Search

Dissecting Familiarity I did not know about the clergy sexual abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) until we, the contributors to this roundtable, started exploring this scandal in October 2022. [...]

This article examines how Islamic feminism, with its emphasis on embodied experiences as sources of religious knowledge, has shaped the interpretive community of US Muslim women at the Women's Mosque of America (WMA). I discuss two trends in Islamic feminist approaches to ethics: one that models a Qur'an-centrism, and the other that incorporates the jurisprudential tradition to suggest gender-egalitarian readings of legal principles. In practice, these trends are not mutually exclusive, and Muslims draw on both to engage ethical questions in ways that are contextually bound. As the Friday khutbah is an important site for cultivating Islamic feminist ethics, I draw on two WMA khutbahs as my source material. The first focuses on how to interpret the Qur'an, and the second, on Islamic ethical perspectives on abortion. I argue that the interpretive community of US Muslim women at the WMA produces new forms of Islamic feminist ethics. Keywords: abortion, American Muslims, gender justice, Islamic feminism, Islamic jurisprudence, Qur'an, Introduction In Islamic feminist approaches to ethics, there are two discernible trends. The first models a Qur'an-centrism at the expense of other scriptural sources, including hadith, the traditions of Muhammad. [...]

They [Covenant Fellowship Church] recently installed a new member of the OB board by membership vote. You might think this was a step in the right direction, but this newest OB member has said, 'if Min Chung had an adulterous affair and fathered an illegitimate child, I would still follow him because he is anointed by God.' Great... 'elders' who are blindly loyal to the pastors. Sounds like the perfect person to help Min Chung squirrel his way back to the pulpit. (1) They [the Korean Central Presbytery] determined that Chung was guilty but has done enough for restoration to ministry. They also ruled that the period when Chung wasn't preaching at CFC was enough discipline for his sin. 'Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ,' Rev. Sungwoo Nam, KCP clerk, said in a statement. 'We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry.' (2), As the above illustrations show, Min Joshua Chung remains an ordained pastor today, keeping his clerical credentials within the Presbyterian Church in America. In what ways could someone who was [...]

Roundtable: Sexual and Spiritual Abuse at the Covenant Fellowship Church: Korean and Asian American Feminist Perspectives On May 2, 2021, a significant moment transpired with the launch of the @letters_from_rahab [...]

As noted in AHyun Lee's lead article, the sexual misconduct case by Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) was covered up by the church leaders for a [...]

The story of abuse in the church should never be forgotten. It should be retold until there is change. Until policies change. Until the leadership changes. Until the culture changes. [...]

Keywords: psychoanalysis, religion, vestigial state theory, Naomi Goldenberg is professor of religious studies in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada. Following graduate studies at Princeton and the [...]

One of the lessons that is the most challenging for people to absorb is that large, multivocal, diverse systems often contain both good and evil. Countries, political movements, religions, universities, [...]

When contemporary worship music emerged over fifty years ago, it was born in part out of the desire for more intimate worship. Widely adopted by white evangelicals, intimate lyrics have granted the genre the nickname of 'Jesus is my boyfriend' music. Recently, language for God's love has depicted an aggressive, overwhelming force through words like 'reckless,' 'jealous,' and 'insatiable.' This article examines connections between this language, sexual intimacy and consent, and evangelical worship. In line with feminist liturgists who have long considered how gendered religious language impacts women's experiences, it explores the gendered impacts of contemporary worship music's intimate and aggressive lyrics. Following analysis of several songs that use this language, the article concludes with suggestions for how language and worship structures could be altered to provide respect and agency to worshippers of all genders. Keywords: contemporary worship music, feminist liturgy, sexual violence, songwriting, women, Marsha's family was deeply involved in church ministry--her dad as a minister, her mom as a church musician--yet she was surrounded by profound pain. Marsha's father had abused her mentally, [...]

Churches rely on religious and cultural knowledge as pedagogy and curriculum. Religion and culture through pedagogy and curriculum shape the ways people live and learn. Educational theorist Eliot Eisner categorizes [...]

