Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Do Women’S Education And Economic Empowerment Reduce Gender-Based Violence In Nigeria?, Adaobiagu Nnemdi Obiagu

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women’s education and economic empowerment are key measures to promoting gender equality and reducing gender-based violence (GBV) against women, which is one of the indicators of gender equality. Whereas women’s education has been shown to positively impact child’s health, women’s fertility, and women’s participation in civic life and paid jobs, evidence on the relationship between women’s education, economic empowerment, and women’s exposure to GBV is not sufficiently established. Mapping this relationship is important for informing effective gender policies and practices. Hence, this study used the Nigeria demographic and health survey data of 2008, 2013, and 2018 to investigate the direction …

Spousal Violence In Karnataka, India: An Analysis Of Nhfs-5 Data, Nabeela Siddiqui, Anwesha Ghosh, Najeed Naved Siddiqui

Journal of International Women's Studies

Spousal violence is a severe public health concern. Despite the expanding scholarship, many concerns remain unresolved about the prevalence of this violence, the risk factors, the repercussions, and how to address the problem. This paper sets out a simple study recognizing the sharp increase of spousal violence in the state of Karnataka, with an overall decrease in the rest of South India. Using India’s National Family Health Survey data, we isolate the effect of spousal violence on female autonomy. The findings have substantial policy implications suggesting that it will take more than an improvement in women’s empowerment options to address …

The Heart Is Not Hopeless: Pakistani Television Drama, Patriarchy, And Activism, Neelam Jabeen

Journal of International Women's Studies

A Muslim society that interprets feminism as anti-Islamic may not accept overtly feminist maneuvers to challenge patriarchy. However, there are subtle ways of steering out of the Islam vs. feminism dichotomy. What triggers anti-feminists are phrases like women’s rights, female emancipation, and women’s freedom since all these are interpreted as the agenda of the West and hence are considered anti-Islamic. In this paper, I argue that since feminists are fighting against all forms of oppression and have joined forces with other forms of activism such as child protection, human rights, animal rights, rights of the underclass and minority groups, and …

Prevalence Of Domestic Violence And Mental Health Symptoms Among South Asian Women In The United States, Shreya Bhandari, Uma Chandrika Millner

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the prevalence of domestic violence, mental health outcomes and help-seeking behaviors among a cross section of 155 South Asians that participated in an anonymous survey. The findings indicate that 31% of the participants experienced some form of domestic violence; physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse and about 88% of those abused experienced emotional abuse. Results indicate that the abused participants experienced mental health symptoms of sleeplessness, frequent crying spells, panic, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, high stress, bouts of uncontrollable anger and loneliness. The results emphasize culturally sensitive services that address domestic violence as well as mental …

The Women Organizations And Activism In Combating Domestic Violence In The North Caucasus, Saida Sirazhudinova

Journal of International Women's Studies

There are a wide range of forms of domestic violence in the North Caucasus. Recent years have shown the scale of its spread and the complexity of the fight against domestic violence in the region. The spread of domestic violence in the region is facilitated by the residents themselves, traditional institutions, and religious structures that increase their influence. In addition, the authorities are not interested in solving the problems of domestic violence, and they hinder the work of human rights organizations and activists in every possible way. This article describes the features of the fight against domestic violence in the …

Do Russian Women Have The Right To Self-Defense Against Domestic Violence?, Davtyan Mari Davitovna

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article concerns the analysis of court practices for criminal cases relating to female victims of domestic violence who have been charged with murder or intentional infliction of grievous bodily injuries of their partners. The author directly connects the observance of women's rights in domestic violence self-defense cases with the problem of the lack of legal mechanisms of protection against violence in Russia. Russia remains the last country in the Council of Europe which has yet to create legal mechanisms to protect women against domestic violence. The lack of a law against domestic violence, a mechanism for protection orders, standards …

Domestic Violence Against Women In The Nigerian Rural Context, Chisaa O. Igbolekwu, Ogadimma Arusukwu, Joseph N. Nwogu, Bamidele Rasak, Festus Asamu, Ngozi O. Osueke

Journal of International Women's Studies

The problem of domestic violence is not new to African societies. This study focused on the remote causes and implications of domestic violence among rural women. The study adopted a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. The respondents were selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Findings revealed that 82.3% of the respondents agree that the economic dependence of women on men is among the major causes of domestic violence, while 52.3% of respondents believe that their communities encourage and tolerate some abusive behavior. A total of 61.5% of the respondents posit that religious and traditional …

