Households

Citation:

Bravo, Ana. 2002. "The Impact of Improved Rural Roads on Gender Relations in Peru." Mountain Research and Development 22 (3): 221-24.

Author: Ana Bravo

Abstract:

The Andean region of Peru covers over one third of the country's territory and contains about 30% of its total population. Development is constrained by both natural and nonnatural barriers, especially in rural areas. Geographic isolation, difficult mountainous terrain, high costs associated with improving transport infrastructure, deficient services, and intermediate means of transport limit the mobility of the rural poor as well as their access to basic services and utilities. Illiteracy rates are high in rural areas; the rate for women (28.2%) is 3 times that of men (9.1%). Responsible de facto for family life activities (education, health, food, recreation, child-care, family relations, etc) and increasingly sharing productive and management roles with men, rural women carry a significant workload. The impact of improved rural roads on gender relations in the Peruvian Andes is highlighted in the present paper, with a focus on the example of the Rural Roads Program. Recommendations are made for more gender-sensitive policy programs in the transport sector.

Keywords: education, poverty

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Education, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Health, Households, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Peru

Year: 2002

Citation:

Tacoli, Cecilia. 1999. "International Migration and the Restructuring of Gender Asymmetries: Continuity and Change among Filipino Labor Migrants in Rome." International Migration Review 33 (3): 658-682.

Author: Cecilia Tacoli

Abstract:

This article examines the different factors which may explain gender-selectivity among Filipino labor migrants in Rome, where women are around 70 percent of this nationality group.  Following the analysis of labor demand in the domestic service sector, it explores  supply aspects, ranging from economic conditions within the Philippine labor market to noneconomic constraints, such as ideologies and expectations of gender. The research findings show that migrant women's commitments and obligations toward their households in home area are generally stronger than those of their male counterparts.  However, spatial distance and increased financial independence may provide some women with the opportunity to pursue 'self-interested' goals while at the same time keeping within the  'altruistic' role dictated by normative gender roles. Important elements affecting women's increased autonomy are life course paths, households’ developmental cycle, class and migration form.

Keywords: international migration, labor migration, gender transformation, employment, gender-selectivity, gender roles

Annotation:

• In the 1970s, labor migrants, primarily from Third World nations, began moving to Southern European countries in search of work. In her article, Tacoli explores the reasons for the predominance of women within the Filipino immigrant population in Rome. In her analysis, she examines “the role of migrant networks in providing access to specific employment opportunities, employers’ perceptions of gender and ethnicity, and the impact of Italian immigration policies on the labor market” (659). In her first section, “Gender and Migration Theories,” Tacoli writes that the study of gendered migration is a recent one. Gender-selective migration has come as a result of the incorporation of females into low-paying, low-skilled occupations; however, this does not explain why some women migrate while others do not (i.e. why migrants to Rome from the Philippines are predominately female while migrants from other countries include very few women). Tacoli characterizes migration as a “socially-embedded process” (662), which depends largely on the household as a determinant of gender roles in the labor market. Additionally, the Filipino government has encouraged international labor migration, which may have had a greater impact on the decision of women to work abroad.

