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Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Journal

Bridgewater State University

2013

Agency

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

South Asian Fiction And Marital Agency Of Muslim Wives, Hafiza Nilofar Khan Aug 2013

South Asian Fiction And Marital Agency Of Muslim Wives, Hafiza Nilofar Khan

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay deals with the treatment of wifely agency as delineated by three South Asian women writers: Ismat Chughtai, Tehmina Durrani and Selina Hossain. It tries to prove that the Muslim wives as projected in the fiction of these writers from the patriarchal societies of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are not uniformly oppressed victims of socio-religious discourses. Though often their bodies are subjected to rigorous discipline, docility and even battery, these wives still demonstrate sufficient agential powers to resist the status quo and chalk out a fresh trope of identity for themselves. Their domestic agency, sexual agency and decision-making powers, …


The Land Of Lalla-Ded: Politicization Of Kashmir And Construction Of The Kashmiri Woman, Nyla Ali Khan Jan 2013

The Land Of Lalla-Ded: Politicization Of Kashmir And Construction Of The Kashmiri Woman, Nyla Ali Khan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Over the years, tremendous political and social turmoil has been generated in the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the forces of religious fundamentalism and by an exclusionary nationalism that seeks to erode the cultural syncretism that is part of the ethos of Kashmir. Kashmiri women are now suffering from some of the more predictable afflictions of women caught in conflict situations: psychological trauma, destitution, and acute poverty that put them at increased risk of trafficking. The ethnographic field research, which I undertook, was a method of seeking reconnection sans condescension by simultaneously belonging to and resisting the discursive community …


From Discovery To Dissidence: Honduran Women’S Conceptions And Claims Of Human Rights, Christine Gervais Jan 2013

From Discovery To Dissidence: Honduran Women’S Conceptions And Claims Of Human Rights, Christine Gervais

Journal of International Women's Studies

In recognition of the profound benefits of women’s engagement with their rights, this article presents an experiential account of how Honduran women comprehend, articulate, experience and advocate human rights and gender equality through non-governmental educational initiatives. Through the triangulated analytic among human security, post-victimization and citizen-based advocacy approaches, the article traces the women’s journeys from their moments of discovery of human rights towards instances of dissidence. In so doing, the women’s demonstrations of empowerment, agency, resistance and solidarity are brought to the fore. By featuring their voices, this study demonstrates how Honduran women are able to shape their own expectations …


Tension In Intersectional Agency: A Theoretical Discussion Of The Interior Conflict Of White, Feminist Activists’ Intersectional Location, Dieuwertje Dyi Huijg Jan 2013

Tension In Intersectional Agency: A Theoretical Discussion Of The Interior Conflict Of White, Feminist Activists’ Intersectional Location, Dieuwertje Dyi Huijg

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this article I question the wholeness of the agency of white, feminist activists. Drawing on intersectional theory, I problematise the multiplicative character of their location in order to be able to understand how intersectional agency operates. This location reveals three layers of intersectionality; the junction of axes of social signification (gender and race); the junction of manifestations on these axes (female and white); and the junction of, subsequent, positions in power relations (disadvantaged and advantaged). I argue that this is specifically important and complex when we explore how whiteness can operate intersectionally. This results in three observations. First, this …


“We All Like To Think We’Ve Saved Somebody:” Sex Trafficking In Literature, Donna M. Bickford Jan 2013

“We All Like To Think We’Ve Saved Somebody:” Sex Trafficking In Literature, Donna M. Bickford

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay considers the potential impact of sex trafficking narratives and their relationship to public perception and social change efforts. It fuses literary criticism and cultural analysis to discuss multiple genres of texts, including mainstream news media reports and two categories of novels about sex trafficking. Finally, it argues for the power of narrative to catalyze and influence actions designed to eradicate sex trafficking.