In response to cursory and idealistic calls for community in feminist theology and trauma literature, the author discerns manifestations of true community walking alongside survivors in the meaning-making process. Drawing from her own experiences, she describes the ways members of true community engage with chaos, themselves, wisdom, and integrity, which each have a role in supporting survivors of trauma in their theological reconstruction. Due to the complexity of trauma and relationships, manifestations of support are often challenging to identify in one's own life and imperfectly embodied. Addressed to those directly impacted by shattered meaning, the article seeks to offer a guiding tool for the complex reconstruction journey that follows traumatic experiences. Amid dialectic tensions between feminist values, the discernment of true community helps distinguish true support from those who limit the scope of their engagement, which provides individuals with agency in claiming their support network. Keywords: community, dialectic, embodiment, trauma, During my graduate school orientation, while classmate after classmate expressed their hope and intention to build community, I felt a heavy knot in my stomach and my chest closing tightly. [...]

In Smart Wife: Why Siri, Alexa, and Other Smart Home Devices Need a Feminist Reboot, Yolande Strengers, an associate professor of digital technology and society in the Emerging Technologies Research [...]

'These imperatives within a transnational framework address global, national and local sites in activism and deepen understandings of Africana people's political labour through theatre and performance.' (Shakes 166) The last [...]

Women have been the victims of gender violence and rape for decades in India. Newspapers and news channels report on gender violence every single day. Movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp [...]

Lola's War by Olivera Simic explores the narrative of a woman who suffers the harsh consequences of an ineffective transitional justice system. This book is the result of a longitudinal, [...]

'Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men. They describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth' (de [...]

How does militarism affect women's presence in the political process? Through a focus on the Republic of Armenia during the period 1990-2020, we examine the puzzle of women's political representation. The country's legacy of communist-era ideology of women's equality, its democratic transition, women's high levels of educational attainment and labor force participation, and the 2007 gender quota adoption should have served to place Armenia in the top 50 countries in women's political representation. Yet for two decades, the country appeared low on international rankings of women's political empowerment. To unpack this puzzle, we revisit two strands of the women-and-war literature--one that ties militarism to the dominance of men, and one that finds increases in women's parliamentary representation in the aftermath of conflict. We find that both have merit. Armenia's long history of conflict with Azerbaijan and high military spending have reproduced traditional gender roles, including a militarized masculinity which favors men in positions of political power. The devastating 2020 war, however, may have helped turn the tide that began earlier with constitutional reforms in 2015, elections in 2017, and anti-government protests in 2018. A new gender quota dramatically enhanced women's political representation. Drawing on socio-economic and political indicators as well as documentary and interview data, our paper contributes to literatures on women, gender, and conflict; on patterns and variations in women's political representation; and on women in Armenia. Future research could examine the direction of gendered political change following the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan's unilateral military action in September 2023. Keywords: Armenia, Political representation, Militarization, War, Gender equality, Gender quotas, Women in politics, Introduction In April 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, war broke out between the forces of two former Soviet republics, Armenia and Azerbaijan, over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an [...]

Mahasweta Devi: Writer, Activist, Visionary offers illuminating resources on the eponymous writer and cultural figure. The editor, Radha Chakravarty, is a noted critic and translator, as well as a former [...]

With the number of single people around the globe on the rise, critical examinations of their experiences and associated socio-cultural shifts have become imperative. Recent academic scholarship by Kinneret Lahad, [...]

Since the inception of humanity, the body has always held great significance for understanding the self and the societal structure in which it exists. Michel Foucault, in The History of [...]

Even though numerous studies in the past have taken up the gendered politics of the Turkish modernization and secularization project, none have delved into the affective economy around divination and [...]

Nadine Strossen in Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights highlights her feminist perspective concerning the protection conferred to pornography under the First Amendment. The book, [...]

The Hollywood industrial complex was developed and has been maintained with assistance from celebrity publications like People, The National Enquirer, and Us Weekly. These magazines are usually seen as ancillary [...]

When analyzing Pakistan's current media scene, toxic masculinity in Pakistani television dramas is essential to discuss. This study explores portrayals of toxic masculinity and how women characters respond to them within Pakistani television series. Furthermore, this study is closely aligned with UNSDG 5 to promote gender equality by critically analyzing media representations and societal norms. A qualitative content analysis was used to address this issue. This research aligns with the social cognitive theory that suggests that individuals learn and adapt their behaviors by observing others. It examined the behavioral patterns of the main characters by highlighting toxic actions across the selected drama series. Moreover, this study aligns with feminist media theory of gender roles by offering an in-depth analysis of how masculinity is represented and normalized within these shows. This theory examines how gender roles are assigned to men and women in media, and whether these portrayals challenge or reinforce existing cultural norms associated with men's behavior. This study gathered data from four popular drama series aired on private channels from 2019 to 2022 that were chosen for their widespread acclaim and numerous awards. The outcomes revealed recurring themes of destructive masculinity featured in these dramas, including various forms of violence, depictions of toxic men and passive women, and unhealthy romantic relationships. Keywords: Toxic masculinity, Television dramas, Gender dynamics, Pakistan, Feminist media theory, Introduction Television dramas are critical in shaping culture and social perceptions, particularly gender roles. This is particularly the case for Pakistani television as these dramas have a large audience and [...]