• When Filipino migration to Italy began in the 1970s, the migrant community was primarily composed of women working as household helpers. One factor accounting for women’s domination of the migrant labor force in Italy is the fact that women are more likely to be employed full-time (often as live-in nannies), whereas men oftentimes work part-time. Demand for live-in work has been greater than that for part-time work in Italy, so migrant women have been employed to a higher degree than their male counterparts.Tacoli proceeds to examine the reasons for labor migration from the Philippines to Rome. 
• These reasons range from the desire for higher wages to the desire to experience a westernized lifestyle. The majority of the women who have migrated to Rome are widowed or separated women who were not previously employed, signaling their desperation for employment and the difficulty for women to find jobs in the Philippines. Because of the high cost of moving from the Philippines to Italy, however, those migrating to Italy have tended to be the more affluent members of the Filipino population, which would suggest that survival is not the primary motivator for migration. Surveys indicate that social mobility is actually a more commonly cited reason for moving. Because divorce is prohibited in Filipino society, married women often move as a way to escape unhappy marriages and affirm their independence. In her analysis of intrahousehold relations (p. 671), Tacoli questions whether the decision to migrate is made by the migrants themselves or by other members of the family unit. Findings show that daughters are more likely than sons to migrate as a result of parental pressure, indicating the emphasis placed on duty towards relatives in Filipino culture, particularly among women. Pressure to marry also presents a unique incentive for women to emigrate; as Filipino women seek education abroad, they increase their prospects for marriage upon returning home. Thus, migration allows women to simultaneously pursue the own freedom of movement while conforming to altruistic expectations and familial loyalty. International migrations offers them the possibility to combine self-interest (freedom from the conventional gender roles ingrained in Filipino society) with self-sacrifice (working abroad in order to make more money for their families back home). 

Topics: Class, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Italy, Philippines

Year: 1999

Citation:

Moghissi, Haideh. 1999. "Away from Home: Iranian Women, Displacement, Cultural Resistance, and Change." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 30 (2): 1-10.

Author: Haideh Moghissi

Abstract:

This article discusses the gender character of displacement. Using the example of the Iranian female diaspora, it argues that women's experience of displacement is relatively more positive than that of men, and women, generally, are more prepared and make more efforts to build a home away from home. However, the pressures for cultural resistance against the dominant culture and the institutional racism in the host country may counterbalance the impact of women's positive experiences. Under the banner of 'cultural resistance', patriarchal values and sexist norms are revitalized within the family as well as in the community, and the voices of dissent are muted and dismissed as outside influences.

Keywords: displacement, cultural resistance, diaspora, gender identity, migration

Annotation:

• In her article, Moghissi argues that gender-based discrimination persisted within communities of displaced Iranian women despite the relatively progressive nature of their new environments. This persistence of conventional gender roles, she writes, stemmed from a desire to “maintain community dignity and cultural identity” (1) even if this compromised women’s rights. 
• Many Iranians who have migrated to European countries feel the need to cling to elements of their culture that they feel define them, and the elements of their culture that they seek to uphold oftentimes involve gender roles. Although the majority of the Iranian diaspora community come from middle-class, secular, educated backgrounds, they still uphold Iranian traditions as a way to cope with their new environments. Moghissi’s research proves that women tend to deal with changes that moving entails better than their male counterparts; they are often able to find work in typically “male” spheres, whereas displaces Iranian men often leave the well-developed careers they had had in Iran for low-paying jobs elsewhere.
• The racism that displaced Iranian women face in their new host societies also contributes to a desire to cling to old traditions. They crave a sense of belonging, so they often revert back to the patriarchal traditions that governed their past lives. Because the female Iranian daispora clings to these conventional gender norms, all “feminist” activity is categorized as outsider, Western influence. Despite this, Moghissi believes that through Iranian women’s involvement in the women’s movement abroad, they will “inevitably bring to their community more awareness about social problems in the host country and may inspire new commitments for it and force the community to get more involved in the struggle for social justice” (8).

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Households Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iran

Year: 1999

Citation:

Fábos, Anita Häusermann. 2001. "Embodying Transition: FGC, Displacement, and Gender-Making for Sudanese in Cairo." Feminist Review 69: 90-110.

Author: Anita Häusermann Fábos

Abstract:

In this article I analyze both generalized propriety as a boundary marker of Sudanese identity in Cairo, and gendered attitudes toward morality and female genital cutting (FGC) as a fundamental aspect of that boundary. Sudanese have been profoundly affected by the ongoing political crisis in their home country, by the displacement triggered by political and economic collapse, and by their deteriorating legal and social status in Egypt. The dramatic changes in the circumstances of Sudanese residence in Cairo have challenged the cultural norm of gender complementarity as men 'stay at home' for want of work while women seek and find new opportunities for themselves. This unstable situation has led Sudanese to place more emphasis on 'proper' ways of behaving and being, an assertion that helps define the ethnic boundaries of the Sudanese community in Cairo. I demonstrate the inconsistencies between discourse and reality through ethnographic data while analyzing how Sudanese have found new ways of asserting their identity and resisting the practice of FGC.

