Age

Disproportionate Impacts of Radiation Exposure on Women, Children, and Pregnancy: Taking Back Our Narrative

Citation:

Folkers, Cynthia. 2021. “Disproportionate Impacts of Radiation Exposure on Women, Children, and Pregnancy: Taking Back Our Narrative.” Journal of the History of Biology 54: 31–66.

Author: Cynthia Folkers

Abstract:

Narratives surrounding ionizing radiation have often minimized radioactivity’s impact on the health of human and non-human animals and the natural environment. Many Cold War research policies, practices, and interpretations drove nuclear technology forward by institutionally obscuring empirical evidence of radiation’s disproportionate and low-dose harm—a legacy we still confront. Women, children, and pregnancy development are particularly sensitive to exposure from radioactivity, sufering more damage per dose than adult males, even down to small doses, making low doses a cornerstone of concern. Evidence of compounding generational damage could indicate increased sensitivity through heritable impact. This essay examines the existing empirical evidence demonstrating these sensitivities, and how research institutions and regulatory authorities have devalued them, willingly sacrifcing health in the service of maintaining and expanding nuclear technology (Nadesan 2019). Radiation’s disproportionate impacts should now be the research and policy focus, as society is poised to make crucial and long-lasting decisions regarding climate change mitigation and future energy sources (Brown 2019b).

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Health, Reproductive Health, Livelihoods, Security, Food Security, Weapons /Arms, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Year: 2021

Hashtagging Girlhood: #IAmMalala, #BringBackOurGirls and Gendering Representations of Global Politics

Citation:

Berents, Helen. 2016. “Hashtagging Girlhood: #IAmMalala, #BringBackOurGirls and Gendering Representations of Global Politics.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 18 (4): 513–27.

Author: Helen Berents

Abstract:

This article explores how gendered, racial and youth-ed concepts of girlhood shape the way conflict, violence and the lived experiences of girls in conflict-affected environments are understood globally. In particular, it examines the broader context and effect of social media campaigns that specifically invoke a concept of “girlhood” in their responses to crisis or tragedy. It focuses on two hashtags and their associated social media campaigns: #IAmMalala, started in response to the attempted killing of Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012 by Taliban gunmen, and #BringBackOurGirls, started by Nigerians and adopted globally in response to the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by terrorist group Boko Haram. In both instances, understandings of the broader political context are shaped by the focus on girls. Both hashtags also appropriate an experience: claiming to be Malala and claiming the Nigerian girls as ours. Through this exploration, I argue that particular ideals of girlhood are coded within these campaigns, and that these girls’ experiences are appropriated. I critique the limited representations of girlhood that circulate in these discussions, and how these limited representations demonstrate the problematic narrowness of dominant conceptions of girlhood.

Keywords: Girlhood, activism, social media, Malala Yousafzai, Chibok girls

Topics: Age, Youth, Education, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Media, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Race, Terrorism, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: Nigeria, Pakistan

Year: 2016

“In My Eyes He Was a Man”: Poor and Working-Class Boy Soldiers in the Iran-Iraq War

Citation:

Ahmadi, Shaherzad R. 2018. "'In My Eyes He Was a Man': Poor and Working-Class Boy Soldiers in the Iran-Iraq War." Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 14 (2): 174-192.

Author: Shaherzad R. Ahmadi

Abstract:

During the Pahlavi period in Iran (1925–79), poor and working-class families were more likely to expect young sons to work to support the household. These boys, in turn, were more autonomous. Middle-class families, on the other hand, protected and controlled boys. Researchers have assumed that religious zealotry was the primary inspiration for boys to enlist in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88) after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, ignoring the ways in which class inflected boyhood. While religious fervor may have been a motivation for some of the poor and working-class Iranian boys (between ten and fourteen) who enlisted, the expectation that they work took precedence. Moreover, at least some of these boys were eager to participate in war-front masculine homosociality rather than remain in feminized domestic spaces. This study analyzes biographies, census data, newspaper accounts, and original oral history interviews.

Keywords: Iran-Iraq War, childhood, boy soldiers, Pahlavi Iran, class

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Class, Combatants, Child Soldiers, Male Combatants, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iran

Year: 2018

Perceptions of Gender, Mobility, and Personal Safety: South Africa Moving Forward

Citation:

Vanderschuren, Marianne J. W. A., Sekadi R. Phayane, and Alison J. Gwynne-Evans. 2019. “Perceptions of Gender, Mobility, and Personal Safety: South Africa Moving Forward.” Transportation Research Record 2673 (11): 616–27.

