Women's Studies Commons^™

My Soul, She Walks Behind Me, Sanyukta Shiv Kumar

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis reimagines the consequences of my great-grandmother’s life. It is an attempt to demystify women’s conditioned roles within private and public spaces and note how, through this conditioning, their identity is repressed to the point of diffidence and eventually, abhorrence towards their own bodies and the physical spaces they occupy. This is portrayed in poetry form through the voice of my great-grandmother as the primary speaker, and is interspersed with the voices of the grandmother, the mother, and the great-granddaughter.

My great-grandmother’s lived experience consisted mostly of her life as a young wife, mother, devotee, and storyteller. She told …

Following The Wounded Women In Isabela, Kaisa R. Aquino

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

This article examines some elements in the crafting of my novel, Isabela (2024), particularly its novelistic formation, and its take on the emblematic figure of the wounded woman in war. I demonstrate what non-conventional stylistic and conceptual decisions give the story its syncretic mode of thought, as its trail shifts from city to barrio, one category of fiction to another, and one wounded woman to the next. I also argue that all these movements and turns are necessary in the novel’s project of representation, as it envisions to narrativize the ongoing historical moment that is the people’s struggle for liberation …

The Infidel “I”, Zahra Taheri

Journal of International Women's Studies

Being a girl in a media-saturated world is one of the hardest situations. Young girls coming of age are bombarded by media feeds that urge them to follow behavioral patterns set by patriarchal culture. Offered as a manual on how to behave like a “good girl,” these patterns direct young girls’ energies towards unattainable ideals they try to live up to throughout their lives. They also offer girls a narrow perspective through which to view life and their identities. This distorted lens foregrounds some aspects of a woman’s life while downplaying others. It gradually naturalizes some patterns as the dominant …

Book Review Essay: Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi And Women Reporters In Hollywood, Muhammad Asad Latif

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, And The Fight For Women’S Rights, Madhavi Venkatesan, Rory Armstrong

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Mahasweta Devi: Writer, Activist, Visionary, Auritro Majumder

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Being Single In India: Stories Of Gender, Exclusion, And Possibility, Shobha Elizabeth John

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Female Subjectivity In Narrating The Body: Selected Works Of Contemporary Indian Women Writers, Anshul Dhankar, Devendra Kumar Sharma

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation, Gorky Sinha, Pushpinder Singh

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Women’S Activist Theatre In Jamaica And South Africa: Gender, Race And Performance Space, Dalea Bean

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Smart Wife: Why Siri, Alexa, And Other Smart Home Devices Need A Feminist Reboot, Alyona Ushakova

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Lola’S War: Rape Without Punishment, Lindsey Stevenson-Graf

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Invisible Women: Data Bias In A World Designed For Men, Zeynep Arzu Kelani

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Gendered Fortunes: Divination, Precarity, And Affect In Postsecular Turkey, Canan Tanir

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Film Review: How To Sue The Klan: A Documentary On Five Women Who Fought For Racial Justice, Motahar Hossain

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Film Review: Mothering A Disabled Child, Euthanasia, And Media Intervention In Salaam Venky, Pratyusha Pramanik

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Film Review: Women, Representation, And Romance: The Magic Space Of What’S Love Got To Do With It?, Javaria Farooqui

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Women And Queer Researchers Cited, But Not In Sight: Rethinking Apa Citation Style, S.V. Chetan

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this article, I reflect on the APA citation practice of using last names and initials in references for psychological research. This practice reduces authors to their last names in the guise of gender-neutrality, thus making women and gender non-binary authors invisible despite being cited. Decades after Nancy Russo’s commentary recommending the use of first names along with last names, there have been no changes in APA style, while other citation styles have incorporated the practice of using first names and last names in references to address this issue. In the changing global socio-cultural landscape that acknowledges gender fluidity, including …

A Socioecological And Maqāṣidi Analysis Of Domestic Gender-Based Violence In Yemen, Belqes Al-Sowaidi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study uses an integrated multidimensional lens to investigate the ongoing issue of domestic gender-based violence (DGBV) against women in conflict areas of Yemen, with a specific focus on the city of Taiz. Yemeni society has historically operated within a framework emphasizing traditional gender roles, which can unfortunately lead to situations where women bear the brunt of societal pressures and misattributed blame. Against this backdrop, this study explores the nature and causes of violence faced by Yemeni women during the period 2021-2023, as well as the role of Islam in addressing and curbing violence against women in Muslim societies. Through …

Gender Portrayal In A Nursing Textbook In Oman: Striving For Equality, Adnan Mohammed Bataineh, Ebrahim Douzandeh, Kashif Ali Sabiri

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper aims to analyze gender representation in English for Nursing 1: Vocational English Course Book (Ros et al., 2012) used to teach English for Specific Purposes courses to nursing students at the University of Buraimi in Oman. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were used to investigate the following categories: images, occupational roles, names, pronouns, and gender firstness. Study findings show that women, in general, are more visible than men in the following categories: images, gender firstness, terms of address, and names. Pronouns are the only category in which men outnumbered women. Although traditional gender norms in the workplace are …

Toxic Masculinity And Passive Femininity: A Content Analysis Of Pakistani Television Dramas, Iqra Iqbal, Tülây Atay

Journal of International Women's Studies

When analyzing Pakistan’s current media scene, toxic masculinity in Pakistani television dramas is essential to discuss. This study explores portrayals of toxic masculinity and how women characters respond to them within Pakistani television series. Furthermore, this study is closely aligned with UNSDG 5 to promote gender equality by critically analyzing media representations and societal norms. A qualitative content analysis was used to address this issue. This research aligns with the social cognitive theory that suggests that individuals learn and adapt their behaviors by observing others. It examined the behavioral patterns of the main characters by highlighting toxic actions across the …

