Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Australian Women’S Anti-Nuclear Leadership: The Framing Of Peace And Social Change, Yulia Maleta

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article addresses a gap on hegemonic masculinity/emphasized femininity and essentialism/constructivism within the Environmental New Social Movement (eNSM). Utilizing my interviews with Australian women members of environmentalist New Social Movement Organisations (eNSMOs), including eNGOs, academic institutions and the Greens party, I adopt a constructivist approach towards emphasized femininity, arguing that women-led strategies, strengthened through agentic competence contributes to global peace, whilst challenging the patriarchal control of environmental governance (Cockburn 1988, 2012). My feminist sociopolitical model is framed by resistance to ruling class masculinity, emphasizing participants’ gender performativity, advocating anti-nuclear agendas (Warren 1999, Gaard 2001, Butler 2013). Constructivism is relayed by …

'Playing It Right?’: Gendered Performances Of Professional Respectability And ‘Authenticity’ In Greek Academia, Maria Tsouroufli

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper draws on the career narrative interviews with 15 female academics to unravel the performative politics of gender in Greek Medical Schools. I explore the gender positioning and embodied performances of Greek women as they relate to the contingencies of participation, recognition, and esteem in academic medicine and framed within the wider gendered discourses and structures of the increasingly neo-liberal Greek academia and society. Drawing on Butler’s notion of performativity, I illustrate the possibilities of making the successful Greek female academic subject through subjection to normative, gendered discourses of respectability, encompassing integrity, respectable aesthetics, and affective work and scripted …

Building Resilient Societies: The Relevance Of Unscr 1325 In Egypt’S Political Transition, Salma Nasser

Journal of International Women's Studies

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and 1820 and the more recent 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122 and 2242 reflect a rights-based approach to human security with a focus on the prevention of violence against women and girls and fostering their active and meaningful participation in public life in conflict and post conflict contexts. This is a particularly important framework in the African context where, over the past 5 years alone, conflict has plagued over 18 countries and has had devastating socio-economic impacts on women and led to the weakening of justice systems and social norms, which at the best …

Fighting Prejudice: Campaigns On Gender Violence In Spain, Isabel Cepeda

Journal of International Women's Studies

As in almost every country, Spanish society tends to trivialize cases of violence against women. There is little chance that this violence is perceived as a problem, not only by men, but also by women themselves. Some women have come to accept domestic violence as normal and internalized their oppression to the extent that they expect this as a pattern of acceptable, normative behavior imposed by society. Some social norms and institutions can ensure the perpetuation of violence against women since they are rooted in the culture and traditions that legitimize it. Awareness campaigns that address violence against women serve …

Ecofeminist Therapy: From Theory To Practice, Alyson Pompeo-Fargnoli

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article establishes a basis for an ecofeminist approach to counseling and therapy by reviewing the roots, theoretical foundations, related conceptual frameworks, and context of ecofeminism. It suggests a rationale and guidelines for adopting an ecofeminist perspective in the helping professions, and describes how it can be applied in various settings with diverse client populations.

Initiation Of Sexual Behaviour And Early Childbearing: Poverty And The Gendered Nature Of Responsibility Amongst Young People In South Africa, Monde Makiwane, Ntombizonke A. Gumede, Lien Molobela

Journal of International Women's Studies

Childbearing is an important life course event and a decision to give birth has significant implication in contemporary society, especially if it occurs before the completion of schooling and predating the start of being gainfully employed. Globally, teenage pregnancy is more common among young people who have been disadvantaged in childhood and have low expectations of education or opportunities in the job market. Literature shows that youth living in poverty have higher teen pregnancy rate than the average population. Socio-economic circumstances seem to play a major role in the rates of teen pregnancy. Poor access to contraception and inconsistent or …

A Theoretical Perspective On Women And Poverty In Botswana, Gwen N. Lesetedi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Botswana has made remarkable progress in terms of economic and social development. The position of the government is that policies and programmes should benefit all citizens equally. More specifically, the government of Botswana has recognised women’s role in economic development and efforts have been made to integrate gender in the development process. Access to economic opportunities for everyone to development is an overall goal clearly stated in the various national development plans, policies and programmes. Gender plays a major role in the formulation and implementation of these intervention strategies. For instance, the National Gender Programme Framework implemented and monitored by …

Defying The Odds, Not The Abuse: South African Women’S Agency And Rotating Saving Schemes, 1994-2017, Mark Nyandoro

