Men

Women's Wars Aren't Men's Wars

Dr. Cynthia Enloe

November 15, 2023

Hybrid - Ballroom A (U03-3550A Campus Center), University of Massachusetts Boston. For in-person attendance:

  • Video
  • Register
  • PDF
Topics

The Gender Gap in Voting in Post-Conflict Elections: Evidence from Israel, Mali and Côte D’Ivoire

Citation:

Stockemer, Daniel, and Michael J Wigginton. 2020. “The Gender Gap in Voting in Post-Conflict Elections: Evidence from Israel, Mali and Côte D’Ivoire.” Conflict Management and Peace Science, 1-23. doi: 10.1177/0738894220966577.

Authors: Daniel Stockemer, Michael J. Wigginton

Abstract:

In this article, we first formulate some theoretical expectations about the development of the gender gap in voting in post-conflict situations. Second, we test these expectations on five cases, including two civil wars, the Ivorian Civil War (2011) and the Malian Civil War (2013–2015), and three major international Israeli conflicts, the Yom Kippur War (1973) and the First and Second Lebanon Wars (1982–1985 and 2006). We do so by comparing women’s and men’s turnout before and after a conflict using individual voting data and find that the sum of the nine factors we identify (i.e. duration of war, type of warfare, end of fighting after ceasefire/peace settlement, change in workforce participation, international involvement in the peace process, international development aid, the militarization of politics and female social movement activism) explain changes in the gender gap in voting after the conflict in three of the five cases we study.

Keywords: Gender gap in voting, post-conflict situation

Topics: Gender, Men, Women, Militarization, Political Participation, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, Asia, Middle East Countries: Côte D'Ivoire, Israel, Mali

Year: 2020

Women and Disasters in South Asia: Survival, Security and Development

Citation:

Roy, Sajal. 2018. “Women and Disasters in South Asia: Survival, Security and Development.” Gender, Place & Culture 25 (2): 315–16.

Author: Sajal Roy

Abstract:

Women and Disasters in South Asia: Survival, Security and Development is an edited collection that investigates primarily how gender and politics are shaping post-disaster reconstruction and development processes in South Asian countries. Most of the disasters included in this collection are profiled in Indian case studies, including the Indian Ocean tsunami as witnessed in Tamil Nadu (2004), the earthquake in Gujarat, (2001), the super cyclone in Odisha (1999), the flood in Bihar (2008), the Cloudburst in Ladakh (2010). A few chapters extend beyond India to examine events such as the floods in Pakistan (2010) and post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka (ongoing since 2004). The book captures both women’s vulnerabilities and resiliencies in post-disaster setting, demonstrating that women and men experience disasters differently due to the social construction of their socioeconomic positions, gender roles and relationships with government and society.

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Men, Women, Post-Conflict Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Year: 2018

Gender, Seeds, and Biodiversity

Citation:

Sachs, Carolyn E. 1997. “Gender, Seeds, and Biodiversity.” In Women Working In The Environment. New York: Routledge.

Author: Carolyn E. Sachs

Abstract:

All over the world, declining biodiversity threatens people's livelihoods, cultures, and standards of living. Degradation of the environment, destruction of natural habitats, and changes in cultural strategies for survival contribute to the increasing loss of biodiversity and also to the impoverishment of women (Abramovitz, 1994; Shiva, 1995). Declines in biological resources often result in declining standards of living for many people in the world, especially women and the poor (Abramovitz, 1994 ). Women, in many cultural contexts, rely on diverse biological resources to provide food, clothing, housing, and other needs for their families. As access to these resources declines through environmental degradation or inequitable distribution of resources between men and women, women's workloads often increase and their ability to provide food for their families decreases. As a result of gender divisions of labor, women and men have different knowledge about plants and other biological resources (Sachs, 1996). Efforts to preserve biodiversity have generally neglected women's work and knowledge about crops and other natural resources. This chapter focuses on women's knowledge and efforts to maintain crop diversity. First, we discuss reasons for the decline in crop genetic diversity; then, we focus on two studies of seed saving in the United States and the Peruvian Andes.

