When the Personal Is Always Political: Norwegian Muslims' Arguments for Women's Rights
Autor/in:
Helseth, Hannah
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 59-66
Inhalt: For almost two decades, the public debate about Islam in Western Europe has been dominated by concerns about the lack of gender equality in the racialized Muslim population. There has been a tendency to victimize "the Muslim woman" rather than to encourage Muslim women’s participation in the public debate about their lives. This contribution to the study of discourses on Muslim women is an analysis of arguments written by Muslims about women’s rights. The data consists of 239 texts written by self-defined Muslims in major Norwegian newspapers about women’s rights. I will discuss two findings from the study. The first is an appeal to be personal when discussing issues of domestic violence and racism is combined with an implicit and explicit demand to represent all Muslims in order to get published in newspapers - which creates an ethno-religious threshold for participation in the public debate. The second finding is that, across different positions and different religious affiliations, from conservative to nearly secular, and across the timeline, from 2000 to 2012, there is a dominant understanding of women's rights as individual autonomy. These findings will be discussed from different theoretical perspectives to explore how arguments for individual autonomy can both challenge and amplify neoliberal agendas.
Schlagwörter:Arendt, H.; Arendt, H.; Feminismus; feminism; Individualismus; individualism; Neoliberalismus; neoliberalism; Islam; Islam; Gleichstellung; affirmative action; Menschenrechte; human rights; woman; Muslim; Muslim; Europa; Europe; Norwegen; Norway; Brown, W.; public debate; traditional media; women’s rights
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Religionssoziologie
Solidarity in Head-Scarf and Pussy Bow Blouse: Reflections on Feminist Activism and Knowledge Production
Autor/in:
Gemzöe, Lena
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 67-81
Inhalt: The author of this article discusses the ways in which gender equality and intersectionality are understood and enacted in two recent feminist campaigns in Sweden that use similar techniques to mobilise support for different causes. The first campaign is the so-called Hijab Call-to-Action, a solidarity action that took place in 2013 in which women in Sweden wore a hijab (the Muslim headscarf) for one day in defence of Muslim women’s rights. This campaign manifests the ways in which the notion of gender equality brings with it a norm of secularity, but also how the equation of equality and secularity is contested. The second feminist campaign discussed is the so-called Pussy Bow Blouse manifestation that aimed at taking a stand in the controversies surrounding the Swedish Academy as a result of the Metoo campaign in Sweden. The author looks at the political and discursive processes enfolded in these campaigns as a sort of collective learning processes that connect feminist activism and scholarship. A key concern is to critically analyse a binary model of powerless versus gender-equal or feminist women that figure in both debates. Further, the author shows that both campaigns appeal to solidarity through identification, but at the same time underscore the contingent and coalitional nature of identity in the act of dressing in a scarf or a blouse to take on a (political) identity for a day.
The Traps of International Scripts: Making a Case for a Critical Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality in Development
Autor/in:
Roodsaz, Rahil; Van Raemdonck, An
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 16-24
Inhalt: In this article, we look at colonialities of gender and sexuality as concepts employed in international aid and development. These international arenas reveal not only strong reiterations of modernist linear thinking and colonial continuities but also provide insights into the complexities of the implementation and vernacularisation of gender and sexuality in practices of development. Using a critical anthropological perspective, we discuss case studies based on our own research in Egypt and Bangladesh to illustrate the importance of unpacking exclusionary mechanisms of gender and sexuality scripts in the promotion of women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights in postcolonial development contexts. We provide a conceptual analysis of decolonial feminist attempts at moving beyond the mere critique of development to enable a more inclusive conversation in the field of development. To work towards this goal, we argue, a critical anthropological approach proves promising in allowing a politically-sensitive, ethical, and critical engagement with the Other.
Schlagwörter:Kolonialismus; colonialism; Anthropologie; anthropology; Gender; gender; Sexualität; sexuality; internationale Hilfe; international aid; Entwicklungshilfe; development aid; woman; Menschenrechte; human rights; Postkolonialismus; post-colonialism; Feminismus; feminism; Ägypten; Egypt; Bangladesch; Bangladesh; Entwicklungsland; developing country; Nordafrika; North Africa; Südasien; South Asia; critical anthropology; development;
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Entwicklungsländersoziologie, Entwicklungssoziologie
Mobility-Related Economic Exclusion: Accessibility and Commuting Patterns in Industrial Zones in Turkey
Autor/in:
Akyelken, Nihan
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 5 (2017) 4, S 175-182
Inhalt: Geographers have long examined the assumption that women are locally constricted and what this means for women taking up of economic opportunities. These studies have provided valuable insights into the understanding of the spatial dimension of social exclusion. However, the investigation of the role of wider economic, physical and social contexts on women’s mobility and accessibility constraints has mainly concerned the countries in North America and Western Europe. Through a mixed methods study of two industrial zones in Turkey, this article looks at how women and men from different social backgrounds access the zones with the aim of identifying the specific constraints that women face in their everyday life in accessing economic opportunities. The results show that while gender seems to play a role in the choice of place of residence and the employers’ perception of time use, women’s socioeconomic and educational backgrounds seem to be more important predictors of their commuting patterns and access to the zones. The study confirms that gendered daily travel patterns are a useful unit of analysis for investigating unequal access to economic opportunities. It further argues that the complex nature of everyday mobilities of women should be interpreted in conjunction with the perceptions of employers on women’s work spaces and time use.