Authors: Marianne J.W. A. Vanderschuren, Sekadi R. Phayane, Alison J. Gwynne-Evans

Abstract:

Transport users make mode choices based on a variety of factors. These factors are economic or service driven, based on individual roles, habits, and interests, as well as age, life cycle stage, and gender. Analysis reflects different mobility patterns for males and females relating to care activities. Literature suggests that experiences of harassment have a significant effect on user choices. This study examines how South African data compares with international studies. Mode use and trip purposes, distances, and times differ depending on gender and are affected by the experience of harassment, which affects females more than males. Analyzing trip making in South Africa revealed that travel modes, distances, and times are not significantly different across gender. South African females make fewer trips than males, but significantly more care trips. Different modes of public transport score differently regarding potential experience of harassment, with trains performing the worst. The reason mode choice is not significantly different between females and males is assumed to be because of financial reasons. Investigating harassment perception in Cape Town reveals that females experience harassment more often and this influences their choices regarding care trips. These findings have significant implications for transport policy in South Africa and suggest that more nuanced policies are required.

Topics: Age, Gender, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2019

“Remember the Women of Osiri”: Women and Gender in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Migori County, Kenya

Citation:

Buss, Doris, Sarah Katz-Lavigne, Otieno Aluoka, and Eileen Alma. 2020. “‘Remember the Women of Osiri’: Women and Gender in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Migori County, Kenya.” Canadian Journal of African Studies  / Revue Canadienne Des éTudes Africaines  54 (1): 177-195.

Authors: Doris Buss, Sarah Katz-Lavigne, Otieno Aluoka, Eileen Alma

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
In this paper, we explore women’s livelihoods and the operation of gender norms and structures in the Osiri artisanal gold mining area in western Kenya. While “women” and “gender” are seen as increasingly important to policy frameworks for developing mineral resources on the African continent, understandings of women’s roles in artisanal and small-scale mining, and of the importance of gender in structuring those livelihoods, remain limited. Drawing on field research conducted from 2014 to 2018, we demonstrate that while gender norms and structures operate to delimit women’s mining roles, in daily encounters women and men navigate, resist and sometimes reframe those norms. Further, we explore how gender norms may not impact all women the same and how other social variables, such as age, may also influence how women navigate their mining livelihoods.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Dans cet article, nous examinons les moyens d’existence des femmes et le fonctionnement des normes et des structures liées au genre dans la région aurifère artisanale de Osiri, à l’Ouest du Kenya. Alors que les « femmes » et le « genre » sont considérés comme étant de plus en plus importants pour les cadres politiques de développement des ressources minérales sur le continent africain, la compréhension du rôle des femmes dans l’exploitation minière et à petite échelle, et de l’importance du genre dans la structuration de ces moyens d’existence, reste limitée. En nous appuyant sur des recherches de terrain conduites entre 2014 et 2018, nous démontrons que si les normes et les structures liées au genre servent à délimiter le rôle des femmes dans l’exploitation minière, lors de leurs rencontres quotidiennes, les femmes et les hommes maîtrisent, contestent et, quelquefois, recadrent ces normes. En outre, nous examinons comment les normes de genre peuvent ne pas affecter toutes les femmes de la même façon, et comment d’autres variables sociales, telles que l’âge, peuvent aussi influencer la manière dont les femmes gèrent leurs moyens d’existence dans le secteur minier.

Keywords: artisanal and small-scale mining, women, gender, Kenya, feminist political economy, exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle, femmes, genre, économie politique féministe

Topics: Age, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Gender, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2020

Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia

Citation:

Louis, Elizabeth, Tizai Mauto, My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo, and Emmanuel Urey. 2020. “Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia.” Land 9 (8): 247–68.

 

Authors: Elizabeth Louis, Tizai Mauto , My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo, Emmanuel Urey

Abstract:

This article summarizes the evidence on youth land rights in Liberia from a literature review combined with primary research from two separate studies: (1) A qualitative assessment conducted as formative research to inform the design of the Land Rights and Sustainable Development (LRSD) project for Landesa and its partners’ community level interventions; and (2) a quantitative baseline survey of program beneficiaries as part of an evaluation of the LRSD project. The findings are presented using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework that examines youth land rights through a gender lens. The evidence highlights that female and male youth in Liberia face significant but different barriers to long-term access to land, as well as to participation in decisions related to land. Our suggested recommendations offer insights for the implementation of Liberia’s recently passed Land Rights Act as well as for community-level interventions focused on increasing youth land tenure security in Liberia.

