{\"i}cit{\'e}.", author = "Shilpi Pandey", note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 by the author.", year = "2025", month = sep, doi = "10.3390/rel16091206", language = "English", volume = "16", pages = "1--18", journal = "Religions", issn = "2077-1444", publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)", number = "9", } . Religions.

Shilpi Pandey (2024). The Burden of Being a Muslim Woman in India—The Instrumentalisation of Muslim Women at the Intersection of Gender, Religion, Colonialism, and Secularism . Religions.

The Burden of Being a Muslim Woman in India—The Instrumentalisation of Muslim Women at the Intersection of Gender, Religion, Colonialism, and Secularism @article{e824744935b746639fbe7e1171075522, title = "The Burden of Being a Muslim Woman in India—The Instrumentalisation of Muslim Women at the Intersection of Gender, Religion, Colonialism, and Secularism", abstract = "This paper focuses on the discourse on Muslim women{\textquoteright}s rights in India, aiming to trace how policies concerning Muslim women affect their constitutional rights to equality and non-discrimination. In doing so, this paper explores a colonial continuity of policies in the post-independence era and the subsequent governments. The purpose of this paper is to provide an extensive and nuanced discussion on Muslim women{\textquoteright}s rights in light of their historical evolution, the existence of personal laws, and the ongoing debates on a Uniform Civil Code. This article concludes that Muslim women continue to struggle for their rights to equal citizenship at the intersection of gender, religion, colonialism, and secularism.", author = "Shilpi Pandey", note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 by the author.", year = "2024", month = feb, day = "26", doi = "10.3390/rel15030291", language = "English", volume = "15", journal = "Religions", issn = "2077-1444", publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)", number = "3", } . Religions.

Shilpi Pandey (2024). The Burden of Being a Muslim Woman in India—The Instrumentalisation of Muslim Women at the Intersection of Gender, Religion, Colonialism, and Secularism . Religions.

Shilpi Pandey (2023). Brown Women Saving Brown Women — Setting New Narratives of an ‘Acceptable Voice’ . Journal of Critical Southern Studies.