This research aims to investigate the dynamics of gender roles by focusing on the standpoint of women users of the feminist dating app Bumble. This app has emerged in Indonesia as one of the most popular platforms to meet potential partners, and it has provided a unique setting to examine how traditional and evolving gender roles manifest in online dating. By first analyzing women users' behaviors, preferences, and interactions, this study sheds light on how gender roles and cultural norms influence the dating experience in the digital realm. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten dating app users to gain deeper insights into their experiences, and the results were analyzed using the phenomenology method. This qualitative component explores the subjective perceptions, expectations, and challenges associated with gender roles in the dating app context. The study's findings illuminate the evolution of dating dynamics in Indonesia and reveal notable shifts in the dating landscape. Challenges such as 'ghosting' and 'relationshopping' emerge, which underscore the nuanced interplay of agency and hesitancy in the quest for meaningful connections. While Bumble empowers women users, it also highlights the delicate balance between newfound agency, societal expectations, and emotional vulnerabilities. These findings highlight the need for future research to consider diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, demographic ranges, and regional variations. Continual investigation is imperative to monitor the evolving nature of dating apps and their impact on societal norms amidst technological advancements and shifting social contexts. Keywords: Feminist standpoint, Gender role, Dating, Feminist dating apps, Online dating, Indonesia, Introduction Internet dating apps first appeared in the mid-nineties (Phan et al., 2021; Brooks, 2011), and more recently, especially during the pandemic, have become an increasingly popular way to find [...]

Recently, the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan banned all beauty parlors, stating cultural reasons that the existence of such parlors violates the tenets of Islam. They also cited another reason for shutting down beauty parlors: that it puts an unnecessary financial burden on a groom's family during marriages. The paper analyzes the policy decision by the Taliban government in light of the public-private divide, theories of Islamic feminism, and feminist understanding of the beauty industry. The author argues that sole application of either a feminist critique of the public-private divide or a feminist critique of beauty ideals fails to provide a holistic and a cogent solution to the problem faced by women in beauty industries all over the world, especially in Taliban-led Afghanistan. The paper also analyzes the ways in which Islamic feminism can better capture such inconsistencies and thereby provide an inclusive solution to the pertaining issues. Keywords: Islamic feminism, Beauty industry, Public-private divide, Beauty parlors, Patriarchy, Taliban, Afghanistan, Introduction In July 2023, the Taliban government in Afghanistan passed an order banning all beauty parlors as such bodies are against the tenets of Islam and prove to be burdensome [...]

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth climate change report in early 2022. For the first time in thirty years, this report acknowledged colonial domination and global exploitation as drivers of the climate issue and contributors to the vulnerability of communities and groups. Colonialism, climate change, and women's vulnerability are rarely discussed in the available literature. A scoping review was done to determine how colonialism makes women more vulnerable to climate change and related disasters. The study examined when and how colonialism increases women's vulnerability in the Global North and South. Through the study, it was found that colonialism's effects vary by situation. Women are often more vulnerable as a result of racism and societal norms inherited from the colonial era. With the aid of this research summary, future studies will be able to lessen women's long-term vulnerability to disasters caused by climate change. Further, this study emphasizes the need to understand each area's social dynamics, which can make it hard for some communities to adapt to climate change. A postcolonial lens may help to comprehend these relationships and address individual susceptibility. A fairer and more climate-resilient society can be built by acknowledging colonialism's legacy and its impact on present-day vulnerabilities. Keywords: Colonialism, Climate change, Women, Vulnerability, Societal dynamics, Postcolonial lens, Introduction: Locating the Problem The historical legacies of exploitation, resource extraction, and power inequalities continue to have a lasting impact on the world today as a result of colonialism, which [...]