Keywords: youth land rights, gender- responsive land rights, Liberia Land Rights Act, land governance, tenure security

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Gender Analysis, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2020

Absent Voices: Women and Youth in Communal Land Governance. Reflections on Methods and Process from Exploratory Research in West and East Africa

Citation:

Lemke, Stefanie and Priscilla Claeys. 2020. "Absent Voices: Women and Youth in Communal Land Governance. Reflections on Methods and Process from Exploratory Research in West and East Africa." Land 9 (8): 266- 66. 

Authors: Stefanie Lemke , Priscilla Claeys

Abstract:

An increasing number of African States are recognizing customary land tenure. Yet, there is a lack of research on how community rights are recognized in legal and policy frameworks, how they are implemented in practice, and how to include marginalized groups. In 2018–2019, we engaged in collaborative exploratory research on governing natural resources for food sovereignty with social movement networks, human rights lawyers and academics in West and East Africa. In this article, we reflect on the process and methods applied to identify research gaps and partners (i.e., two field visits and regional participatory workshops in Mali and Uganda), with a view to share lessons learned. In current debates on the recognition and protection of collective rights to land and resources, we found there is a need for more clarity and documentation, with customary land being privatized and norms rapidly changing. Further, the voices of women and youth are lacking in communal land governance. This process led to collaborative research with peasant and pastoralist organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Mali and Guinea, with the aim to achieve greater self-determination and participation of women and youth in communal land governance, through capacity building, participatory research, horizontal dialogues and action for social change.

Keywords: gender, women and youth, communal land governance, right to land, collective rights, Participatory Action Research, transdisciplinary approach, COVID-19, West and East Africa, constituencies

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Women, Governance, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa Countries: Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda

Year: 2020

Exploring Mobility and Migration in the Context of Rural—Urban Linkages: Why Gender and Generation Matter

Citation:

Tacoli, Cecilia, and Richard Mabala. 2010. “Exploring Mobility and Migration in the Context of Rural—Urban Linkages: Why Gender and Generation Matter.” Environment and Urbanization 22 (2): 389–95.

Authors: Cecilia Tacoli, Richard Mabala

Abstract:

This paper draws on case studies in Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Vietnam to explore the different ways in which migration intersects with the changing relations between rural and urban areas and activities, and in the process transforms livelihoods and the relations between young and older men and women. Livelihood strategies are becoming increasingly diverse, and during interviews people were asked to describe their first, second and third occupations, the time allocated to each and the income that each produced. In all study regions, the number of young people migrating is increasing. This is influenced not only by expanding employment opportunities in destination areas but also by power inequalities within households, which means limited opportunities at home. It is increasingly common for young women to migrate, in part because they have no land rights and few prospects at home, in part because of more employment opportunities elsewhere. Young women also tend to move further than young men and for longer, and also remit a higher proportion of their income. Older men expect young men to migrate but often criticize young women for doing so, although women’s migration is more accepted as their remittances contribute more to household income. However, if young women had better prospects at home, it would limit their need to move to what is often exploitative and insecure work.

Keywords: gender, generation, livelihoods, migration, rural-urban linkages

Topics: Age, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Vietnam

Year: 2010

Mobility, Education and Livelihood Trajectories for Young People in Rural Ghana: A Gender Perspective

Citation:

Porter, Gina, Kate Hampshire, Albert Abane, Augustine Tanle, Kobina Esia-Donkoh, Regina Obilie Amoako-Sakyi, Samuel Agblorti, and Samuel Asiedu Owusu. 2011. “Mobility, Education and Livelihood Trajectories for Young People in Rural Ghana: A Gender Perspective.” Children’s Geographies 9 (3–4): 395–410.