Brown Women Saving Brown Women — Setting New Narratives of an ‘Acceptable Voice’ @article{4aa40e08090944219f7b3ae1dcbc68f6, title = "Brown Women Saving Brown Women — Setting New Narratives of an {\textquoteleft}Acceptable Voice{\textquoteright}", abstract = "Based on gender-centric issues, this paper identifies {\textquoteleft}the other{\textquoteright} as women either as colonial subjects or as Muslim women in the modern world. In this definition of {\textquoteleft}the other{\textquoteright}, I contend that {\textquoteleft}the other{\textquoteright}, aren{\textquoteright}t and weren{\textquoteright}t voiceless and the inability to acknowledge these voices is because of the existing version of what is an {\textquoteleft}acceptable voice{\textquoteright}. This definition of an {\textquoteleft}acceptable voice{\textquoteright} is supported through the colonial quest supported by imperial feminism and knowledge production. Hence, to acknowledge the voices of {\textquoteleft}the other{\textquoteright}, the meaning of {\textquoteleft}acceptable voice{\textquoteright} needs to be decolonized.", keywords = "Minority Women, Decolonisation, Gender Equality, Freedom of Religion", author = "Shilpi Pandey", note = "Abu-Lughod, L. 2002. Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others. American anthropologist, 104(3): 783–790. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2002.104.3.783 Ahmed, L. 2020. The veil debate again. In Feminist Theory Reader (pp. 233–241). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003001201-30 Amos, V. 1984. Challenging imperial feminism. Feminist review, 17(1): 3–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.1984.18 Baub{\'e}rot, J. 2003. Secularism and French religious liberty: a sociological and historical view. BYU L. Rev., 3 451. Brems, E. 2013. Face veil bans in the European Court of Human Rights: The importance of empirical findings. JL & Pol{\textquoteright}y, 22: 517. Burton, AM. 1990. The white woman{\textquoteright}s burden: British feminists and the Indian woman, 1865–1915. Women{\textquoteright}s Studies International Forum, 13(4): 295–308. Pergamon. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-5395(90)90027-U Burton, AM. 1994. Burdens of history: British feminists, Indian women, and imperial culture, 1865–1915. Univ of North Carolina Press. Delcroix, C. 2009. Two generations of Muslim women in France: Creative parenting, identity and recognition. Oral History Review, 87–94. Duara, P. 2004. Decolonization: Perspectives from now and then. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203485521 Elan, P. 2021. Model{\textquoteright}s {\textquoteleft}hands off my hijab{\textquoteright} post sparks protest over France{\textquoteright}s proposed ban. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/apr/25/model-rawdah-mohamed-hands-off-my-hijab-protest-france-ban. Engels, D, Mommsen, WJ and De Moor, JA. 1992. European Expansion and Law: The encounter of European and indigenous law in nineteenth and twentieth–Century Africa and Asia. Flavia, A. 1999. Law and Gender Inequality: The Politics of Women{\textquoteright}s Rights in India. Oxford University Press. France. Commission de r{\'e}flexion sur l{\textquoteright}application du principe de la{\"i}cit{\'e} dans la r{\'e}publique, and Stasi, B. 2003. Rapport de la Commission de Reflexion sur l{\textquoteright}Application du Principe de Laicite dans la Republique Remis au President de la Republique le 11 Decembre 2003. La documentation fran{\c c}aise. Ghosh, A. 2008. Behind the veil: Resistance, women and the everyday in colonial South Asia. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230583672 Guha, R. 1982. On some aspects of the historiography of colonial India. In Postcolonialisms: An anthology of cultural theory and criticism. Haynes, DE. 1992. Contesting power: Resistance and everyday social relations in South Asia. Univ of California Press. Initiative, OS. 2013. After the Ban: The Experiences of 35 Women of the Full-Face Veil in France. Open Society Justice Initiative. Killian, C. 2003. The other side of the veil: North African women in France respond to the headscarf affair. Gender & society, 17(4): 567–590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243203253541 Korteweg, AC. 2021. Liberal feminism and postcolonial difference: Debating headscarves in France, the Netherlands, and Germany. Social Compass, 68(3): 410–429. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768620974268 Lallab. 