Journal of International Women's Studies

Sweeter with Age: The Enigmatic Miss Jane McCotter in the Colonial Services of the Egba Native Administration in Abeokuta, Nigeria, 1929-1955

O.O. Thompson et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:27:12 PDT

In spite of the significant roles European women played in the administration of colonial Nigeria, only a handful of them have been given adequate attention. Against this backdrop, the contributions of Miss Jane McCotter to the development of the Egba Healthcare delivery system, were examined. Relying and critically evaluating extant literature, newspapers, interviews and archival records, the authors demonstrate that she made her marks, not only on the quality work she put into the field of nursing and midwifery, but also, on how she commanded attention as the proprietress of a midwifery school and a proficient Structural Engineer, who supervised the construction of public and maternal health buildings in the colonial Egba Division. Furthermore, the study has established that despite her advanced age, she put her all to the services of the Egba people, education of the girl child, women’s welfare, as well as the general development of Egba land in particular, and Nigeria, as a whole. This study, therefore, fulfills knowledge production in biographical studies, gender, colonial empires, and also, demonstrates the resilience, perseverance and dedication of this human enigma, despite the challenges she faced.

From “Hot Mommies” to Differently Abled Mothers: Diverse Portrayals of Mothering in an Indonesian Women’s Magazine

A. Priyatna et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:52 PDT

Mothering and motherhood are among two key components of the construction of femininity. This study examined how mothering is embodied and performed by various women in Femina, Indonesia’s most popular women’s magazine, which targets primarily middle- or upper-middle-class women in their twenties and thirties. The sample set consisted of 17 portrayals of women as mothers in Femina during the years 2015 and 2016. We found that Femina depicts various ways in which women can function as mothers while remaining contented and balancing their different roles; in doing so, the magazine encourages a feminine and feminist celebration of mothering. Femina’s representations allow for the bridging and embracing of differences while at the same time constructing an ideal notion of femininity that highlights women’s ability to be successful in each of the multiple domains they enter, including their role as a mother.

Determinants of Girl-Child Marriage in High Prevalence States in India

Purnendu Modak — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:50 PDT

The present study aims to investigate the determinants of girl-child marriage in the high prevalence states of India. The purpose of the study was to analyze various socio-economic, demographic, cultural, and village-level characteristics that are important in determining factors for girl-child marriage in high prevalence states of India. Binary logistic regression was applied to analyze secondary data (DLHS-4 data of 2012 -13) of 1,25,549 girls who were married off early. The results of this study indicated that the individual and household socio-economic and demographic characteristics, such as place of residence, education, religion, and caste were important factors determining girl-child marriage among high prevalence states in India. Moreover, it can be observed that there is a greater tendency towards child marriage among rural women, irrespective of educational and wealth differences in high prevalence states in India. Furthermore, it was also found that the largest drop in the prevalence of girl-child marriage is in the under-15 marriages, while marriages in the age group of 15-17 years is common in a number of high prevalence states like West Bengal, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh. The results show that the wealth quintile, village infrastructure quintile, and households that have a BPL card do not play any significant role as variables in reducing girl-child marriages in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. In this study, I have observed that girls with secondary and higher education have much lower chances of early marriage as compared to illiterate girls. Thus, education and early marriage are found to be closely linked.

Seeker Are You Protected? Social Media and Protection Granted to Women in Sri Lanka

Asha Hansinee Mendis — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:50 PDT

Facebook, which revolutionized social networking, offers solid platforms for women freely to express and give life to their opinions on any subject they desire, from fashion to human rights, feminism to politics. As a result, a number of issues have arisen regarding the safety of social exposure, chief amongst them being the preservation of privacy. This study examines privacy concerns of female Facebook users in Sri Lanka (age group of 20-30) and the possible judicious measures that can be taken by government organizations regarding this matter. During the course of this research, a mixed methodology was adopted in data collection, which included 118 surveys and interviews. The general concern of Facebook privacy, attitudes and expectations was evaluated through the survey. Interviews were conducted with the goal of bringing attention to and evaluating the existing privacy protection mechanisms provided for Facebook users. The willingness displayed by many females to disclose personal views and information on Facebook has become a phenomenon which demonstrates breaking the silence and absolute freedom of expression. The survey revealed that a majority of the survey participants were pessimistic about Facebook security, even after the application of strict privacy settings. This paper concludes with a discussion of the proposed privacy protection, through amendments and reforms, which is viewed as part of the government’s legal responsibility to uphold Facebook privacy and affirms the matriarchal cultural values of Sri Lanka, where the general expectation of young females is to raise a family that upholds virtue and family values. In turn, female mental and social security and the prevalence of freedom of expression ensure gender equality in Sri Lanka.