Keywords: displacement, gender making, gendered identity, female genital cutting

Annotation:

In her article, Fabos seeks to answer the question of which FGC (female genital cutting) practices have persisted among the Muslim population in Sudan despite social and political change in the region. She analyzes the situation of Sudanese women who have migrated to Cairo (mainly due to the civil war in Sudan), exploring the implications of changing gender norms brought about by their displacement and using FGCs as a boundary marker for the Sudanese ethnic identity in Cairo. She argues that Sudanese attitudes toward FGC have shifted in recent years, as Sudanese migrants to Cairo have used the practice to distinguish themselves from Egyptian natives. The experience of displacement had altered both gender relations and propriety norms, leading to new conflicts between men and women involving sexuality and morality.

Because of the increased levels of migration among Sudanese to Cairo due to the ongoing crisis in Sudan, Sudanese social ideals and traditions are being challenged in a new way. The mass migration of Sudanese to Cairo is leading to deteriorating household structures and financial situations, which necessitates a shift in gender roles and relations. For example, the concept of gender “complementarity,” which is based upon the notion that the husband should earn the household income while the mother rears the children, is not conducive to the situation of the Sudanese populations in Cairo, where the traditional family structure is often dismantled.

Fabos also addresses the way in which conceptions of modesty among the Sudanese population have changed as a result of migration to Cairo. In an attempt to preserve their values, the displaced Sudanese in Cairo often characterize Egyptians as immodest, including the failure to practice FGC into this definition of immodesty. These gender ideals that link modesty with sexual propriety and other traditional Arab values informs the social interactions of Sudanese men and women in Cairo.

Because morality and sexual propriety are considered endemic to a Sudanese woman’s gendered identity, FGC represents the embodiment of these cultural ideals. FGC is therefore seen as a rite of passage for Sudanese women; however, it is rejected by many Sudanese women who deny a correlation between their morality and their sexual behavior. While it may be expected that instances of FGC would increase among the Sudanese populations in Cairo in an effort to assert their conservative identity, it has been prevented by dissent among displaced Sudanese women who refuse to subject their daughters to the torture of the practice.

Fabos concludes by reiterating the fact the gendered attitudes toward FGC are an intrinsic part of the conception of propriety that marks Sudanese identity in Cairo. As Sudanese communities are resisting the practice of FGC today, they are finding new ways of asserting their identity in foreign cities such as Cairo.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Households, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Sexuality Regions: Africa, MENA, East Africa, Asia, Middle East Countries: Egypt, Sudan

Year: 2001

Citation:

Das Dasgupta, Shamita. 1998. "Gender Roles and Cultural Continuity in the Asian Indian Immigrant Community in the US." Sex Roles 38 (11-12): 953-74.

Author: Shamita Das Dasgupta

Abstract:

Ethnic identity is a part of positive self-concept that consciously anchors an individual to a particular ethnic group. Central to this identity is a sense of belonging, as well as a commitment to the group's values, beliefs, behaviors, conventions, and customs. This study focuses on the Asian Indian community in the U.S. to investigate their concerns with the continuity of ethnic identity via maintenance of traditional culture. Intergenerational synchrony in two specific values, attitudes toward women and dating, were examined as indicators of successful transmission of culture and identity. Forty-six educated, middle class Indian immigrant families, the majority of whom were foreign born and Hindus, participated in this study by responding to three questionnaires: Attitude Toward Women Scale, Dating Scale, and IPAT Anxiety Scale. Although the results show a strong similarity between parents and children on target attitudes, distinct intergenerational and gender asymmetries emerged. The conscious attempt to preserve certain critical attitudes, values, and behaviors characteristic of the group was labeled “judicious biculturalism,” an expression of active involvement on the immigrants' part to control the course of their own acculturation. The study has implications for women's status within the Asian Indian community.

