Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Turning A Savage Eye/I: Writing Survival And Empowerment In Yvonne Vera’S The Stone Virgins, Andrew Armstrong

Journal of International Women's Studies

Yvonne Vera’s The Stone Virgins (2002), both thematically and stylistically, dramatizes a pathological patriarchal system that engages in the oppression of women and their right to normal, happy and productive lives. I argue that, in this novel, she employs the creative imagination and skill of the female I/eye to interrogate a deformed masculinist ideology that has colluded with religion, politics and the class system in the oppression of women, often excluding them from historiography and from public life. In The Stone Virgins, Vera represents a historiography that has marginalized and erased women’s histories from the patriarchal grand narratives of …

A Chronicle Of The Global Movement To Combat Violence Against Women: The Role Of The Second-Wave Feminist Movement And The United Nations: The Perspective Of Bangladesh, Anisur Rahman Khan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Violence against women strikes countless women in epidemic proportions across the globe. At present, it is treated as the most pervasive violation of human rights and a serious impediment for development. Shockingly, for many years, a huge culture of silence was associated with the acts of violence of men against women. The second-wave feminist movement of the late sixties and early seventies brought the issue into public discourse, provided a theoretical foundation to analyse the problem and commenced an all-out campaign to redress the problem. For the second-wave feminist movement, patriarchy or unequal power relations between men and women is …

Gender And Water In Northeast Thailand: Inequalities And Women's Realities, Sari Andajani-Sutjahjo, Siriporn Chirawatkul, Erico Saito

Journal of International Women's Studies

The water world is socially constructed, reflecting continuous global gender inequalities and discrimination by those who hold dominant perspectives on water. While there is a strong global acknowledgement of the roles of women in water management by the United Nations International Water for Life Decade 2005-2015, discourses on gender mainstreaming in water management are still marginalised and under-theorised. The Millennium Development Goal-7 on environmental sustainability, addressing the need of more than one billion people for a significant improvement to accessing safe drinking water and basic sanitation, stagnated without a strong political will to include gender ideology in mainstream water perspectives. …

Natural Woman, Unnatural Mother: The Convergence Of Motherhood And The "Natural" World In Alice Walker’S Meridian, Sampada Chavan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Many cultures around the world equate being womanly to being motherly. However, all women are not physically or psychologically equipped to handle motherhood. What happens to these women who are burdened with motherhood and are unable to deal with it? Alice Walker’s protagonist in her novel Meridian is an otherwise accomplished woman, but she fumbles with the notion of ideal woman-ness. Cultural conventions also dictate that women are closer to nature and that motherhood is a “natural” and expected outcome in a woman’s life. While Meridian is close to nature, she has no interest in motherhood. This duality in her …

Ecofeminism And Natural Disasters: Sri Lankan Women Post-Tsunami, Alyssa Banford, Cameron Kiely Froude

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women experience a host of negative consequences during and after a natural disaster. A variety of feminist theories have been used to explore this phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to posit the need for an ecofeminist perspective on analyzing women’s vulnerabilities post-natural disaster. The authors will discuss the history and branches of ecofeminism, highlighting their utility in exploring the intersection of race, class, and gender in the aftermath of disaster. An ecofeminist analysis of Sri Lankan women’s vulnerability in the wake of the 2004 tsunami will be used to illustrate the utility of the theory. Implications of using …

Gender Mainstreaming In Sector Budget Support: The Case Of The European Commission's Sector Support To Rwanda's Agriculture Sector, Nathalie Holvoet, Liesbeth Inberg

Journal of International Women's Studies

Donors face difficulties when handling gender concerns in the context of ongoing changes in aid modalities. Against this background, the European Union (EU) Member States and the European Commission (EC) adopted the EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Development (2010-2015) and launched, in collaboration with the UN Women and the International Training Center of the International Labour Organisation, the ‘Increasing Accountability in Financing for Gender Equality’ programme. Within the framework of this programme, the EU delegation in Rwanda has elaborated a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for the EC sector budget support to the Agriculture Sector in …