Facing the Mirror: Lesbian Writing from India (1999), edited by Ashwini Sukthankar, anthologizes short personal writing and fictional pieces, memoirs, poems, essays, letters and more, all produced by Indian women-loving-women (WLW) (an umbrella term for women with queer sexualities and romantic interests in women). The back cover of the book is blazoned with the quote: 'A groundbreaking book where lesbians found their voice for the first time.' Even more than twenty years after its publication, there is not much scholarship on this book despite it being one of the first few publications to assert and embody the existence of a community of Indian queer women. This paper intends to explore how this collection uses (lesbian) 'writing' as a representative strategy to address the limits of the universalized paradigm of 'lesbian' desires. To this end, the paper will employ the Derridean concept of 'arche-writing' and argue that this anthology becomes an arche-writing of Indian female queer subjects who speak/write/narrate in both homodiegetic (first-person) and heterodiegetic (third-person) narratives. Citing some of these pieces from this anthology, the paper will argue that 'lesbian writing' is not merely a collection of literal writings but a concept of writing that directly embodies the material existence, experiences, voices, desires and bodies of WLW of India. This paper will also argue that through queering or deconstructing the notion of writing as fixed, the anthology destabilizes and queers the fixed understanding of the subjectivities of queer women and lesbians. Keywords: Lesbian, Queer, Writing, Arche-writing, Derridean theory, Deconstruction, Lesbian writing, Introduction Life narratives, fictional pieces, poetry, and several other non-fictional writings make up Facing the Mirror: Lesbian Writing from India (1999), a collection that embodies Indian lesbian subjectivity. Facing the [...]

In this article, I reflect on the APA citation practice of using last names and initials in references for psychological research. This practice reduces authors to their last names in the guise of gender-neutrality, thus making women and gender non-binary authors invisible despite being cited. Decades after Nancy Russo's commentary recommending the use of first names along with last names, there have been no changes in APA style, while other citation styles have incorporated the practice of using first names and last names in references to address this issue. In the changing global socio-cultural landscape that acknowledges gender fluidity, including first names and gender pronouns in end references and in-text citations can be one of the ways of making women and non-binary authors' works more visible in the field of Psychology or other disciplines that use APA style. Keywords: Citation, Gender pronouns, Feminist praxis, Psychology, APA style, Non-binary people, Introduction Recently, when I was talking to a group of undergraduate Psychology students in one of the colleges in Bengaluru, India, I asked them to name a few psychologists, and [...]

This study uses an integrated multidimensional lens to investigate the ongoing issue of domestic gender-based violence (DGBV) against women in conflict areas of Yemen, with a specific focus on the city of Taiz. Yemeni society has historically operated within a framework emphasizing traditional gender roles, which can unfortunately lead to situations where women bear the brunt of societal pressures and misattributed blame. Against this backdrop, this study explores the nature and causes of violence faced by Yemeni women during the period 2021-2023, as well as the role of Islam in addressing and curbing violence against women in Muslim societies. Through applying a qualitative approach involving triangulation and utilizing qualitative data analysis software, namely ATLAS, this study integrates primary data derived from interviews with affected women and secondary data sourced from humanitarian organizations, including Bena Charity for Human Development (BCHD), Nahada Youth for Marginalized Development (NYMD) and Civic Center for Advocacy and Support (CCAS) in Yemen. To illuminate the causes and dynamics of this violence, the analysis draws on Auda's (2008, 2022) concept of maqasid al-shari'ah, the socioecological approach (Heise, 1998), social cognitive theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986; Bandura, 2001), feminist insights on patriarchy, and the power and control wheel concept (Dobash & Dobash, 1979; Walker, 1980; Pence & Paymar, 1993). The findings unveil an alarming escalation of violence in Taiz. This study reveals the multifaceted factors contributing to the high domestic gender-based violence (DGBV) index during the Yemeni war period. By examining the complex factors involved, this study provides a comprehensive prototype for policymakers and organizations to address and prevent violence in Yemen's conflict areas, safeguarding women's rights, advancing gender equality, and fostering social justice within Yemen and potentially in broader Arab contexts. Keywords: Domestic gender-based violence (DGBV), Humanitarian organizations, Maqasid al-shari'ah, Yemen, ATLAS, Introduction Yemen, as a lower-income country, faces significant socioeconomic challenges, exacerbated by one of the highest poverty rates in the Arab world, as well as an extensive gender disparity in [...]