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Gender, Men, Women, Livelihoods Regions: Americas, North America, South America Countries: Peru, United States of America

Year: 1997

Climate Change and Gender Justice: International Policy and Legal Responses

Citation:

Kameri-Mbote, Patricia. 2013. “Climate Change and Gender Justice: International Policy and Legal Responses.” In Climate Change: International Law and Global Governance, edited by Oliver C. Ruppel, Christian Roschmann, and Katharina Ruppel-Schlichting, 1st ed., 323–48. Volume I: Legal Responses and Global Responsibility. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. 

Author: Patricia Kameri-Mbote

Abstract:

Climate change raises issues of justice for different subjects of law – states and individuals. It is therefore not surprising that international policy and legal responses to climate change took equity concerns on board by considering differentiated responsibilities for climate change and taking respective capabilities of states into account in assigning the role to protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind. While the link between gender and climate change has not always been obvious, there is increasing evidence to demonstrate that women and men experience climate change differently; that climate change increases women’s vulnerability; and gender inequalities worsen women’s coping capacities. This article looks at the relationship between gender and climate change and how international policies and laws on gender and climate change address the interface. It also highlights the increasing advocacy for the inclusion of gender justice in international climate change debates. It concludes that including gender in the laws, policies and discussions on climate change brings a critical constituency to these platforms and also enhances the effectiveness of the interventions aimed at dealing with climate change because of the roles that women play in different programmes and contexts.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Law

Year: 2013

Masculinity on Unstable Ground: Young Refugee Men in Nairobi, Kenya

Citation:

Jaji, Rosemary. 2009. “Masculinity on Unstable Ground: Young Refugee Men in Nairobi, Kenya.” Journal of Refugee Studies 22 (2): 177–94.

Author: Rosemary Jaji

Abstract:

A gender perspective in refugee studies usually conjures up images of refugee women. Such images are an outcome of the association of vulnerability with women and children. Yet, it is not only refugee women who face monumental challenges in the country of asylum; refugee men also encounter a wide range of problems. Exile comes with obstacles for refugee men's quest to conform to culturally defined masculinity. This paper presents the nature of the challenges young refugee men predominantly from the Great Lakes region face in exile and the struggles they engage in as they seek to maintain and live up to their pre-flight notions of masculinity. The paper also shows how the men create alternative masculinities that are sustainable in a context that is largely characterized by existential uncertainties.

Keywords: masculinity, refugee men, Great Lakes, Kenya

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Gender Roles, Masculinity/ies, Men Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2009

O processo pedagógico da luta de gênero na luta pela terra: o desafio de transformar práticas e relações sociais

Citation:

Schwendler, Sônia Fátima. 2015. "O processo pedagógico da luta de gênero na luta pela terra: o desafio de transformar práticas e relações sociais." Educar em Revista 55, 87-109.

 

Author: Sônia Fátima Schwendler

Abstract:

PORTUGUESE ABSTRACT:

O presente artigo analisa o processo pedagógico da luta de gênero que ocorre dentro da luta pela terra a partir do protagonismo das mulheres trabalhadoras do campo. Com base na literatura da temática da educação, gênero e movimentos sociais e, a partir de extensa pesquisa de campo desenvolvida no Sul do Brasil com mulheres e homens do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e com o Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas (MMC), este estudo evidencia os principais elementos que contribuíram para o empoderamento das mulheres camponesas e a mutação das relações de gênero na luta pela terra. Ao examinar o impacto da intencionalidade socioeducativa na transformação das relações de gênero, argumenta-se que o saber social produzido na luta político-organizativa, a partir de uma leitura de classe e da influência da teoria feminista, promove a organização das mulheres camponesas em torno das demandas estratégicas de gênero com vistas ao enfrentamento das desigualdades e da subalternização da mulher. Evidencia-se, no entanto, que apesar de sua importância, este processo pedagógico que emerge na dinâmica da luta social não é o suficiente para a transformação das relações de gênero. Há a necessidade de leis e políticas afirmativas que garantam à mulher condições efetivas de participação política, econômica e social.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