Authors: Gina Porter, Kate Hampshire, Albert Abane, Augustine Tanle, Kobina Esia-Donkoh, Regina Obilie Amoako-Sakyi, Samuel Agblorti, Samuel Asiedu Owusu

Abstract:

This paper examines the gendered implications of Africa's transport gap (the lack of cheap, regular and reliable transport) for young people in rural Ghana, with particular reference to the linkages between restricted mobility, household work demands, access to education and livelihood potential. Our aim is to show how mobility constraints, especially as these interact with household labour demands, restrict young people's access to education and livelihood opportunities. Firstly, the paper considers the implications of the direct constraints on young people's mobility potential as they travel to school. Then it examines young people's (mostly unpaid) labour contributions, which are commonly crucial to family household production and reproduction, including those associated with the transport gap. This has especially important implications for girls, on whom the principal onus lies to help adult women carry the heavy burden of water, firewood, and agricultural products required for household use. Such work can impact significantly on their educational attendance and performance in school and thus has potential knock-on impacts for livelihoods. Distance from school, when coupled with a heavy workload at home will affect attendance, punctuality and performance at school: it may ultimately represent the tipping point resulting in a decision to withdraw from formal education. Moreover, the heavy burden of work and restricted mobility contributes to young people's negative attitudes to agriculture and rural life and encourages urban migration. Drawing on research from rural case study sites in two regions of Ghana, we discuss ethnographic material from recent interviews with children and young people, their parents, teachers and other key informants, supported by information from an associated survey with children ca. 9–18 years.

Keywords: school distance, child labour, transport gap, load-carrying, educational access

Topics: Age, Youth, Education, Gender, Girls, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2011

A Gender Analysis of Everyday Mobility in Urban and Rural Territories: From Challenges to Sustainability

Citation:

Miralles-Guasch, Carme, Montserrat Martínez Melo, and Oriol Marquet. 2016. “A Gender Analysis of Everyday Mobility in Urban and Rural Territories: From Challenges to Sustainability.” Gender, Place & Culture 23 (3): 398–417. 

Authors: Carme Miralles-Guasch, Montserrat Martínez Melo, Oriol Marquet

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Gender differences in mobility patterns between women and men have long been acknowledged. This study analyses how these differences are reproduced in different urban and rural contexts. Using mobility data from a large travel survey taken in 2006 in Spain, we examine the differences between gender mobility through age, modal split and trip purposes. Special attention is paid to how territory shapes mobility and how these territorial settings differently affect gendered mobilities. The use of this data source allows the comparison of all trips made by the total population, including all means of transport. By taking a global view on mobility, the uneven relationships that men and women have with different means of transport become more visible. After disaggregating data by age and territorial settings, results show that women are using sustainable transport modes more often than men, and travelling for more diverse reasons. Gender is thus a fundamental variable in understanding modal split and, by extension, transport sustainability, in terms of energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases. From this point of view, we consider women's mobility knowledge and practices – typically related to the most sustainable means of transport – as factors with rising value that could effectively guide public policy in its way to promote more sustainable mobility patterns.
 
SPANISH ABSTRACT:
Las diferencias de género en los patrones de movilidad entre mujeres y hombres son conocidas ya desde hace tiempo. Este estudio analiza cómo estas diferencias son reproducidas en distintos contextos urbanos y rurales. Utilizando datos de movilidad provenientes de una gran encuesta de movilidad realizada en 2006 en España, examinamos las diferencias entre la movilidad de género a través de la edad, la elección modal y los propósitos de viaje. Se presta especial atención a como el territorio da forma a la movilidad y cómo estos contextos territoriales afectan diferentemente a la movilidad de género. El uso de esta fuente de datos permite la comparación de todos los viajes llevados a cabo por la población, incluyendo todos los medios de transporte. Tomando una mirada global sobre la movilidad, las relaciones desiguales que hombres y mujeres tienen con los diferentes medios de transporte se vuelven más visibles. Después de desagregar los datos por edad y contexto territorial, los resultados muestran que las mujeres utilizan medios de transporte sostenibles con más frecuencia que los hombres, y que viajan por motivos más diversos. El género es por lo tanto una variable fundamental para entender la división modal y, por extensión, la sostenibilidad del transporte, en términos de consumo de energía y emisión de gases de efecto invernadero. Desde este punto de vista, consideramos el conocimiento y las prácticas de movilidad de las mujeres -típicamente relacionadas con los medios de transporte más sostenibles- como factores con creciente valor que podrían guiar efectivamente las políticas públicas en su camino a promover patrones de movilidad más sostenibles.

Keywords: movilidad cotidiana, transporte, gênero, sustentable, urbano, daily mobility, transport, gender, sustainable, urban, rural

Topics: Age, Environment, Gender, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Spain

Year: 2016

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