Womens Studies International Forum最新文献

Language textbooks often include visual elements such as images that contribute significantly to the construction of gender ideologies which play a crucial role in shaping the worldview of language learners towards gender. While prior critically oriented studies on gender have contributed to our understanding of discourses that reproduce gender bias in the textual content of English language textbooks (ELT), there has been limited attention to multimodal features in the depiction of gender. Adopting van Leeuwen's socio-semantic inventory, the current study aims to contribute to this niche area by conducting a multimodal examination of gender portrayal in secondary-level English textbooks used across four provinces of Pakistan. Our findings indicate that both text and images contribute to the asymmetrical portrayal of gender within professional, recreational, and domestic spaces. These results underscore the need for a critical review of the textbooks by Pakistani ELT educational authorities in promoting a more balanced and equitable representation of gender in classroom materials.

This article attempts to explore the intricate workings of gender dynamics in Badriyah Al-Bishr's Hend wa alʿaskar (2006). It investigates how the author challenges traditional gender norms through the representation of female characters who strive for liberation. Al-Bishr lays bare the complexities of gender roles within the Saudi Arabian context. Viewed from the lens of narrative perspective, her text reveals the silenced tales of women on the quest for agency and identity. Through vivid storytelling and rich character narrativization that builds on the stream of consciousness, flashback, anticipation, and disruptive temporality, Al-Bishr crafts a compelling narrative of women's revelations within a patriarchal setting. Drawing on cultural discourse analysis, and feminist social epistemology, the reading of Hend wa alʿaskar attempts to offer a nuanced exploration of how gender, power, and resistance intersect and coalesce together to produce a thought-provoking narrative about the contemporary Saudi Arabian context. The complexities of women's tales intricately weave an ambivalent knot of discourses within the narrative, enriching its depth and challenging conventional interpretations.

Using a phenomenological approach, this study aims at understanding tribal females' educational deprivation due to socio-cultural limitations. The study, conducted in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir in 2022, included 30 women. A semi-structured interview schedule and observation method was used to collect data, which was analyzed with Moustakas' modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen phenomenological approach. We identified four themes associated with women's challenges in their communities: (a) poverty, domestic duties, and co-education challenges, (b) cultural and structural barriers, (c) economic exploitation, early marriage, and gender bias and (d) intersection of marginality. Deep-seated cultural norms favoring men's education and relegating women to domestic roles hampered tribal women's access to education. These norms, in turn, resulted in detrimental practices such as child marriage, forced labor, child labor, exclusion from the market, social alienation, exploitation and backwardness, poor decision-making power, and increasing school dropouts. To promote educational inclusion among tribal members, it is necessary to implement National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 fully and make both tribal men and women aware of the impact of socioeconomic and cultural exclusion on their mobility.

This paper aims to draw attention to the types of economic violence, particularly coercive debt, experienced by Arab-Palestinian women in Israel - a situation where economic resources are limited and controlled by the abusive spouse. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in 2022 with Arab-Palestinian women in Israel, as well as analysis of several legal cases (n = 21), we provide a glimpse at manifestations of economic violence, focusing on the participants' experiences and definitions, as well as the coping mechanisms they employ. Such abuse needs to be examined against the background of multiple positions of marginality, vulnerability and civic exclusion these women experience, shaped by the patriarchal regimes of both social institutions and their spouses/ex-spouses. The study enhanced our understanding of the transparency of economic violence, particularly coercive debt, highlighting the diverse coping strategies used by the women affected by it, with consequences persisting even after they break the silence or leave their abusive spouses.

The present study investigates the outcomes of bamboo weaving training programs in rural China from 2015 to 2022, employing ethnographic research methods to assess the impact of these programs on the well-being of rural women and their communities. The results indicate that the bamboo weaving training program has significantly improved the scientific literacy and technical skills of rural women, enhancing their self-confidence, income generation, and entrepreneurial endeavors. These improvements contributed to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, economic growth and rural revitalization toward sustainability. Additionally, several instances of constraints and challenges were observed from technical and economic perspectives. The study highlights the role of bamboo weaving training in poverty alleviation and sustainable development, promoting women's empowerment across technical, economic, psychological, and socio-cultural dimensions. Recommendations are provided for training institutions and organizations to enhance the well-being of rural women and foster sustainability in rural areas.