This article explores the development of the #ArewaMeToo movement in Northern Nigeria. The study is contextualized within the theory of transnational feminism to argue that digital practices among non-Western women are more than merely a technological advancement and are significantly attuned to the socio-political climate of their societies. Therefore, as the #MeToo movement which began in the West goes global, women in Northern Nigerian have found a space to effect social change by resisting socio-cultural practices that challenge their social agency. Using the interview method, we articulate the uniqueness of #ArewaMeToo as a movement that is rooted in specific sociocultural challenges of Nigerian society. We also contend that ethnographic studies produce robust data to understand cultural specificity and enable solutions to address the problems raised by the movement. Keywords: #ArewaMeToo, Northern Nigeria, Sexual violence, Women, Digital feminism, Introduction With the advent of the global #MeToo movement that started in the United States in 2017, many women across the world have localized the protest to address similar problems [...]

Film Information Title: How to Sue the Klan Director/Producer: John Beder Producers: Benjamin Crump & Raji Ramanathan Release Year: 2024 Length: 33 minutes Genre: Documentary Original language: English Educational Distributor: [...]

Film Information Film title: What's Love Got to Do with It? Director: Shekhar Kapur Producers: Nicky Kentish Barnes, Jemima Khan, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner Release Year: 2022 Length: 108 minutes [...]

We are proud to present this regular issue of the JIWS which addresses a diverse array of Gender Studies topics including lesbian writing, menstruation, abortion, online dating, beauty culture, gender [...]

The issue of menstrual health management (MHM) is a significant concern that has garnered attention from menstrual activists due to its profound impact on the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of menstruators. This study delves into how menstruators navigate their SRH in India by examining how they adhere to traditional menstrual practices to uphold concealment norms and the politics of social respectability. The aim of the study was to analyze menstrual practices, explore the socio-cultural factors shaping the choice of menstrual products, and assess awareness regarding the toxicity of disposable menstrual products. The findings indicate that a product-centric approach to menstrual management contributes to negative menstrual narratives, thus reinforcing self-surveillance and a sense of detachment from one's own body. The study advocates for dispelling the notion of menstrual blood impurity perpetuated by the menstrual product industry and instead encourages the acceptance of reusable menstrual products as a means to promote both a healthy sense of self and contribute to a sustainable future. Keywords: Menstrual hygiene, Menstrual products, Sexual and reproductive health, Sustainability, Bodily shame, Introduction The issue of menstrual health management (MHM) is a crucial concern that has attracted the attention of menstrual activists due to its substantial impact on a menstruator's sexual and [...]

Anti-abortion regulation and criminalization in Nigeria raises questions about religious, societal, and cultural dispositions to abortion. If one defers to religious and cultural norms that are against abortion, what remains are concerns about discrimination based on gender, age, and economic status. At the regional level, the focus of abortion activism has consistently been on the legal justification for permitting abortion on recognized grounds, particularly under the African Women Protocol, known as the Maputo Protocol. This work analyzes socio-economic grounds for legal justifications for permitting abortion, focusing on how inequality and discrimination can shape the regulation and governance of abortion, especially within developing and highly gender-unequal societies like Nigeria. This paper argues that the systematic maternal deaths resulting from unsafe abortions are avoidable as they stem from social status and an unequal distribution of economic resources. This paper adopts the theory of feminist intersectionality by Crenshaw to expose how inequities on multiple grounds contribute to ineffective reproductive governance, especially concerning abortion in Nigeria. It discusses the potential application of international and regional human rights instruments, especially the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol, and challenges in implementing their provisions within Nigerian reproductive rights jurisprudence. It identifies the doctrine of 'Dual Publics' by Peter Ekeh and effects of legal pluralism on the regulation of abortion in Nigeria. It also draws lessons from similar treatment of such issues by the relevant human right bodies through their constituent instruments, case-laws, and jurisprudence. The paper argues that adopting an equality or intersectional approach to address the complexities surrounding abortion in Nigeria holds immense potential for mitigating the historical, legal, and cultural challenges that women face in accessing reproductive healthcare services. Keywords: Abortion, Intersectionality, Equality, Dual publics, Legal pluralism, Nigeria, Introduction The reproductive rights of women have been at the forefront of the feminist agenda in recent times (Ngwena & Durojaye, 2014), but they are often framed with privileged women [...]