"Frauen Fur Den Frieden - Oppositional Group Or Bored Troublemakers?", Susanne Kranz

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores the autonomous women’s group Frauen für den Frieden (Women for Peace) that was founded in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1982. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons behind the foundation of the group as well as its functioning and its rather quick decline and dissolution. A crucial reason for the establishment of an autonomous, yet illegal, women’s group was the ratification of a new military law that specified drafting women into the military service in case of a national emergency. Additionally, women challenged the existing Friedenspolitik (policy of peace) of the socialist …

In Search Of A Lost Identity: Iranian Women And Their Identity Issues, Mahsa Izadinia

Journal of International Women's Studies

Using the data from the lives of two Iranian women, I focus on how context and self impact the process of identity formation. My aim of the present study is to empower and emancipate women by highlighting the significance of knowing who they are and holding on to their dreams, values, and choices especially when the social and family contexts are limiting and oppressive. Elaborating on the concept of identity and its significance for human development, I discuss the life stories of the two Iranian women and their major challenges. I explain how they gradually dissociated from who they were …

Veiling And Blogging: Social Media As Sites Of Identity Negotiation And Expression Among Saudi Women, Hala Guta, Magdalena Karolak

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper aims at assessing how Saudi Arab young women use social media for negotiating and expressing their identity. Through in-depth interviews with a sample of seven Saudi females aged 20-26, the research revealed that the internet, with its protection of individual privacy, provided the participants a space to negotiate the boundaries imposed on them by cultural and societal rules. Participants employed several tactics of negotiation such as using nicknames, concealing their personal images and using first names only in order not to be identified by their family names. Using multiple accounts is also popular among participants. Without gatekeepers, the …

Rethinking Patriarchy, Culture And Masculinity: Transnational Narratives Of Gender Violence And Human Rights Advocacy, Elora Halim Chowdhury

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this paper, I argue that to truly understand the complexity and “high prevalence” of acid violence against women in Bangladesh, we must pay attention to the confluence of political, economic and historical forces that make certain social groups more vulnerable to such extreme violence and suffering. By tracing the life history narratives of survivors of gender-based violence, I hope to shed light that acid throwing—a form of gendered violence—has to be understood beyond a “culturalist” framework, which explains this phenomenon as a product of harmful patriarchal cultural practices, seemingly more prevalent in certain South Asian cultures. Rather, I argue, …

Judging By Appearances: Perceived Discrimination Among South Asian Muslim Women In The Us And The Uae, Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi

Journal of International Women's Studies

The current study addresses perceived discrimination among South Asian Muslim women living in the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). US participants reported greater perceptions of discrimination than UAE participants. In both countries, perceived discrimination mainly took the form of subtle nuances rather than direct harassment. Although participants reported the greatest intensity of perceived discrimination at work, hijabis (women who wear the Islamic headscarf) felt this more than non-hijabis. Conversely, non-hijabis felt greater intensity of discrimination in social spaces within Muslim contexts than hijabis. Despite feeling most comfortable socializing with either Muslims or South Asians, participants felt …

Gender In The Midst Of Change: Examining The Rights Of Muslim Women In Predominately Muslim Countries, Saidat Ilo, Richard Seltzer

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study aims at contributing to the debate on whether countries with large Muslim populations will embrace gender equality. The role of women in Islamic societies remains a highly charged political and cultural issue. Women’s issues are vital in the shaping of modern debates on democracy in predominantly Muslim countries.