Journal of International Women's Studies

Employing a feminist lens that places emphasis on women’s agency South African feminists have challenged the dominant narrative of hapless women who need external saviours to climb out of poverty. In particular, black South African feminists have drawn attention to the appropriation and deployment of both indigenous and other concepts and practices by women to fight poverty. This article employs these perspectives to interpret the importance of rotating saving schemes in South Africa. It explores the debate about women’s economic, community-participation and entrepreneurship strategies with reference to the Stokvel and other rotating saving-schemes (e.g. mashonisa) to improve the status of …

Women And Renewable Energy In A South African Community: Exploring Energy Poverty And Environmental Racism, Khayaat Fakier

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper argues that the rights of women to be included in decisions about energy use and their experiences with energy use are ignored. Using an eco-feminist perspective this article explores how the rhetoric of ‘renewable energy for the poor’ which bypasses women’s voices and experience in domestic uses of renewable energy result in reverse outcomes of pro-environmental policy for the poor, as well as, for society in general. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 20 women in Lwandle, in South Africa, the article identifies three themes reflecting on how the women experience the installation of solar water heaters. The first …

Women Entrepreneurship In Kwazulu-Natal: A Critical Review Of Government Intervention Policies And Programs, Obianuju E. Okeke-Uzodike, Ufo Okeke-Uzodike, Catherine Ndinda

Journal of International Women's Studies

Entrepreneurship is considered one of the key drivers of economic development. It is widely recognized that female entrepreneurs in formal and informal sectors play crucial roles in building and sustaining economic growth and development. In South Africa, however, women’s participation in entrepreneurial activities remains on the periphery of formal government policy. This is despite formal pronouncements and recognition that women’s integration and role in the economy is vital for both the economic and socio-political development of the country. Indeed, the South African government has introduced various policies and programmes in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 5 – achieve gender …

Gender Differences In Water Access And Household Welfare Among Smallholder Irrigators In Msinga Local Municipality, South Africa, Sithembile A. Sinyolo, Sikhulumile Sinyolo, Maxwell Mudhara, Catherine Ndinda

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study investigates the gender differences in water access and its welfare effects using a sample of 291 irrigators from two irrigation schemes in the Msinga Local Municipality, South Africa. The data were analysed using the Blinder Oaxaca (BO) decomposition method and the instrumental variable (IV) regression approach. The study findings highlight unequal access to irrigation water between male and female farmers, with women accessing irrigation water more frequently than women. The results also indicate a positive and significant effect of water access on incomes per capita, and that men had higher welfare than women. The results suggest that women …

The ‘Stigma’ Of Paid Work: Capital, State, Patriarchy And Women Fish Workers In South India, P. Aswathy, K. Kalpana

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores the changing dynamics of women’s labor in a Muslim fishing village in the South Indian state of Kerala in the back drop of two global processes viz., state-initiated capitalist modernization of the fisheries sector and state-sponsored livelihood promotion programs. It traces the shifting contexts in which Muslim fisherwomen, alternately, engaged in and disengaged from, paid work outside the household and shows how women experienced different kinds of paid work, as self-employed fish vendors and wage earners of employment guarantee schemes. Changes in women’s labor force participation were mediated by the social institutions of family and religion, community …

Determinants Of Female’S Employment Outcomes In Vietnam, Ngo Quynh An, Yamada Kazuyo

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the context of reducing female labor demand and restructuring female work in integration, determinants of women's employment are studied using data of 2010 VHLSS with 11,085 women aged 15 and older who were working in the Vietnamese labor market. The economic and care needs, values and opportunities of women working are important. At the region-level, economic development and equality will give women opportunities for better work. Women's education and training clearly take a key position. The analysis shows the effect of education and training are strongest and positive for women with employment in the group of "Leaders, managers, and …

Gender-Based Household Compositional Changes And Implications For Poverty In South Africa, Chijioke O. Nwosu, Catherine Ndinda

Journal of International Women's Studies

Poverty is one of the most challenging socio-economic problems in South Africa. Though poverty rates have been substantially reduced in the post-apartheid period, many South Africans remain poor. Available evidence also indicates a substantial gender gradient to the prevalence of poverty in the country. A standard indicator of gendered power structures is the gender of the household head. We examine the effect of transitioning from a male- to a female-headed household over time (relative to remaining in a male-headed household) on changes in the probability of transitioning into poverty from a non-poor state over a two- to six-year period. This …

Preventing The Leaky Pipeline: Teaching Future Female Leaders To Manage Their Careers And Promote Gender Equality In Organizations, Nicole Böhmer, Heike Schinnenburg

Journal of International Women's Studies

The paradox of Indian women’s declining presence in the labor market despite their advancements in higher education leads to questions regarding how this “leaky pipeline” can be patched and (partly) prevented. At the same time, female educational advancement in Western countries, such as Germany, does not equate to significantly more females in leadership positions or changes in gender role expectations. In both the Indian and German contextual setting, women face hurdles in developing their career and the risk of lifelong dependency or poverty.