Educational Migration and Intergenerational Relations: A Study of Educated Returnee Women in Nepal

Laxmi Dhungel — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:48 PDT

This paper explores return negotiation and changed gender roles of highly-skilled women who went abroad for their higher education and then returned to Nepal. Revisiting the concepts of return and migration from gender perspectives, Bourdieu’s theory of habitus has been considered as a tool for analysis. Based on the fieldwork in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu, this study was conducted among middle-class women. Through the use of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a cross-section of those women, I found that the prevalent gender structure of Nepalese society is not friendly for the returnee women.

Gender Inequality Identified as an Underlying Cause of Depression in Thai Women

Somporn Rungreangkulkij et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:47 PDT

Depression is increasing worldwide and is the fourth leading cause of global burden of disease. It is one of the most common disorders affecting women worldwide, highlighting the fact that gender is a critical determinant of mental health and illness. This qualitative research employs a gender lens to discover the causes of depression in women in Thailand. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women who currently experience depression. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, then evaluated using gender analysis. The findings revealed two themes relating to gender inequality, namely that women encountered chronic stress as a result of having to perform traditional gender roles and the stress of living in a context defined by an unequal power relationship between genders. The theme of traditional gender roles consisted of two sub-themes: women having to be patient for their children and families and discrimination because of widowhood. The theme of unequal power relationships consisted of three sub-themes: men not being responsible for the duties as the head of the family, men paying for their personal expenses first (before the family), and women having to bear the family’s financial burden. These findings suggest that raising awareness about gender inequality is important for the prevention of depression in Thailand. Furthermore, it is recommended that therapists understand the causes of depression beyond the individual level and integrate a gender perspective in their psychosocial treatment regime for women.

Patriarchy, Cultural Prejudices and Spousal Violence in the Ancient City of Benin of Southern Nigeria

Oghoadena Clementina Osezua et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:46 PDT

This paper examines the persistence of patriarchy and traditional cultural practices which have adverse effects on women’s rights and health as well as the growing incidence of spousal violence in Benin City, arising from obvious internal and external factors of social changes. Extant literature has documented shifts in family roles and general social transformations in many first world nations as a result of modernization. Efforts to capture such changes within the African space is very minimal as of now. This paper attempts to explore the Benin society of Southern Nigeria, against the backdrop of the cascading effects of human trafficking and international migration that has largely impacted on the contemporary social structure of the ancient West African city. It addresses the nature of patriarchy in relation to Benin society, discusses some of the customs and traditions that have put women in positions of inferiority. This paper concludes that patriarchy, and other cultural prejudices have the potentialities of further deepening the incidences of spousal abuse and family disorganization if efforts are not made to abolish all harmful cultural practices and enforce the legal provisions which protect women’s rights and general well-being.

Factors Affecting Bahraini Women Working in the Engineering Fields

Adel Ismail Al-Aawi et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:43 PDT

The purpose of this study is to explore the current level of contribution of Bahraini women to the engineering fields in the Kingdom of Bahrain, while specifically examining the factors that affect Bahraini women in the engineering profession. This study determines the extent to which the principles and policies of equal opportunity are implemented and their effect on the participation of women in such fields. To achieve the aims of this study, factors such as observation of work environment, characteristics, family responsibilities, culture, and equal opportunity (bias) are discussed and analyzed. This study relies on the descriptive approach, where questionnaires, which were distributed to Bahraini women engineers in both government and private sectors in different positions, are used to collect data. The sample of the respondents was drawn from different age groups and experience levels. The study shows that Arab societies need to support women engineers and try their best to increase the number participating in the engineering fields, which play an important role in the process of economic growth. From the diversity of attitudes and experiences, the status of Bahraini women engineers is not satisfactory at the present time because they must be allowed to participate in the engineering fields equally with their male counterparts in order to improve themselves and their presence and achieve equivalence in engineering fields.

Japanese Gender Role Expectations and Attitudes: A Qualitative Analysis of Gender Inequality

Melanie Belarmino et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:36 PDT

Due to current technology and the third wave feminist movement, gender inequality in other countries now has a global, socially aware platform. However, due to non-reporting, the voices of women experiencing violence and inequality in Japan are largely unheard. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the gender role expectations in Japan that lead to inequality and victimization inflicted on Japanese women. Data was obtained through interviews with all available and consenting bilingual speakers at a Japanese University, and findings reveal that there are very specific expectations for Japanese women in the home, at work, and in society. For example, women were and are still expected to have children after getting married, to quit work after such a life event, and are treated differently under the law. This research adds to the existing literature by confirming previous findings while providing more in-depth and qualitative explanations of gender expectations and inequality.