2016. Documenataire. Retrieved from https://www.lallab.fr: https://www.lallab.fr/documentaire/. Lazreg, M. 1990. Gender and politics in Algeria: unraveling the religious paradigm. Signs Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 15(4): 755–780. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/494627 Lazreg, M. 2018. Feminism and difference: The perils of writing as a woman on women in Algeria. In Theorizing Feminism, 321–344. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494277-18 Li, D. 2016. The Experience of Face Veil Wearers in Europe and the Law. In Brems, E (ed.). MacMaster, N. 2020. Burning the veil: The Algerian war and the {\textquoteleft}emancipation{\textquoteright} of Muslim women, 1954–62. Manchester University Press. Mahmood, S. 2001. Feminist theory, embodiment, and the docile agent: Some reflections on the Egyptian Islamic revival. Cultural anthropology, 202–236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/can.2001.16.2.202 Mancini, S. 2012. Patriarchy as the exclusive domain of the other: The veil controversy, false projection and cultural racism. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 10(2): 411–428. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mor061 Menski, W. 2008. Hindu law: Beyond tradition and modernity. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195699210.001.0001 Mortimer, M. 2018. Women Fight, Women Write: Texts on the Algerian War. University of Virginia Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv9b2vv7 Morton, S. 2003. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203108512 Neil, M. 2009. Burning the Veil. The Algerian War and the Emancipation of Muslim Women, 1954–1962. Okin, SM. 1999. Is multiculturalism bad for women? In Is multiculturalism bad for women? Princeton University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400840991-002 Oldenburg, VT. 1990. Lifestyle as resistance: The case of the courtesans of Lucknow, India. Feminist Studies, 16(2): 259–287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3177850 Prakash, G. 1994. Subaltern studies as postcolonial criticism. The American historical review, 99(5): 1475–1490. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2168385 Racco, P. 2014. The Dynamism of the Veil: Veiling and Unveiling as a Means of Creating Identity in Algeria and France. The Undergraduate Historical Journal at UC Merced, 1(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5070/H311022631 Rapport. 2010. Ross, E. 2009. In “Can the Subaltern Speak?, Spivak offers the sentence” White men are saving the brown women from brown men {\textquoteleft}as one interpretation of the relationship between colonizer and colonized.{\textquoteright} Innervate Leading Undergraduate Work in English Studies, 2, 385–391. SAS v France. 43835/11 (ECtHR July 1, 2014). Scott, JC. 2007. Domination and the Arts of Resistance. In On Violence. Duke University Press. pp. 200–214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822390169-010 Scott, JW. 2005. Symptomatic politics: The banning of Islamic head scarves in French public schools. French Politics, Culture & Society, 23(3): 106–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/153763705780793531 Said, E. 1978. Introduction to Orientalism. Seferdjeli, R. 2005. The French army and Muslim women during the Algerian War (1954–62). Hawwa, 3(1): 40–79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1569208053628537 Sharpe, J. 2003. A conversation with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Politics and the imagination. Signs: Journal of women in culture and society, 28(2): 609–624. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/342588 Shirazi, F. 2001. The veil unveiled: The hijab in modern culture. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. Spivak, GC. 2003. Can the Subaltern Speak? From Modernism to Postmodernism. Ed. Lawrence Cahoone. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/philosophin200314275 Toor, S. 2012. Imperialist feminism redux. Dialectical Anthropology, 36(3): 147–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10624-012-9279-5 Volpp, L. 2001. Feminism versus multiculturalism. Colum. L. Rev. 101: 1181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1123774 ", year = "2023", doi = "10.3943/jcss.47", language = "English", volume = "4", pages = "1--13", journal = "Journal of critical southern studies", issn = "0796-1901", publisher = "De Montfort University (UK)", } . Journal of critical southern studies.