This paper clarifies the perspectives of young females on leadership careers and success before they enter the …

Gender, Poverty And Inequality In The Aftermath Of Zimbabwe’S Land Reform: A Transformative Social Policy Perspective, Newman Tekwa, Jimi Adesina

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender equality is re-emerging as an important global and national agenda with emphasis placed on closing the gender gap in terms of women’s representation in public and private decision-making bodies. Though unrelatedly, the period had coincided with the elevation of social protection in the form of cash transfers as the magic bullet in tackling gendered poverty and inequality. Adopting a Transformative Social Policy Framework and land reform as a social policy instrument, the paper questions the efficacy of the current approaches in transforming gendered poverty and inequalities. Land reform is hardly ever assessed as a policy instrument for its redistributive, …

Ideological Inequalities: Khmer Culture And Widows’ Perception Of Remarriage, Susan Hagood Lee

Journal of International Women's Studies

To explain the enduring persistence of gender inequality, structural explanations alone are not sufficient. One must look at the realm of cultural ideas to understand the entrenched nature of female subordination. Ideological inequalities embedded in cultural beliefs and practices sustain and perpetuate structural inequalities. This article explores ideological inequalities in Cambodian culture as an explanation for the reluctance of rural widows to remarry, despite the economic benefits that a new husband would likely bring. Using concepts from the theory of the social construction of reality, two cultural sources for widows' reluctance are considered, the beliefs and practices of Khmer Buddhism …

Gender Justice And Economic Inclusion In South Africa, Rita N. Ozoemena

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender justice as envisaged in the South African Constitution serves as a transformative project intended to engender an inclusive society. The historical antecedent of the transformation agenda created a situation which systematically excluded people particularly women from being productive members of society. By means of the constitutional principle of substantive equality, the court creates avenue to remedy the injustices of the past. Twenty-four years into democracy, poverty and inequality remain persistent with women bearing the huge adverse impact. The restrictions to economic empowerment faced by women are largely due to cultural practices and a labour market that are insensitive to …

Gender, Poverty And Inequality: Exploration From A Transformative Perspective, Catherine Ndinda, Tidings P. Ndhlovu

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Frustrated And Confused: Mapping The Socio-Political Struggles Of Female Ex-Combatants In Nepal, Bishnu Raj Upreti, Sharmila Shivakoti, Kohinoor Bharati

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) declared an armed insurrection against the State in February 1996; they began to attack police posts and gradually the insurrection was sparked all over the country, lasting for ten years. Consequently, it caused 17,886 deaths, 79,571 displacements, 1,530 disappearances, 3,142 abductions, 8,935 disabilities, and left 620 children orphaned (MoPR 2016). In the armed conflict 20 percent of Maoist combatants were women. After several rounds of negotiations, the armed conflict ended in November 2006, with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Nepal and the then Communist Party of Nepal …

Gender Dimensions Of Food Security, The Right To Food And Food Sovereignty In Nepal, Yamuna Ghale, Kailash Nath Pyakuryal, Durga Devkota, Krishna Prasad Pant, Netra Prasad Timsina

Journal of International Women's Studies

The right to food is the right to life. Ensuring food security for all the citizens and their food sovereignty is the responsibility of the State. Currently, the need for food security, especially for marginalized and oppressed sections of society, including women in Nepal, is inadequately addressed. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to examine the gender dimensions in food policies and programs in Nepal. The paper explores five dimensions of food security, the right to food and food sovereignty, and analyzes gender inclusivity in food policies and governance in particular, since the advent of the …

Implications Of The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 On The Rights Of Women With Mental Illnesses In India, Kirandeep Kaur

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 aims to provide for mental health care and services for persons with mental illness in India and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental health care and services. Chapter V of the Act enumerates the rights of persons with mental illness, including the right to equality, right to confidentiality, the right to protection from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in any mental health establishment (which includes the right to proper clothing so as to protect such person from exposure of his/her body to maintain his/her dignity, and the …

Introduction To The Second Special Issue Of The World Conference On Women’S Studies, Colombo Sri Lanka Jiws, Madhavi Venkatesan, Diana Fox