"We neither are of the past nor of the future" : Analyzing the Two Opposing Aspects of a Female Character Through Four Modern Works of Persian Fiction"

Ronak Karami — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:29 PDT

Under Iran’s growing contact with the West from 1925 until 1979, which caused cultural changes, modern writers were stuck between two realities: the vanishing culture of the past with its unified view of women and the modern Western-oriented culture of the present with its doubting, ironic, and fast-changing view of women. Both labels, the ‘ethereal’ (or inaccessible paragon) and the ‘whore’ (or accessible temptress) for female characters emerged in a major literary work of the 20th century in Iran, The Blind Owl (1937), by Hedayat due to these cultural changes. Furthermore, the labels appeared within some later modern Persian fictional works such as Prince Ehtejab (1969) by Golshiri, The Night of Terror (1978) by Shahdadi, and Her Eyes (1952) by Alavi. This essay aims to discuss why and how the two aspects of the ethereal and the whore appear in these four, modern works of Persian fiction. To do so, the paper displays the similarities that these female characters share with one another, the way they appear to share similarities with the male narrator’s mother, and their relevance both to fine arts and with nature. Analyzing these four modern Persian fictional works in this essay is something more than just an effort to show how women were underestimated in literature even after Iran’s modernization, but also to offer insights into persistent cultural assumptions, including relationships between women and men.

The Indian Caribbean: Migration and Identity in the Diaspora. By Lomarsh Roopnarine 2018, The University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 163 pages; 11 photographs, Index included, 65 USD, Hardcover.

Radica Mahase — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:25 PDT

Framed: The Door Swings Both Ways in the Lebanese Movie Caramel Directed by Nadine Labaki, Produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint; Written by Nadine Lebaki, Rodney El Haddad, Jihad Hoiely. Sunnyland Films, Lebanon, May 2007. Running time 96 minutes.

Luma Balaa — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:24 PDT

Traveling Feminista: A Blog about traveling as a Pakistani/American/Muslim/Feminist Scholar-art-ivist

Fawzia Afzal-Khan — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:23 PDT

At the heart of my blogging lies the desire to be a traveler moving through the world in a body marked as female, a woman whose evolving feminism can help heal herself and in so doing, inspire others to do the same. Journeying without and within, allows for the self to turn toward its other, to recognize the other in oneself; in so doing, one can learn to connect across the divides that threaten to engulf us, dissolving boundaries that keep us from loving our multiple selves.

Iwona Kaliszewska and Maciej Falkowski. Veiled and Unveiled: In Chechnya and Daghestan. London: Oxford University Press, 2016. 179 pp., (hardbound)

Jeanine Pfahlert — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:23 PDT

A Cross-cultural Comparative Study of Identity Status in Three Distinct Groups of Women: Iranian, Lebanese, and Lebanese Residents in Iran

Fatima M. Paz et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:22 PDT

The present study compares identity statuses among three groups of women: Iranian, Lebanese and Lebanese immigrants in Iran. The age of the samples varies from 22 to 33 years old. Persian and Arabic versions of The Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS-2) were distributed to 39 Iranian women, 40 Lebanese women residing in their home country and 39 Lebanese immigrant women in Iran chosen by convenience sampling. The data was analyzed using inferential statistical models related to independent groups, ANOVA and Post-Hoc tests. The findings showed no significant differences in identity statuses between the groups, although one sub-scale (ideological moratorium identity status) was significantly more prominent among Iranian women in comparison to local Lebanese. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between one EOM-EIS subscale, interpersonal moratorium identity status, and the length of the immigrants’ residency. The findings of this study indicate the role cultural factors play in psychological structures, especially in identity formation.

Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development. Vandana Shiva. North Atlantic Books, 2016 (Reprint Edition), 244 pages. ISBN 978-1-62317-051-6

Chittaranjan Subudhi et al. — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:21 PDT

Gender-based Violence and Its Associated Effects on Female Students: The Case of Gozamin and Nigus T/Haimanot Secondary Schools in the East Gojjam Administrative Zone, Ethiopia