Schlagwörter:Türkei; Turkey; woman; Mobilität; mobility; Berufsaussicht; career prospect; soziale Integration; social integration; berufliche Integration; occupational integration; Partizipation; participation; Exklusion; exclusion; öffentlicher Verkehr; public transportation; Pendler; commuter; sozioökonomische Faktoren; socioeconomic factors; gender-specific factors; accessibility; commuting; female labour; industrial zones; labour markets
SSOAR Kategorie:Verkehrssoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Social Exclusion of Australian Childless Women in Their Reproductive Years
Autor/in:
Turnbull, Beth; Graham, Melissa L.; Taket, Ann R.
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 4 (2016) 1, S 102-115
Inhalt: Research suggests Australian childless women are at risk of pronatalism-driven social exclusion. This exploratory, mixed methods, cross-sectional study described and explored the social exclusion of Australian childless women aged 25 to 44
years, and asked: what are the nature and extent of social exclusion of childless women; and do the nature and extent of exclusion vary for different types of childless women? A total of 776 childless female Australian residents aged 25 to 44 years completed a self-administered questionnaire. Quantitative data were collected on childlessness types, indicators of exclusion and perceived stigmatisation and exclusion due to being childless. Data were analysed using descriptive
statistics, One Way ANOVAs and Kruskal Wallis Analysis of Ranks. Qualitative data on childless women’s experiences were inductively thematically analysed. Findings suggest societal-level pronatalism drives exclusion of Australian
childless women. While exclusion occurs in all domains of life, childless women experience more exclusion, and perceive more exclusion due to being childless, in the social and civic domains than the service and economic domains. Circumstantially and involuntarily childless women, followed by voluntarily childless women, perceive more exclusion due to being childless than undecided and future childed women. Experiences are influenced by the nature of women’s ‘deviance’ from pronatalism. (author's abstract)
The Quest for Gender-Sensitive and Inclusive Transport Policies in Growing Asian Cities
Autor/in:
Thynell, Marie
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 4 (2016) 3, S 72-82
Inhalt: In cities all over the world, growing numbers of women are working or studying further away from home than ever before. This article presents policies by the World Bank and recommendations by the United Nations to improve conditions for women’s mobility in cities. Although these stress different factors affecting women’s experiences of traffic and transport, they all agree about the importance of enabling women’s mobility. However, gender-sensitive policies have been largely unsuccessful. This article presents examples of conditions for women in New Delhi and other rapidly growing Asian cities that illustrate how gender norms operate. This study uses the perspectives of development research and gender studies to examine economic and political initiatives and the way women act and interact with transport in local contexts. It facilitates critical reflection upon existing transport policies and suggests ‘how’ women’s needs may be
effectively addressed. More in-depth knowledge about women’s needs and the problems they face when travelling will be useful for designing of policies that address more than simply the harassments of women. More inclusive urban access
would enhance conditions for women and enable them to make choices according to their needs. In this way, social science and policy will cross-pollinate one another. (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Asien; Asia; Stadt; town; Ballungsgebiet; agglomeration area; woman; Mobilität; mobility; Mobilitätsbarriere; mobility barrier; Mobilitätsforschung; mobility research; soziale Norm; social norm; soziale Integration; social integration; soziale Partizipation; social participation; Individualverkehr; private motor vehicle traffic; Öffentlicher Personennahverkehr; public transport; Nahverkehr; local traffic; Sicherheit; security; Bedürfnis; need; Verkehrspolitik; transportation policy; gender-specific factors; nachhaltige Entwicklung; sustainable development
CEWS Kategorie:Sexuelle Belästigung und Gewalt
SSOAR Kategorie:Verkehrssoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Raumplanung und Regionalforschung
Trafficking of women in Mexico and their health risk: issues and problems
Autor/in:
Acharya, Arun Kumar
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 3 (2015) 1, S 103-112
Inhalt: Trafficking in women is one of the most corrosive forms of human rights violation. It results in the gradual destruction of a woman's personal identity and her right to live as a free human. The victim is subjected to violence, humiliation and violation of her personal integrity, which may result in life threatening diseases like HIV/AIDS, STDs or lifelong trauma, drug addiction or personality disintegration. It can also be seen as denial of the right to liberty and security of the person, and the right to freedom from torture, violence, cruelty or degrading treatment. Over the last few decades, international trafficking of women has been given more attention by researchers. However at present internal trafficking is drawing more attention and concern from researchers. The complexity of obtaining visas and strict patrolling on international borders has caused a boom of internal trafficking around the world. Thus, the current paper aims to investigate trafficking of women for sexual exploitation including the recruitment process, methods of trafficking and working conditions of the victims; as well as to explore the determinants of sexual violence and its impact on the health of trafficked women in Monterrey, Mexico. For the present study a total of 60 women were interviewed using a snowball method between 2007 and 2013.
