A Country of their Own: Women and Peacebuilding

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 522-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodora-Ismene Gizelis

Research on women and post-conflict reconstruction tends to focus primarily on women as victims and passive targets for aid rather than conceptualizing peacebuilding as a process where greater participation by women may help increase the prospects for success. Here, I argue that women’s social status is a dimension of social capital that is largely independent of general economic development. Societies and communities where women enjoy a relatively higher status have greater prospects for successful peacebuilding, as cooperation by the local population with peacebuilding policies and activities increases. Thus, in the presence of a UN-led peacebuilding operation, women’s status has a direct and independent impact on post-conflict reconstruction. The theoretical claims are empirically assessed by looking at variation in levels of cooperation and conflict during the UN peacebuilding missions within the countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Author(s):  
Jocelyn Olcott

This chapter considers the ways that the paltry funding available for IWY resulted in considerable influence by states and organizations that contributed to the UN voluntary fund for IWY activities. Due to time constraints, IWY planners established a consultative committee to plan the intergovernmental conference; Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, who had pledged $2 million to the voluntary fund, was named chair. While drafting the World Plan of Action, the consultative committee deliberated about how to prioritize issues related to women’s status, particularly between those who wanted to emphasize equality between men and women and those who sought economic development to improve standards of living across societies. Australian delegate Elizabeth Reid established a reputation for her facility in adjudicating these debates.


Author(s):  
З.Х. Кумахова

В данной статье анализируются исследования европейских путе- шественников, побывавших на Северном Кавказе в XVII–XIX в., затрагивающие статус женщины в традиционном черкесском обществе. Выявленные источники классифицируются по сюжетам, описывающим формирование статуса женщи- ны с младенчества до достижения положения матери семейства. В настоящей статье предпринята попытка комплексно изучить вышеупомянутые источники, выявив стороны жизни адыгской женщины, привлекавшие внимание иностранных исследователей. This article analyzes the research of European travelers who visited the North Caucasus in the 17th - 19th centuries. affecting the status of women in traditional Circassian society. The sources identifi ed are classifi ed by stories describin This article analyses the researches of European travellers who visited the North Caucasus in the period from 17th to 19th centuries, that covered the issue of the status of women in traditional Circassian society. The identifi ed sources are classifi ed according to the plot describing the development of women’s status from infancy to getting the position of the mother of the family. In this article, an attempt has been made to study comprehensively the abovementioned sources, identifying the Adyghe woman’s aspects of life, which attracted the attention of foreign researchers g the formation of the status of women from infancy to the position of the mother of the family. In this article, an attempt was made to comprehensively study the above sources, identifying the sides of the life of the Adyg woman, which attracted the attention of foreign researchers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 455-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elhum Haghighat

Purpose – Multiple dimensions influencing women's status in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – factoring in socio-demographic, economic, and political forces are discussed in this paper. Process of modernization has been complicated by a strong patriarchal culture, the overlap of religion and government, and the absence of a diversified economy along with presence of wealth producing oil resources. Religious ideology, cultural beliefs, and traditional principles, however, cannot be argued as the only reason for women's status lagging behind in these countries. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Six diverse MENA countries – Iran, Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen – that differ from one another with respect to geography, economy, demographics, modernization characteristics and cultural history are examined for comparative reasons. Findings – Even though Islam is commonly portrayed as the main factor controlling women's lives and opportunities in MENA, the analysis shows that there are other significant processes at work. To date, women's higher level of educational attainment and unusually swift fertility decline in the MENA region deviates from the expectation that predicts a strong positive correlation between these demographic factors and increased women's social status and higher social mobility. Originality/value – This conceptual paper demystifies the connection between women's social status and empowerment in the MENA region and its connection to economic development, employment opportunities, and political stability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-377
Author(s):  
Chaoyuan Li

Abstract Rich literature on the representation of women in advertising has repeatedly concluded a message in keeping with a GDP-promoting agenda: with economic development and modernization, women’s status has been elevated and they appear in professional and other settings beyond domesticity. Amid this optimism, the present study cautions that women’s elevated status and transformed roles should not give way to the exuberance on display in many sectors. Motivated by the unusual persistence of women’s decorative role against the background of pro-egalitarian industrialization and modernity, this study, drawing on advertising discourse in Cosmopolitan, the world’s leading women’s magazine, aims to investigate the gender ideology that dehumanizes women by exploring the various dehumanizing metaphors and the visual and linguistic codes deployed to construct the metaphors. In identifying and analyzing two major dehumanizing metaphors – WOMEN ARE OBJECTS and WOMEN ARE ANIMALS – this study outlines a critical metaphorical landscape that goes beyond the warfare metaphor which is popular in various fields (e.g. women, health care, and economy), and highlights HUMAN BEINGS ARE THINGS metaphors as a major instrument in constructing dehumanizing discourse and ideology.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-256
Author(s):  
Joseph Bosco Bangura

Sierra Leone has seen the rise of Charismatic movements that are bringing about greater levels of co-operation with the state. This new church development aims at renewing the Christian faith and projecting a more proactive role towards public governance. This ecclesial development shows that African Pentecostal/Charismatic theology appears to be moving away from the perceived isolationist theology that once separated the church from involvement with the rest of society. By reapplying the movement's eschatological beliefs, Charismatics are presenting themselves as moral crusaders who regard it as their responsibility to transform public governance. The article probes this relationship so that the Charismatic understanding of poverty, prosperity, good governance and socio-economic development in Sierra Leone can be more clearly established.


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