Zelalem Desalegne — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:15 PDT

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent human rights violations without considering social, economic, age, ethnicity, religion and national boundaries, and which affects the health, dignity, security and autonomy of women. This study employed a cross sectional, mixed methods research design. The study was carried out in two secondary schools at Debre Markos town Amhara regional state, Ethiopia, an area in the country where GBV is widely prevalent. To take a representative sample, multistage sampling techniques were employed. The quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and the qualitative data analyzed through narrative analysis. 21.7% male and 78.3% female students within the range of 15-20 years were included in the study, and the mean age of the respondents was 17.51 years. Among the total number of the study participants, 58.3% faced different forms of GBV. However, 67.1% of GBV was committed outside the school community, 19.5% by schoolmates, and 13.4% by teachers and other staff. Of the total number of the respondents, 39.2% had a sexual partner. The mean age at which the respondents started their first sexual intercourse was 16.49 years, and 52.9% participate in unsafe sex. 45.8% of the respondents were unable to negotiate when and how to have sex with their sexual partner. The age of the respondents and their tendency to be affected by GBV (n= 120, r=.327, p=.000) had a weak positive correlation. Their age and their tendency to have more than one sexual partner at a time had a weak negative correlation (n=120, r=-.055). Among the study participants, 96.7% reported that friends or strangers pushed, shook or threw something at them, 75% were slapped, and 65.8% had their arms twisted or hair pulled. Responding to such physical violence has its own challenges, such as the female students not knowing the males who threaten them, not knowing their addresses, a lack of eye witnesses, and a fear of reporting.

Conceptualisation of Honour Codes Amongst Turkish-Kurdish Mothers and Daughters Living in London

Ferya Tas-Cifci — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:08 PDT

The present study analyses how immigrant women transfer and preserve their traditional honour codes, and whether women from different generations (mothers and their daughters) adhere to the same codes. Focusing particularly on the Turkish-Kurdish community living in London , the study asks, ‘How traditional honour codes are conceptualised and transferred by the women of the Turkish-Kurdish community and whether mothers and daughters share the same opinion about them.’ In a traditional society it is considered to be mothers’ duty to ensure that their culture and traditions, and particularly honour codes, are transferred and taught to their children, especially to their daughters. The data for this study come from thirty-two semi-structured interviews conducted with mothers (first generation) and daughters (second generation) from the Turkish-Kurdish community living in London. Following the thematic analysis, three themes were revealed in relation to the concept of honour codes: the meaning of honour, dress code and restricting autonomy, and intimate relationships. Honour is described through two elements in the Turkish-Kurdish context: seref (dignity, pride, prestige, honesty, respect, status and esteem) and namus (modesty and chastity). The analysis indicates that both mother and daughter participants conceptualised honour primarily through the concept of namus. Honour codes are considered as gendered concepts which are usually attached to female sexuality.

Addressing Violence Against Women from Critical Feminist Perspectives: Challenging the Politicization of Violence Against Women

Gwen Hunnicutt — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:26:02 PDT

A major accomplishment of women’s rights scholars and activists has been to make violence against women (VAW) visible. After decades of struggle, in a dramatic turn, VAW has become a highly politicized topic since the mid 1990’s, and even more so after 9/11. An unfortunate side-effect of the increased recognition of harm done to women is that the issue of VAW is sometimes co-opted by the state and used in service of their political projects. In this paper I present the political co-optation of VAW as one of the pressing challenges facing scholars who conduct research on the problem of VAW. The issues detailed here have been debated in the transnational feminist theory literature and the feminist international relations (IR) literature for the last two decades. Yet, the issues detailed in this paper rarely appear in mainstream VAW research. This paper is an effort to encourage cross-fertilization between these fields and to outline key issues of engagement regarding the issue of the politicization of VAW. After detailing the problem of political co-optation I then go on to offer ideas about how to proceed as scholars and activists in a political climate where the issue of VAW is routinely misused as a tool by the state to serve political ends.

Performance of Controlling Rape in India: Efficiency Estimates across States

Shrabanti Maity — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:25:55 PDT

This paper addresses the performance of Indian states in controlling sexual assault or rapeon the basis of the data published bythe National Crime Record Bureau in Indiaon the rape or sexual assault control performances of 28 major Indian states. The relative efficiencies of the states are evaluated by applying stochastic frontier analysis on two decadal periods, ending in 2001 and 2011. Among the Indian states, although Kerala is recognised as the region where women are very progressive, our findings suggest that, unfortunately, the performance of the state in controlling sexual assault is not impressive. On the contrary, Gujaratseems to be the most efficient state in controlling rape. The results also show that not all states with better rape control instruments have efficient control over sexual assault. The study concludes that investment only to improvelaw and order would not result in better control of sexual assault. Efficient management of the investments in the crime-control instruments along with improvement in social indicators, viz. female education, a favourable sex ratio, etc., are required for efficient control of sexual assault.