(2020). The Survival of Minority Identities in The Spirit of ‘Living Together’: Gender, Secularization, Perceptions and the Survival of Multiculturalism. Juidische Meesterwerken VUB 2017- 18.

The Spirit of “Living Together”: Narratives of Gender, Secularization, Diversity and the Necessity of Exploring Alternatives @article{2effa0d6228b4692abad57c6fc46d247, title = "The Spirit of “Living Together”: Narratives of Gender, Secularization, Diversity and the Necessity of Exploring Alternatives", abstract = "This research paper examines the burqa bans in France and Belgium, which criminalize face-covering clothing. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was challenged on these bans, and the court justified them using the concept of {"}living together.{"} This paper analyzes the inherent flaws of {"}living together{"} and its implications for minority rights. It argues for an alternative discourse that accepts diversity within western liberal democracies for multiculturalism and respect for human rights. The paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to present arguments from different perspectives, including gender, secularism, and perception-based narratives. It also answers questions related to the evolution of the concept of {"}living together{"} within the ECtHR, the impact of ECtHR jurisprudence on national policies, and the role of liberal feminist discourse in creating narratives of face veil. The paper concludes that the justification of {"}living together{"} is flawed and alternative discourse is necessary for the protection of minority rights.", keywords = "Diversity, migration and integration, Secularism, Freedom of religion, European Court of Human Rights", author = "Shilpi Pandey", note = "Bibliography Articles And Journal Adams IV N A, {\textquoteleft}Human Rights Imperative: Extending Religious Liberty Beyond the Border{\textquoteright} (2000) 33, Cornell International Law Journal, 1. Benson T I, {\textquoteleft}The Attack on Western Religions by Western Law: Re- framing Pluralism, Liberalism and Diversity{\textquoteright} (2013) 6, International Journal for Religious Freedom, 111 Benvenisti E, {\textquoteleft}Margin of Appreciation, Consensus, and Universal Standards{\textquoteright} (1998) 31(4) International Law and Politics, 851 Brems E, {\textquoteleft}Face Veil Bans in the European Court of Human Rights: The Importance of Empirical Findings{\textquoteright} (2013) 22 JL & Pol'y, 517 Brems E, Vrielink J & Chaib O S, {\textquoteleft}Uncovering French and Belgian face covering bans Journal of Law, (2013) 2.1 Religion and State, 77 Casanova J, {\textquoteleft}Religion, European secular identities, and European integration{\textquoteright} na. 2006, 2 Casanova J, Rethinking Secularization: A Global Comparative Perspective. (2006) 8(1-2) The Hedgehog Review, 7 Cesari J, {\textquoteleft}Muslim identities in Europe: the snare of exceptionalism{\textquoteright} in Islam in Europe: Diversity, identity and influence (2007) 49 Cesari J, {\textquoteleft}The securitisation of Islam in Europe{\textquoteright} vol 15 (CEPS 2009), 8 Danchin P, {\textquoteleft}Islam in the secular nomos of the European Court of Human Rights{\textquoteright} (2010) 32, Michigan Journal of International Law, 663. Danchin P, {\textquoteleft}Suspect Symbols: Value Pluralism as a Theory of Religious Freedom in International Law.{\textquoteright} (2008) 33 no. 1 Yale Journal of International Law, 124 39 Davie G, {\textquoteleft}Religion in Europe in the 21 st century: the factors to take into account{\textquoteright} (2006) 47(2) European Journal of Sociology/Archives Europ{\'e}ennes de Sociologie, 271 Diana L and Van De Velde J, {\textquoteleft}Experience of Face Veil Wearers in Europe and the Law edited by Eva Brems{\textquoteright} (2017) Vol. 18 : Iss. 1 Yale Human Rights and Development Journal Droogsma A R, {\textquoteleft}Redefining Hijab: American Muslim Women{\textquoteright}s Stand- point on Veiling{\textquoteright}(2005) 35 (3) Journal of Applied Communication Research, 294 Durham W C and Kirkham D, {\textquoteleft}Introduction{\textquoteright} in W Cole Durham, and Christine Scott (eds), Islam, Europe and Emerging Legal Issues (Ashgate 2012) 1 Evans C, Freedom of religion under the European Convention on Human Rights, vol 2 (Oxford University Press 2001) 95. Fokas E, {\textquoteleft}Directions in Religious Pluralism in Europe: Mobilizations in the Shadow of European Court of Human Rights Religious Freedom Jurisprudence{\textquoteright} (2015) 4.1 Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 54 Fossum E J, {\textquoteleft}Deep diversity versus constitutional patriotism :Taylor, Habermas and the Canadian constitutional crisis.