This qualitative study examines childcare challenges and adaptive strategies among first-time Czech mothers with cerebral palsy (CP) in caring for children aged 0–3. Data obtained from ten semi-structured interviews were analyzed using selected procedures of situational analysis. The results were structured around three major themes: (1) The decision to become a mother and preparation for childcare tasks; (2) Challenges in childcare and adopted childcare strategies; (3) Social support received to manage childcare challenges. Along with findings related to the women with CP preparing themselves for the maternal role and childcare tasks, i.e. by attending a prenatal course to learn a suitable hand grip to safety hold their baby or to choose a suitable pram, the participants identified a number of practical childcare challenges they encountered postpartum. The first-time mothers initially tended to delegate challenging childcare tasks, such as lifting and carrying the newborn child, bathing and dressing or changing nappies, to family members or friends, with this support contributing to gradual development of the women's childcare methods to become an independent caregiver. Our findings underline the importance of sharing the lived experiences of mothers with CP with professional communities as well as the general public through formal education programs and informal community outreach.

Femvertising is a general advertisement term that builds awareness of women's issues, rights, and gender equality. This particular type of advertisement is used by brands with the expectation that it will be effective on women, especially women with high levels of feminism. This study aims to determine the effects of brand awareness and the level of feminist messages on brand trust, word of mouth (WoM), attitude toward advertisements, and purchase intention. To achieve this aim, a 2 × 2 experimental design was used to manipulate the level of brand awareness and the level of feminist messages in the advertisement. A total of 405 women with high feminist attitudes participated in the experiment. Data analyses revealed that brand awareness exerts a positive effect on brand trust, but the level of feminist messages does not exert any significant effect on either brand trust or purchase intentions. Furthermore, data analyses showed that less familiar brands can achieve more positive results in attitude toward advertising and WoM if they use strong feminist messages in their advertisements, compared to well-known brands.

This study investigates attitudes to feminism in mother-daughter dyads, and points to the main factors that shape the discovered intergenerational patterns of attitudes in the context of postfeminism. Based on in-depth interviews with 16 mother-daughter dyads, the analysis combines a social and relational lens which both recognizes the significance of socialisation and intergenerational transfer, and takes account of social change. As a result, three types of intergenerational attitudes to feminism in Poland are presented: anti-feminism convergence, pro-feminism-convergence and divergence. By considering socialisation effects and structural conditions, the paper informs contemporary debates on barriers to feminist attitudes in subsequent generations.

As observed in numerous historical crisis scenarios, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated unfavorable perceptions of ‘foreigners’ and ‘migrants’ in the Netherlands. The construct of a ‘foreigner’ has been socially fashioned as a label that distinguishes what is dissimilar from the norm, and within the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the concept of the “other” has gained prominence. Building upon this central premise, the present study aims to probe into the occurrence of racism and discrimination directed at Turkish migrant women in the Netherlands, a nation often characterized as progressive and liberal, with an intersectional approach. Considering the increased awareness surrounding Dutch colonial history, exemplified by events like the Black Lives Matter protests, the research also delves into whether migrant women draw connections between their experiences of racism and the historical Dutch colonial past. How have migrant women experienced and reacted to racism during the pandemic? Does the encounter with racism and discrimination prompt an intensified identification with or detachment from their migrant identities? To unravel answers to these inquiries, the article draws from semi-structured interviews with fifteen migrant women alongside a non-governmental representative, an artist, and an activist in the Netherlands. Through the personal narratives of these women, this article illuminates the ongoing discussions surrounding racism and discrimination within the broader discursive landscape of the Netherlands during the pandemic.

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of social anxiety in the effect of self-esteem on the attitude of violence towards women. The sample of the study consists of 1093 university students. The study data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Social Anxiety Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Iskebe Violence Against Women Attitude Scale. The mediation analysis was conducted using the Process Macro developed by Hayes. According to the findings, social anxiety mediates the relationship between self-esteem and violence against women. Individuals with high levels of social anxiety and low self-esteem tend to have an increased attitude towards violence against women. When the results of the regression analysis, which showed the mediation effect, were examined, it was determined that the effect of self-esteem on the attitude of violence against women was negative and significant. As self-esteem increases, the level of violence against women decreases. Our results indicate that adopting positive self-esteem is significant for reducing the negative outcomes on attitudes towards violence against women.