This study utilized the 2012 Pew Global Attitudes Survey. The seven Islamic countries polled by the Pew Global Attitudes Project were Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. In the survey, nine questions were asked of a sample size of roughly 7,000 respondents. We examined attitudes towards women’s equality …

The Meaning Of Hijab: Voices Of Muslim Women In Egypt And Yemen, Kenneth E. Jackson, Elizabeth Monk-Turner

Journal of International Women's Studies

This work explores how Muslim women in Egypt and Yemen understand the hijab, or head scarf. Based on data (N = 100) from a self-administered questionnaire written in Arabic, differences about the meaning of hijab are examined from the perspective of women who wear or are expected to wear the head scarf. When asked what the hijab means, Egyptian women focus on religious reasons and Yemeni women emphasize a cultural (or modesty) understanding. When probed further about their understanding of hijab, Egyptian women split between religious and gendered explanations. Significant numbers of women in our Egyptian sample report …

Veil Bans In Western Europe: Interpreting Policy Diffusion, Adriana Piatti-Crocker, Laman Tasch

Journal of International Women's Studies

Veil Bans in Western Europe: Interpreting Policy Diffusion examines the diffusion of Muslim veil-ban laws in four Western European countries within the last decade; France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. Nationwide bans on full-face Muslim veiling are rooted in several systemic, normative, and political accounts and advocated by contrasting political ideologies. Methodologically, this paper employs an integrative perspective to explain the process of diffusion in some countries but not in others, by exploring both external and internal factors that led to policy innovation. Overall, full-face Muslim veil bans in Western Europe have been intended to accelerate cultural integration of minorities …

A Socio-Historical And Political Discourse On The Rights Of Muslim Women: Concerns For Women’S Rights Or Community Identity: (Special Reference To 1937 And 1939 Acts), Sabiha Hussain

Journal of International Women's Studies

The present paper deals with the discourse of the rights of Muslim women in the pre- independence period with particular reference to the Shariat Act 1937 and the Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act 1939 and the socio- historical and political background in the enactment of these Acts. The role of women’s organizations and the women’s movement, community leaders and political parties has been taken into account in dealing with the discourse. Whether the discourse was more to show political strength of the Muslim community or to protect the rights of women? Why was a need for these enactments felt by women’s …

International Agency Implementation Of Women's Empowerment Programs Under Secular And Islamist Governments: Comparative Cases Of Un Women And The International Labour Organization Experiences In Egypt, Whitney Buchanan

Theses and Dissertations

This research compares two international agencies, the UN Women (UNW) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and their women’s empowerment programs specifically under the Mubarak government during 2010 and under the Morsi government during 2012 to determine how Islamist and secular government support shapes the effectiveness of international agencies’ gender empowerment projects. This project is a “snapshot” of attitudes of particular ILO and UNW staff members from regional and national offices regarding their work during two different time frames, and not the institutional policies, experiences, or positions of he UNW and ILO bodies as a whole. The principal investigator chose …

Revisiting Gender Equality In Millennium Development Goal 3: Establishing Education For Women As A Human Right, Colleen Renee Kahl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate Millennium Development Goal 3 and to propose a new goal based in a human rights-based approach. This goal promotes gender equality and women's empowerment and is primarily measured by gender parity in education. For many countries in the developing world, this goal is far from being reached and has resulted in millions of children, particularly girls, out of school. The primary focus of this thesis will be on the secondary level of education as gender parity is far from being obtained. This thesis will review the goals and the human rights-based approach …

Beyond The Dialectics And Polemics: Canadian Catholic Schools Addressing Lgbt Youth Issues, Renato M. Liboro, Robb Travers, Alex St. John

Psychology Faculty Research

In 2012, Canadian media coverage on Bill 13—an Ontario legislative proposal to require all publicly funded schools to support Gay-Straight Alliances as a means of addressing issues concerning bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students—instigated a divisive exchange among representatives of the Ontario Catholic school sector. Beyond these dialectics and polemics, a proactive mix of advocates from schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) of Ontario took steady steps to address the circumstances of their LGBT students. This study included semi-structured interviews with ten stakeholders from the WCDSB to determine if strategies and programs deemed successful for …

Journey With No Maps: A Life Of P.K. Page By Sandra Djwa, Mckay Mcfadden

The Goose

Review of Journey With No Maps: A Life of P.K. Page by Sandra Djwa.

Front Matter, Medieval Feminist Forum, V.50, No.1, 2014

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.