{\textquoteright} (2001) 1.2 Ethnicities, 180 Habermas J, {\textquoteleft}Religion in the public sphere{\textquoteright} (2006) 14(1) European journal of philosophy 1 Habermas J, Notes on Post-Secular Society (2008) (25) New perspectives quarterly Hancock C, {\textquoteleft}The Republic is lived with an uncovered face{\textquoteright}(and a skirt):(un) dressing French citizens{\textquoteright} (2015) 22 no. 7 Gender, Place & Culture 1023 Hellman D, {\textquoteleft}Equal Protection in the Key of Respect{\textquoteright} 123 (Yale Law Journal 2014) 3036 Khiabany G & Williamson M {\textquoteleft}Veiled bodies—Naked racism: Culture, politics and race in the sun{\textquoteright} (2008) 50 (2) Race & class, 69 L{\ae}gaard S, Burqa Ban, Freedom of Religion and {\textquoteleft}Living Together{\textquoteright}, (2015) 16(3) Human Rights Review, 203 Marco Antonsich, {\textquoteleft}Living together in diversity. A journey from scholarly views to people{\textquoteright}s voices and back{\textquoteright} (2014) 13 (7) Bollettino della Societ{\`a} Geografica Italiana, 317, 337 Malik M {\textquoteleft}Feminism and Its Other: Female Autonomy in an Age of Difference{\textquoteright} (2008) 30 Cardozo Law Review, 2613 Mamdani M, {\textquoteleft}Good Muslim, bad Muslim: A political perspective on culture and terrorism{\textquoteright} (2002) 104.3 American anthropologist, 766 Mancini S, {\textquoteleft}Patriarchy as the exclusive domain of the other: The veil controversy, false projection and cultural racism{\textquoteright} (2012) 10(2) International journal of constitutional law 411 Mancini S, {\textquoteleft}The crucifix rage: supranational constitutionalism bumps against the counter-majoritarian difficulty{\textquoteright} (2010) 6(1) European Constitutional Law Review,6 Mancini S, {\textquoteleft}The power of symbols and symbols as power: Secularism and religion as guarantors of cultural convergence{\textquoteright} (2008) (30) Cardozo Law Review, 2629. Marneffe P, {\textquoteleft}Liberalism, neutrality, and education{\textquoteright} (2002) 43 Nomos, 221 McConnell M W, {\textquoteleft}God is Dead and We Have Killed Him: Freedom of Religion in the Post-Modern Age{\textquoteright} (1993) BYU Law Review, 163,166. McSweeney B, {\textquoteleft}Hofstede{\textquoteright}s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: A triumph of faith-a failure of analysis{\textquoteright} (2002) 55 no. 1, 89 Moors A, {\textquoteleft}The Dutch and the face‐veil: The politics of discomfort{\textquoteright} (2009) 17(4) Social Anthropology, 393 Nandy A, {\textquoteleft}An anti-secularist manifesto{\textquoteright} (1995) India International Centre Quarterly, 35 Nussbaum M C, {\textquoteright}Capabilities and human rights{\textquoteright} (1997) 66 Fordham Law Review, 273 O'Neill B, Gidengil E, C{\^o}t{\'e} C, & Young L, {\textquoteleft}Freedom of religion, women's agency and banning the face veil: the role of feminist beliefs in shaping women's opinion{\textquoteright} (2015) 38(11), Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1886 Rottmann S B and Ferree M M, {\textquoteleft}Citizenship and Intersectionality: German Feminist Debates about Headscarf and Antidiscrimination Laws{\textquoteright} (2008) 15 (4) Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 481 Scheingold S A, The politics of rights: Lawyers, public policy, and political change (University of Michigan Press, 2010) Siedentop L, “Liberalism: The Chris- tian Connection,” (1989) (24 – 30 March), Times Literary Supplement, 308. 41 Talpade CM, Under Western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses, (1988) (30) Feminist Review, 61 Taylor C, {\textquoteleft}Deep diversity and the future of Canada. Can Canada Survive{\textquoteright} (1997), 29. Taylor C, The politics of recognition in New contexts of Canadian criticism, (1997), 25 Taylor C, {\textquoteleft}Interculturalism or multiculturalism?{\textquoteright} (2012) 38 (4-5), Philosophy & social criticism, 413 Trispiotis I, {\textquoteleft}Two Interpretations of “Living Together” In European Human Rights Law{\textquoteright} (2016) 75.3 Cambridge Law Journal 580 Tulkens F, {\textquoteleft}The European Convention on Human Rights and Church-State Relations Pluralism vs. Pluralism{\textquoteright} (2008) 30 Cardozo Law Review, 2575 Volpp L, {\textquoteleft}Feminism versus multiculturalism{\textquoteright} (2001) 101 Columbia Law Review, 1181, 1198 Wallace A, Rituals: Sacred and Profane. Zygon, (1966) 1(1), 60 Wheatley S, {\textquoteleft}Deliberative democracy and minorities.