Keywords: gender roles, immigration, gender transformation

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Households Regions: Americas, North America, Asia, South Asia Countries: India, United States of America

Year: 1998

Citation:

Brown, Barbara. 1983. "The Impact of Male Labor Migration on Women in Botswana." African Affairs 82 (328): 367-88.

Author: Barbara Brown

Abstract:

In recent years scholars have become increasingly concerned with the role women  play in society. Researchers  studying women in the Third World have focused particularly on the impact of  development on the social and economic role of women. However, there continue to be large gaps in our understanding of women in the development process. One such gap is the impact of labor migration on women. Labor migration is a common phenomenon today both within the Third World and between it and the industrialized countries. Yet, while numerous scholars have analyzed who migrates and  what causes the migration, there has been little in-depth study of the effect  of this migration on women. Most of the existing literature assumes that migration is a rational response to a  given range of resources and choices and that, as such, the family as a unit, including the women members, benefits from such migration. This view, however,  oversimplifies the situation.  The evidence shows that high male outmigration has led to a modification in the structure of family life and has transformed women's social and economic position to their detriment.

Keywords: labor migration, gender transformation

Annotation:

• In her article, Brown examines that ways in which male outmigration from Botswana alters gender relations. She argues that as men migrate out of the country, development slows, and the decrease in human capital leaves women with the burden of agricultural reproduction at very little pay. Brown notes that gender is disregarded by many researchers in the field, and she focuses her study on the extent to which gender plays into the process of capital accumulation in Botswana. She concludes that migrancy entails changes in family roles that are detrimental to women.

• Brown uses South Africa to briefly illustrate the effect that migration has historically had on the country’s economic system, explaining how rural dwellers were forced into wage labor in order to increase human capital. She proceeds to draw a parallel between this and the situation in Botswana, as the economy in Botswana has shifted from subsistence to commercial agriculture as a result of labor migration. In her study, she focuses on the impact of migration on women, specifically. She argues that as a result of male outmigration, women have become more isolated in their marriage and family positions and their social and economic situation has also changed for the worse. 

• Because of the high levels of outmigration in Botswana, Brown argues, marriage is now delayed until a later age, which means that women oftentimes bear children before marriage and act as single parents. These single mothers face a variety of financial issues, including the fact that they are oftentimes denied child support. This forces women to turn to their immediate family for economic assistance; however, as individualism becomes more highly valued in society, family support becomes less reliable. Research shows that “households headed by single mothers are significantly poorer than male-headed households” (376), largely because women have fewer resources for farming (i.e. access to cattle) than men do. Brown also considers the effect of female outmigration on gender roles. Many unmarried mothers will leave their children with their own parents and search for work elsewhere, allowing her to earn more money.

• In her conclusion, Brown writes that most of the new economic opportunities in Botswana go to men rather than women, making women dependent on men financially. As Botswana transitioned to a capitalist economy, the society became dependent on migrant labor. This increase in migration changed family ties and economic relationships, even leader to a “feminization of poverty” (387), as women are less easily able to access the resources needed to prosper economically.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Botswana

Year: 1983

Citation:

Al-Ali, Nadje. 2005. "Reconstructing Gender: Iraqi Women Between Dictatorship, War, Sanctions and Occupation." Third World Quarterly 26 (4-5): 739-58.

Author: Nadje Al-Ali

Abstract:

This article explores the role of Iraqi women in reconstruction processes by contextualizing the current situation with respect to changing gender ideologies and relations over the past three decades. Before discussing the Iraqi case specifically, I provide a brief theoretical background about the significance of gender in reconstruction as well as nation-building processes. A historical background aims to shed light on the changing gender ideologies and relations during the regime of Saddam Hussein. The article focuses particularly on the impacts of the early developmental-modernist discourses of the state and the impacts of war (Iran-Iraq war 1980-88, Gulf wars 1991, 2003) as well as on the comprehensive economic sanctions regime (1990-2003). The latter involved wider social changes affecting women and gender relations but also society at large because of the impoverishment of the well educated middle- class, wide-scale unemployment, an economic crisis and a shift towards more conservative values and morals. It is against this historical background that contemporary developments related to ongoing conflict, occupation and political transition affect women and gender relations.