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

13 Lunas 13/13 Moons 13: A Video-Project About Sexuality And Menstruation, Tina Escaja

Journal of International Women's Studies

The subject of menstruation is filled with powerful socio-cultural implications involving language, religion and gender relations. Yet, the topic is often relegated to silence, considered taboo, and strongly associated with impurity and shame. This schism between the natural reality of menstruation and its socio-cultural damnation highlights the marginal and oppressed condition of women who are considered inferior and impure in many cultures and religions for the mere fact of menstruating, despite ancient practices that validated and celebrated women’s menarche. The multimedia project 13 lunas 13/13 moons 13 allows for the interactive exploration of these themes while reflecting upon the patriarchal …

A Gender Perspective On Role Performance Of Elected Panchayat Leaders In India, P. Sindhuja, K.R. Murugan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender equality is fundamentally related to sustainable development, and globally accepted as a necessity for the promotion of human rights. Gender empowerment is determined by active participation of women and men in social, economic, and political spaces and activities taken in decision-making. In the context of local government, gender equality is critical as women and men face different challenges in full participation, representation and decent work opportunities. Though the constitution provides women the right to be elected in political and public representative institutions, such as parliament and local government bodies, gender inequality, as a collection of interlinked problems existed in …

Changing Equations: Empowerment, Entrepreneurship And The Welfare Of Women, Varsha Raghunandan

Journal of International Women's Studies

The world is a melange of varied cultures and norms. Some are similar, while others are strikingly different from the rest. However, every society has something in common - suppression of their women although the degree and extent may vary. It is not that women are incapable of playing those roles in society which have been dominated by men, but consistent and strategic oppression of the female sex has led many women to consider themselves as weak, powerless and a step below their male counterparts. The waves of feminism and movements to emancipate women have, to a notable extent, changed …

Deliberate Ceiling For Career Progress Of Female Public Service Employees: A Contemporary Transformation Trend In South Africa, Oladapo O. Osituyo

Journal of International Women's Studies

Female employees are rarely found in senior level decision-making roles in the public service sector. Rather they are concentrated in larger number at the lower management levels in the workplace. This study evaluates barriers to female employees’ career progress within the South African public service sector. Prior studies relating to progress of female employees into the senior and top managerial levels within the South African public service sector have revealed an exclusion and inability to climb the decision-making ladder. Employing a questionnaire that included evaluative tools from previous scholarly studies (e.g., the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), Women as Managers Scale …

Boxed Women In Public Administration - Between Glass Ceilings And Glass Walls: A Study Of Women's Participation In Public Administration In The Arab States, Salma Nasser

Journal of International Women's Studies

Inclusive decision-making is necessary in terms of both legitimacy and good policy outcomes. Recognizing this, closing persistent gender gaps in public life has emerged as a critical policy issue as countries increase their efforts to foster inclusive growth and build trust and confidence in public institutions while working towards the SDGs. The public administration determines the manner in which political and economic decisions are implemented and how budgets are planned and spent. Additionally, it is a primary employer for women in many developing countries – particularly in the Arab world. In some countries, women have in fact surpassed parity in …

A Comparative Study Of Influential Factors Impacting Women’S Activities In Traditional And Modern Neighborhood Spaces In Tehran, Iran, Maryam Mohammadi, Arezoo Rafiee

Journal of International Women's Studies

Neighborhood spaces are regarded as the main arenas for women’s social interactions. Thus, women should be completely comfortable in these spaces. Nonetheless, some studies have indicated that women’s presence and activities in such spaces are both prevented or decreased, and accordingly gendered space is established. Gendered spaces play a significant role in gender identity and roles. Thus, it is necessary to identify the factors which formed various spaces. It seems that physical factors which make spaces non-responsive for women, along with socio-cultural factors such as attitudes and social norms can influence women’s activities and their presence in neighbourhood spaces. To …

Imaging The Woman Through Tanzanian Women’S Maxims, Shani Omari, Fikeni E. M. K. Senkoro

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women’s maxims, as well as other forms of oral literature in Tanzania, are a popular genre. They are verbal arts that can be self-addressed or addressed to a fellow woman among womenfolk. This paper intends to examine the role of these maxims in imaging women in Tanzania. This study was prompted by the findings of previous studies regarding the portrayal of women in Kiswahili literature where, generally, women are depicted as inferior beings compared to men, partly due to the fact that most authors are men. Hence, we found it imperative to investigate women’s maxims that are created and uttered …