Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Jordanian Social Norms And The Risk Of Intimate Partner Violence And Limited Reproductive Agency, Jennifer Mccleary-Sills

Journal of International Women's Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive global problem that violates the rights of millions of women each year and has been linked with a multitude of adverse physical, mental, and reproductive health outcomes. In Jordan, socio-cultural constructs of masculinity and female sexuality legitimize control exerted on and violence perpetrated against women. These include the gendered social norms that keep women in disempowered positions and limit their ability make fundamental reproductive decisions such as whether and when to become pregnant. This paper explores some of the mechanisms by which low levels of gender equity increase Jordanian women’s risk of violence …

Housing Delivery In Nthutukoville, South Africa: Successes And Problems For Women, Catherine Ndinda

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines the notion of empowerment and what it entails in housing development. Through a critical analysis if the different phases in one particular housing project analyzed by the author, the paper highlights the areas of empowerment and emphasizes that it is a process, which in the case of Nthutukoville in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa began with securing land tenure. Access to resources and acquisition of skills are important. Both external and internal factors may be responsible for women’s inability to take charge of their lives. External factors include political violence, unsupportive local authorities, and a hostile environment as well …

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 Differential Impact On Gender Relations Of ‘Transformatory’ And ‘Instrumentalist’ Women’S Group Intermediation In Microfinance Schemes: A Case Study For Rural South India, Nathalie Holvoet

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article starts from conflicting evidence regarding the impact of microfinance programs on women’s empowerment. It explores whether schemes that appear to be very similar on the surface may actually hide deeper differences that can help explain their diverging outcomes. The focus is on group intermediation, a feature that is overwhelmingly present in microfinance programs targeted at women. While group intermediation clearly has paid off in terms of individual programs’ financial profitability, it is also increasingly propagated on equity and empowerment grounds. This article argues that it is shortsighted to assume all forms of group intermediation will invariably achieve their …

Macro Promises Of Microcredit: A Case Of A Local Esusu In Rural Ghana, Carolette Norwood

Journal of International Women's Studies

Microcredit’s three big promises are one, to reduce poverty; two, to empower women; and three, to enhance family planning knowledge, attitudes and practices. Using a mixed-method approach, this study examines 204 women members and non-members of local eSusus in rural Ghana. Quantitative chi square analysis indicates no associations between membership in an eSusu and relative wealth; women’s autonomy family planning practices, knowledge or use and reproductive control. Meanwhile, the qualitative data shows that women members believe that eSusu are extremely useful for acquiring working capital to be reinvested in their small market ventures, and are helpful with school fee and …