Keywords: post-conflict reconstruction, S1325, women's political participation, governance, nation-building, reconstruction, economics, political transition

Annotation:

Al-Ali begins by calling attention to the struggles that Iraqi women have faced in spite of the country’s recent process of democratization. While UN Resolution 1325 calls for the incorporation of gender concerns into the reconstruction process, foreign occupation and the unstable interim government (as of 2005, when this article was written) have prevented the internalization of gender-conscious values among the Iraqi populace. In her article, Al-Ali first explores the significant of gender in the reconstruction process and then turns to post-war Iraq as a case study.

In her section on gender and post-conflict periods, Al-Ali explains that post-war situations often elicit violence against women. In post-war Iraq, for example, the levels of violence (particularly against women) were actually greater following the period of militarized conflict. When violence is no longer institutionalized, women lack the political space to challenge gender relations that they had during wartime; thus, the safety and well-being of women is often ignored in the post-conflict period. Al-Ali proceeds to explain how women have been excluded from post-conflict reconstruction processes. While women strive to make their voices heard through engagement with NGOs, these organizations are often discounted by male-dominated society. SCR 1325 is also ignored in many Muslim societies, as it is viewed as an imposition of Western culture and values, especially in US-occupied Iraq.

Al-Ali provides a historical context through which to analyze the situation of Iraqi women before the 1990s. She explains that early Baathist policies in the 1970s fostered women’s rights as part of the regime’s effort for national indoctrination, and as men went off to fight during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, women took over their positions in the workforce. The economic sanctions imposed on Iraqi society in the 1990s, however, adversely affected women, as it led to a breakdown of the welfare state and pushed women back into their traditional roles as mothers and housewives.

The war has had a drastic impact on gender roles within the household in ways that are detrimental to women. The economic and political issues that have resulted from the war have strained relationships between husbands and wives, leading to increased divorce rates and levels of domestic abuse against women. Due to the high fatality levels among male soldiers, women left without husbands have been forced to run female-headed households, which has presented women with degrees of responsibility with which they often cannot cope.

The increased levels of religiosity in post-war Iraq have also contributed to a culture that puts social limitations on women. Girls have become increasingly worried about their reputation, and the number of honor killings has increased since the start of the war. Additionally, economic hardships have forced women into prostitution, which has led to greater incentives to impose conservative regulations on women’s behavior.

In regard to women’s political participation in the post-war period, Al-Ali explains that the number of women’s organizations has been increasing since 2003, and women have become mobilized around the issues of replacing the personal status law with a more conservative law, as well as the issue of drafting a quota for women’s representation in political office. Recently, however, women’s organizations have been hindered by the country’s severe security situation, which has prevented women from leaving their houses and running for elections in 2005. Gender-specific threats and violence have posed a particular barrier to gender equality in Iraq, according to Human Rights Watch.

Ultimately, Al-Ali presents a bleak picture of the ways in which war, sanctions, and occupation have negatively impacted Iraqi women. Her vision of the future is no less pessimistic; she doubts whether the women’s political representation quota of 25% will be fulfilled, and she points to the worsening humanitarian situation for women in particular. In order to improve the situation for Iraqi women, she advocates  the mainstreaming of gender into all aspects of post-conflict reconstruction, which would involve the incorporation of women into government as well as economic and judiciary processes. Because she attributes the failure of gender equality largely to its association with Western values, she writes that rather than encourage a feminist approach to reconstruction, emphases should be placed on education and other areas that would necessarily improve the status of women.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Economies, Poverty, Education, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Households, Justice, Transitional Justice, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iraq

Year: 2005