{\textquoteright} (2003) 14 no. 3 European Journal of International Law, 507 Willaime JP, {\textquoteleft}The cultural turn in the sociology of religion in France{\textquoteright} (2004a) 65(4) Sociology of Religion, 373 Books Ahmed L, Women and gender in Islam: Historical roots of a modern debate (Yale University Press 1992) 152, 153 Andrew Greeley, Religion in Modern Europe at the End of the Second Millennium, (London 2003) Asad T, Formations of the Secular: Christiantiy, Islam, Modernity (Stanford University Press, 2003) 191 Benhabib S, The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era (Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP, 2002), 84 Berger P, The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics (Washington D.C.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999) Balagangadhara S.N., Blotch E, & Roover J De, {\textquoteleft}Rethinking colonialism and colonial consciousness: the case of modern India{\textquoteright} in Rethinking Forms of Knowledge in India, ( Delhi: Pencraft International 2008), 3 Bhabha, H., Okin, S. M., Cohen, J., Howard, M., & Nussbaum, M. C. , Is multiculturalism bad for women? (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press 1999) Bouteldja N, France vs. England, in Eva Brems (ed.) The Experience Of Face Veil Wearers In Europe And The Law (Cambridge University Press 2014), 115 Brems E , (ed) The experiences of face veil wearers in Europe and the law (Cambridge University Press 2014). Casanova J, Public religions in the modern world (University of Chicago Press 1994) Habermas J, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a category of Bourgeois Society. (Trans. 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Hungary App no 55795/11 and 55798/11 (ECtHR, 23 September 2014) Young, James and Webster v United Kingdom 7806/77, 7601/76, (1981) 4 EHRR 38, [1981] ECHR 4 International Conventions, Reports And Submission To ECtHR European Convention on Human Rights available at http://www.echr.coe.int/Docu- ments/Convention_ENG.pdf European Court of Human Rights Fouzia Dakir v. Belgium, Application No. 4619/12, Written submission by the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University, Available at http://www.hrc.ugent.be/wpcontent/uploads/2015/11/Da-kir_hrc.pdf (Last accessed 25th December 2017) Phillips, Anne. 2009 {\textquoteleft}Religion: Ally, Threat or Just Religion?” A Debate on the Public Role of Religion and its Social and Gender Implications{\textquoteright} (2009), 35,42 Gender and Development Programme PaperNumber 5, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development,(Available at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/30954/) (Last visited on 19th March 2018) Miscellaneous Resources Berry B , {\textquoteleft}SAS v France: Does Anything Remain of the Right to Manifest Religion?{\textquoteright} EJIL: Talk, Blog of the European Journal of International Law, July 2, 2014 (Available at https://www.ejiltalk.org/sas-v- france-does-anything-remain-of-the-right-to-manifest-religion/) Du Plessis G, {\textquoteleft}The European Struggle with Religious Diversity: Osmanogˇlu and Kocaba{\c }s v. 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Wien: Institut fur Politik Wissenschaft, Universitat Wien (Available at http://politikwissenschaft.univie.ac.at/institut/ipw-working-papers/) Gue{\' }nif-Souilamas, N. 2011. “Erogenous Zones of Sexual Nationalisms: Excitable Encounters.” Paper presented at the workshop EuroPublicIslam, Public Controversies around Islam, organized by Nilufer Gole, EHESS, (Paris, October 13) Press Release, Issued by the Registrar of the Court, ECHR 241 (2017), 11 July 2017 Parliamentary And National Policy Resources A. G{\'e}rin, Rapport d{\textquoteright}information fait en application de l{\textquoteright}article 145 du r{\`e}glement au nom de la mission d{\textquoteright}information sur la pratique du port du voile int{\'e}gral sur le territoire national, 26 January 2010 (Available at http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i2262.pdf) Assembl{\'e}e Nationale, Rapport d{\textquoteright}information no. 2262, Au nom de la mission d{\textquoteright}information sur la pratique du port voile int{\'e}gral sur le territoire national, 26 janvier 2010 Belgian Chamber 2010-11, Parliamentary proceedings, 28 April 2011, no.53-30 45 Parliament of Belgium, Hand. Kamer 2009–10, April 29, 2010, nr. 52- 151, 23, (Available at http://www.dekamer.be/doc/PCRI/pdf/52/ip151.pdf.) Parlimentary Assembly Council of Europe, Resolution 2076 [2015] [1] (Available at http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=22199&lang=en)", year = "2020", language = "English", volume = "2017-2018", pages = "63--101", journal = "Juridische meesterwerken VUB.", issn = "2294-9976", publisher = "VUB", } . Juridische meesterwerken VUB.