Muslim Women’S Right To Divorce And Gender Equality Issues In Bangladesh: A Proposal For Review Of Current Laws, Shahnewaj Patwari, Abu N. M. A. Ali

Journal of International Women's Studies

In Bangladesh, sharia law goes hand in hand with the statutory laws of the land. These laws are both conjointly used to regulate and monitor the issues of divorce among Muslims of the country. Orthodox Islamic laws provide husbands with the authority of issuing divorce or talaq to their wives known as Talaq-e-Tawfiz (popularly known as tawfiz) in the kabinnama (the written document of the contract of marriage). Women’s power to exercise the tawfiz, however, depends solely on the will of their husbands. Although Muslim women are capable of repudiating their marriages by the process of khula or mubarat, these …

Not Accepting Abuse As The Norm: Local Forms Of Institutional Reform To Improve Reporting On Domestic Violence In Punjab, Maryam Tanwir, Shailaja Fennell, Hafsah Rehman Lak, Salman Sufi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gendered social norms are difficult to overcome, due to a lack of consensus among legal, religious, and social institutions on the direction that will result in new social norms. In the case of Pakistan, which ranks sixth on the list of the most dangerous countries for women, it is not possible to change gendered social norms regarding domestic violence by only focusing on legal reform since, in its social context, the act of domestic violence is not in itself regarded as a serious offence. This article explores reform in Punjab, where deeply entrenched legal structural obstacles and discriminatory gender norms …

Domestic Violence Against Women In Ghana: The Attitudes Of Men Toward Wife-Beating, Ellen Mabel Osei-Tutu, Ernest Ampadu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the issue of domestic violence against women; specifically, men’s attitudes toward wife beating. The data used was obtained from the 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The results presented in this study come from a total 3,052 males from across all the 10 regions in Ghana. It is interesting to note that, although majority of the participants do not endorse wife beating, there was a significant number of these men who thought wife beating was justified for various reasons. That is, the attitude of men toward wife beating is complex to explain as the participants had divergent …

Protecting Women From Domestic Violence In Assam, India? Evaluating Section 498-A, The Indian Penal Code (Ipc), 1983 Vs The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act (Pwdva), 2005, Deepshikha Carpenter, Polly Vauquline

Journal of International Women's Studies

The institution of marriage is sacred and binding for generations in India; however, in contemporary times, domestic violence is a burning issue as it questions the sanctity of the Indian family system. This paper highlights how domestic violence between ‘husband and wife’, and their interpersonal complexity, is addressed within the legal framework of the Indian Penal Code and the special act of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. These Acts operate as custodians for women who are subjugated to spousal violence. The study is located in Kamrup Metro District of Assam as it is the most urbanised district. The …

Gender Based Violence In India: A Never-Ending Phenomenon, B. R. Sharma, Manisha Gupta

Journal of International Women's Studies

Religion, customs, age-old prejudices, etc. have put Indian women in a subservient and exploitable position in many domains of life. Low rates of participation in education, lack of economic independence, value biases operating against them, etc., have resulted in the women being dependent on men folk and other institutions of authority like the family, neighborhood and the society. They are usually ignorant of their rights and even if they are not, they do not have easy access to justice.

The issues related to women are being raised and discussed in various fora, in the recent times. Of these, ‘violence against …

The Interrelationship Between Gender-Based Violence And Hiv/Aids In South Africa, Chineze J. Onyejekwe

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper focuses on how gender-based violence intersects with HIV/AIDS in ways too devastating to be ignored. Women’s subordinate position is linked to poverty, sexual abuse/rape, and the risk to women in long-term union. The country’s pioneering steps to establish legal and judicial frameworks for dealing with these problems are discussed.

The Sita Syndrome: Examining The Communicative Aspects Of Domestic Violence From A South Asian Perspective, Archana Pathak Bhatt

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay explores the communicative aspects of domestic violence by articulating the Eurocentric components of domestic violence research. Utilizing a post-colonial ethnography, this essay reconceptualizes domestic violence from a South Asian perspective, articulating the ways in which relational violence, its acceptance and its social function are gendered.