Living In The Shadows: Exploring The Link Between Colonialism, Climate Change, And Women’S Vulnerability, Akash Bag, Anwesha Ghosh

Journal of International Women's Studies

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth climate change report in early 2022. For the first time in thirty years, this report acknowledged colonial domination and global exploitation as drivers of the climate issue and contributors to the vulnerability of communities and groups. Colonialism, climate change, and women’s vulnerability are rarely discussed in the available literature. A scoping review was done to determine how colonialism makes women more vulnerable to climate change and related disasters. The study examined when and how colonialism increases women’s vulnerability in the Global North and South. Through the study, it was …

Evolving An Intersectional And Equality Approach To Addressing Issues Of Abortion In Nigeria, Ibrahim A. Obadina

Journal of International Women's Studies

Anti-abortion regulation and criminalization in Nigeria raises questions about religious, societal, and cultural dispositions to abortion. If one defers to religious and cultural norms that are against abortion, what remains are concerns about discrimination based on gender, age, and economic status. At the regional level, the focus of abortion activism has consistently been on the legal justification for permitting abortion on recognized grounds, particularly under the African Women Protocol, known as the Maputo Protocol. This work analyzes socio-economic grounds for legal justifications for permitting abortion, focusing on how inequality and discrimination can shape the regulation and governance of abortion, especially …

Swiping The Norms: Feminist Dating Apps And Indonesian Women’S Dating Scene Realities, Anastasia Cindy Marco, Virienia Puspita

Journal of International Women's Studies

This research aims to investigate the dynamics of gender roles by focusing on the standpoint of women users of the feminist dating app Bumble. This app has emerged in Indonesia as one of the most popular platforms to meet potential partners, and it has provided a unique setting to examine how traditional and evolving gender roles manifest in online dating. By first analyzing women users’ behaviors, preferences, and interactions, this study sheds light on how gender roles and cultural norms influence the dating experience in the digital realm. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten dating app users to gain deeper …

#Arewametoo: Localized Resistance To The Abuse Of Women In Northern Nigeria, Ololade Afolabi, Hauwa Nuhu Shaffi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article explores the development of the #ArewaMeToo movement in Northern Nigeria. The study is contextualized within the theory of transnational feminism to argue that digital practices among non-Western women are more than merely a technological advancement and are significantly attuned to the socio-political climate of their societies. Therefore, as the #MeToo movement which began in the West goes global, women in Northern Nigerian have found a space to effect social change by resisting socio-cultural practices that challenge their social agency. Using the interview method, we articulate the uniqueness of #ArewaMeToo as a movement that is rooted in specific sociocultural …

The Ban On Beauty Parlors In Taliban-Led Afghanistan: Deconstructing Antipodal Ideologies, Akshra Mehla

Journal of International Women's Studies

Recently, the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan banned all beauty parlors, stating cultural reasons that the existence of such parlors violates the tenets of Islam. They also cited another reason for shutting down beauty parlors: that it puts an unnecessary financial burden on a groom’s family during marriages. The paper analyzes the policy decision by the Taliban government in light of the public-private divide, theories of Islamic feminism, and feminist understanding of the beauty industry. The author argues that sole application of either a feminist critique of the public-private divide or a feminist critique of beauty ideals fails to provide a …

Women, Militarism, And Political Representation: The Case Of Armenia, Valentine M. Moghadam, Marisa Goolgasian

Journal of International Women's Studies

How does militarism affect women’s presence in the political process? Through a focus on the Republic of Armenia during the period 1990-2020, we examine the puzzle of women’s political representation. The country’s legacy of communist-era ideology of women’s equality, its democratic transition, women’s high levels of educational attainment and labor force participation, and the 2007 gender quota adoption should have served to place Armenia in the top 50 countries in women’s political representation. Yet for two decades, the country appeared low on international rankings of women’s political empowerment. To unpack this puzzle, we revisit two strands of the women-and-war literature—one …

Queering “Lesbian” And “Writing”: Facing The Mirror As “Arche-Writing” Of Indian Queer Women, Kasturi Das

Journal of International Women's Studies

Facing the Mirror: Lesbian Writing from India (1999), edited by Ashwini Sukthankar, anthologizes short personal writing and fictional pieces, memoirs, poems, essays, letters and more, all produced by Indian women-loving-women (WLW) (an umbrella term for women with queer sexualities and romantic interests in women). The back cover of the book is blazoned with the quote: “A groundbreaking book where lesbians found their voice for the first time.” Even more than twenty years after its publication, there is not much scholarship on this book despite it being one of the first few publications to assert and embody the existence of a …

Menstrunormativity In India: Deconstructing The Concealment Imperative And The Politics Of Social Respectability, Shahida Shahida

Journal of International Women's Studies

The issue of menstrual health management (MHM) is a significant concern that has garnered attention from menstrual activists due to its profound impact on the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of menstruators. This study delves into how menstruators navigate their SRH in India by examining how they adhere to traditional menstrual practices to uphold concealment norms and the politics of social respectability. The aim of the study was to analyze menstrual practices, explore the socio-cultural factors shaping the choice of menstrual products, and assess awareness regarding the toxicity of disposable menstrual products. The findings indicate that a product-centric approach to …

Executive Editors’ Introduction, Catherine Ndinda, Priyanka Tripathi, Kimberly Chabot Davis

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.