BOOK CHAPTER

Shilpi Pandey, Stefaan Smis (2025). Digital Colonisation in Africa: Continuities of Colonial Exploitation Through Knowledge Production .

“Unveiling Colonial Legacies: Negotiating Intersectional Identity(ies) and Rights of Muslim Women – A Comparative Analysis of France and India” in “Minority Women, Rights and Intersectionality: Agency, Power, and Participation’ Routledge Advances in Minority Studies (RAMS) series (Book Proposal Accepted - Upcoming).

“Decolonizing the understanding of "acceptable culture" @inbook{03fe055d58484cef98742066d846fab9, title = "“Decolonizing the understanding of {"}acceptable culture{"}", abstract = "There is a certain 'moral authority{\textquoteright} through which the cultural rights and identities of women are dictated in a society. While such an authority is used across the globe it has become increasing visible modern liberal societies in terms of its relation with migrant women. This authority is used in justification of attempts of liberalizing migrant women from their own cultural practices an act of emancipation of women and gender equality. This discourse works on the assumption that migrant women need to be freed from their own culture into the “progressive” social customs of the West. This narrative is directly related to the West's negative perception of other cultures that do not have the same definition of women liberation, equality, and emancipation. A perception that is a direst corollary the nexus between colonialism and the new World order in terms on International Law and organisation s has evolved in the past.These descriptions of migrant women work on the assumption that migrant cultures treat their women as subordinates as compared to western culture. This understanding has reached a point where migrant women are seen as victims of their own culture, subjected to a {\textquoteleft}death by culture{\textquoteright}. This research argues that this negative notion of culture is directly related to the colonial consciousness which sees the practice of minority cultural rights as merely a symbol of domesticity and subjugation. This assumption of oppression of women in migrant cultures is one of the most important legacies of the colonial movement in terms of perceptions of women, which works on the idea that migrant communities are more patriarchal than the liberal west. In his conception of Orientalism, Edward Said explained how western modernity was considered to be the only cure for such traditional consciousness. It is not difficult to find how the civilisation process perceived a need for improvement in the position of women in society. This thought process resonates with a highly western-centric idea of gender equality that denies, any other experiences of culture and identity, a right of survival on its terms supported in the discourse of International Law. This consciousness is consistently reintroduced and regenerated to form a specific perception of non-western cultures. This paper aims to establish that any attempts of “mainstreaming” cultural practices for acceptance of the cultural rights of migrant women have to first undergo a process of decolonising the knowledge of the acceptable culture in Western societies. ", keywords = "decolonization, cultural identity, Migrant women, Internationaal recht, Gender equality", author = "Shilpi Pandey", year = "2022", language = "English", pages = "105--128", editor = "{Bruno, Palombino, Di Stefano, Ruotolo }", booktitle = "Migration and Culture: Implementation of Cultural Rights of Migrants", publisher = "CNR Edizioni, Rome", } . Migration and Culture: Implementation of Cultural Rights of Migrants.

Shilpi Pandey , “Decolonizing the understanding of "acceptable culture", Bruno, Palombino, Di Stefano, Ruotolo (eds.), Migration and Culture: Implementation of Cultural Rights of Migrants, Rome, CNR Edizioni, 2021, ISBN 978 88 8080 301 0, 2021, https://www.iriss.cnr.it/en/publications/collection-migration-and- development/ .

Shilpi Pandey, Stefaan Smis(2021). Is Secularism neutral enough to accommodate diversity? . MIGRATION, EQUALITY & RACISM. 44 OPINIONS. p. 194--196. VUB

Shilpi Pandey(2021). Migration, Equality & Racism - 44 opinions . VUB Press. p. 194--196.

BOOK

Shilpi Pandey, Alexandra Cosima Budabin, Jody Metcalfe(2025). Unveiling Colonial Legacies . Routledge

“Europe Needs to Change its Understanding of Secularism to Accommodate Diversity” .