This paper analyzes the pedagogical process of gender struggle that takes place within the struggle for land from the agency of rural workers’ women. Based on the literature on education, gender and social movements and, from extensive field work carried out in southern Brazil with women and men of the Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra – MST) and the Peasant Women’s Movement (Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas – MMC), this study highlights the key elements that contributed to the empowerment of rural women and the shifting of gender relations within land struggle. When examining the impact of socio-educational intention in changing gender relations, it is argued that the social knowledge produced within the political-organizational struggle, from a class consciousness and the influence of feminist theory, promotes the organization of peasant women around strategic gender demands aiming to confront inequality and women’s subordination. It is evident, however, that despite its importance, this pedagogical process which emerges in the dynamics of social struggle is not enough for the transformation of gender relations. There is a need for laws and affirmative action policies that guarantee effective conditions for women’s political, economic and social participation. 

Keywords: education, gender, women, land reform, social movements, educação, género, mulheres, reforma agraria, movimentos sócias

Topics: Class, Education, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Brazil

Year: 2015

Gender Equality in Ownership of Agricultural Land in Rural Tanzania: Does Matrilineal Tenure System Matter?

Citation:

Kongela, Sophia Marcian. 2020. “Gender Equality in Ownership of Agricultural Land in Rural Tanzania: Does Matrilineal Tenure System Matter?” African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences 3 (3): 13-27.

Author: Sophia Marcian Kongela

Abstract:

Gender gap in ownership of agricultural land is still wide in many developing countries, mainly in favour of men. In some of these countries, both patrilineal and matrilineal systems are practised and recognized by governments. Tanzania is one of the countries in which both systems are practised. This paper explores the extent of gender equality in ownership of agricultural land in Kisarawe and Mkuranga districts which are typical rural agricultural settings and mainly matrilineal societies in Tanzania. It also attempts to examine women’s benefits from agricultural activities. Respondents were randomly selected from village registers of the six villages studied. The findings contradict the conventional narratives of gender inequality that women are discriminated in land ownership. Despite insignificant percentage of societies which embrace matrilineal system in Tanzania, to a large extent the system seems to support women in owning land in those societies. However, a few elements of gender discrimination were noted especially for widows and divorced women. The findings make a case for more intervention in ensuring statutory and customary land tenure practices are complimentary in enhancing gender equality in accessing land especially in rural areas. 

Keywords: gender equality, access to land, land ownership, land tenure, Tanzania

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2020

Gender, Regulation, and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Sector: The Case of Equinor’s Social Investments in Tanzania

Citation:

Lange, Siri, and Victoria Wyndham. 2021. “Gender, Regulation, and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Sector: The Case of Equinor’s Social Investments in Tanzania.” Women’s Studies International Forum 84 (January—February). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2020.102434.

Authors: Siri Lange, Victoria Wyndham

Abstract:

Multinational corporations have been criticised for their rhetorical support to - as opposed to substantive engagement with - gender equality in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in poor countries. Many host countries have started regularizing CSR in recent years, and there is great variation between countries and different sectors when it comes to the gendered dimensions of social investments. This article focuses on the factors that influence CSR in the petroleum sector, using Equinor in Tanzania as a case study. We argue that national regulations in host countries, perceptions of risk, as well as the need to gain ‘a social license to operate’ from host communities, means that the gendered dimensions of CSR in the petroleum sector differ in important ways from other sectors. The study also shows that company ownership by a state that profiles itself as a champion in gender equality does not in itself lead to gender sensitive social investments. The main ‘bene­ficiaries’ of Equinor’s social investments in Tanzania are men, but this fact is disguised by using a gender neutral language in CSR reporting.

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Multi-National Corporations Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2021

“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

Pages

© 2024 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.

Subscribe to RSS - Men