Outsiders within: framing and regulation of headscarves in France, Germany and the Netherlands
Autor/in:
Lettinga, Doutje; Saharso, Sawitri
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 2 (2014) 3, S 29-39
Inhalt: While women in Europe who wear the Islamic headscarf are generally seen as outsiders who do not belong to the nation, some countries are more tolerant towards the wearing of headscarves than others. France, Germany and the Netherlands have developed different policies regarding veiling. In this paper we describe how headscarves became regulated in each of these countries and discuss the ways in which French, Dutch and German politicians have deliberated the issue. The paper is based on a content analysis of parliamentary debates on veiling in France (1989-2007), Germany (1997-2007) and the Netherlands (1985-2007). Our aim is to discuss what these national political debates reveal about the way in which the social inclusion of Islamic women in (or rather exclusion from) the nation is perceived in these three countries. Our claim is that veiling arouses opposition because it challenges national self-understandings. Yet, because nations have different histories of nation building, these self-understandings are challenged in various ways and hence, governments have responded to headscarves with diverse regulation. While we did find national differences, we also discovered that the political debates in the three countries are converging over time. The trend is towards increasingly gendered debates and more restrictive headscarf policies. This, we hypothesize, is explained by international polarization around Islam and the strength of the populist anti-immigrant parties across Europe.
Identifying the barriers to women's agency in domestic violence: the tensions between women's personal experiences and systemic responses
Autor/in:
Aldridge, Jo
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 1 (2013) 1, S 3-12
Inhalt: Despite advances in knowledge and understanding about the impacts of domestic violence on women's lives, global research on violence against women shows there is a need for research that not only places women centre stage in research praxis, but also that involves them more collaboratively in genuine dialogue about their experiences, including their agentic stances. This is especially the case for marginalised and socially excluded women victims of domestic violence, such as those who are not known or do not present to services and who survive abusive relationships alone or with little outside support. Evidence from two studies reported here-secondary analysis of women with severe and enduring mental health problems and a collaborative narrative project with unsupported women victims of domestic violence-suggest that women's capacity for agency are compromised by a number of critical factors, and that these are also reflected in the tensions between micro-macro analyses and understanding of the impact of domestic violence on women. This article considers the barriers to women's agency from the women's perspective and in the context of broader, systemic dynamics, including the denial or obscuring of abuse by governments and states and the consequences of stringent fiscal retrenchment that put women at increased risk of domestic violence.
Credibility assessments as "normative leakage": asylum applications, gender and class
Autor/in:
Wikström, Hanna; Johansson, Thomas
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 1 (2013) 2, S 92-101
Inhalt: Based on the assumption that credibility assessments function as "normative leakage" within the asylum process, we analyse how narratives of gender and class are articulated, rendered meaningful, or silenced in credibility assessments. Two cases concerning male applicants are selected in order to illustrate these processes. In relation to the existing concepts of internal/external credibility, we wish to introduce the concept of social credibility, which focuses on how the assessors read different socio-cultural narratives. While previous research has shown that the postcolonial will to protect women favours women as victims of patriarchal cultures, we wish to point out the continuity of this line of argumentation in relation to male and female applicants by adopting a theoretical generalization: male applicants instead become situated at the other end of the spectrum of postcolonial notions of modernity as non-victims, victims of other circumstances or perpetrators. We argue that these processes are accentuated in relation to credibility assessments. In order to prevent processes of social exclusion and to enhance inclusive practice, authorities need to acknowledge the "normative leakage" associated with the assessment process.
Schlagwörter:woman; soziokulturelle Faktoren; sociocultural factors; Glaubwürdigkeit; credibility; Asylverfahren; asylum procedure; gender; Norm; standard; Bewertung; evaluation; soziale Klasse; social class; Postkolonialismus; post-colonialism; Fallstudie; case study
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, soziale Probleme