This paper aims to analyze gender representation in English for Nursing 1: Vocational English Course Book (Ros et al., 2012) used to teach English for Specific Purposes courses to nursing students at the University of Buraimi in Oman. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were used to investigate the following categories: images, occupational roles, names, pronouns, and gender firstness. Study findings show that women, in general, are more visible than men in the following categories: images, gender firstness, terms of address, and names. Pronouns are the only category in which men outnumbered women. Although traditional gender norms in the workplace are still evident in the textbook in some categories, this study shows that the gender gap between men and women is closing. The current study's findings provide a light of hope for gender balance in school textbooks. Gender equality should be a top focus for textbook authors and designers. Keywords: Education, Textbooks, Gender bias, Gender balance, Education, Nursing, Oman, Arab/Islamic world, Introduction Gender representation in textbooks is important to analyze to develop a critical understanding of gender and its impact on society (Lee, 2018; Tajeddin & Enayat, 2010). Gender representation in [...]

Film Information: Title: Salaam Venky [The Last Hurrah] Director: Revathi Producers: Connekkt Media, Suraj Singh, Shraddha Agrawal, Varsha Kukreja Release Year: 2022 Duration: 131 minutes Genre: Drama Original Language: Hindi [...]

Webbed Connectivities: The Imperial Sociology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality. By Vrushali Patil. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2022. Pp. 209. $108.00 (cloth); $27.00 (paper); $27.00 (e-book). Is the field [...]

It took me a long time to realize that, on the subject of same-sex desire and expression, I find what medieval authors don't say--and how they don't say it--even more [...]

Around 1903 Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) photographed an unclothed child seated on a rock with a dog on his lap. A landscape characteristic of Sicily--an olive tree and a valley--can [...]

In 2019 the conservative Icelandic minister of justice, Aslaug Arna Sigurbjornsdottir, was a speaker at the annual General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, the country's national church. [...]

Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women's Suffrage Movement. By Wendy L. Rouse. New York: NYU Press, 2022. Pp. 248. $28.00 (cloth); $20.00 (paper); $20.00 (e-book). Wendy [...]

Instead of making the bourgeois model of shared senses of interiority into the principle of group belonging, it is crucial to ask how criminal intimacies and cross-class encounters shaped multiple [...]

'There is indeed no worse crippling than the sexual,' Ralph Werther, an androgyne and female impersonator, asserts, and 'this is because sex, with all that it implies, is the principal [...]

The Queer Art of History: Queer Kinship after Fascism. By Jennifer Evans. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2023. Pp. 294. $104.95 (cloth); $27.95 (paper). Sexuality in Modern German History, 1800 [...]

Among traditional fishing families in coastal village areas in Indonesia, women play a strategic role in improving the business they are engaged in and their families' welfare. This study aimed to examine the role and involvement of women in the empowerment and improvement of the welfare of poor, traditional fishing families in coastal areas. This study employed a quantitative research method with a descriptive research type. In addition to collecting data from the results of a survey of 500 respondents, this study also collected qualitative data from the results of in-depth interviews with 25 informants. Women in traditional fishing families play a significant role in supporting the family's financial stability by doing side jobs within or outside the fisheries sector. They have become more empowered, seeking various types of work to support the family's economy. Unfortunately, they do not have long-term goals for the work in which they are involved. Most women in traditional fishing families face obstacles such as capital acquisition, marketing issues, and a strong patriarchal culture that has hampered their work opportunities and developing businesses. Keywords: Fisherwomen, Traditional fishing, Coastal communities, Family welfare, Indonesia, Women's economic empowerment, Introduction Among traditional fishing families in coastal village areas of Indonesia, women play a strategic role in increasing the welfare of the business they are engaged in, even though the [...]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the position of women in Terengganu's copra industry between 1900 and 1941. Coconut is one of the major crops traditionally farmed in Terengganu, and during this time period, excess coconuts were dried, smoked, and grated to become copra. In Terengganu, the copra sector was intimately linked to women, who were innovators creating a variety of coconut-based food and non-food products, including soap, cooking oil, traditional desserts, and more. Nevertheless, prior studies have mostly disregarded the creative role that women played in Terengganu's copra sector during this time. Studies on women from Terengganu have instead concentrated on handicrafts, rice farming, commerce, and fishing. This historical study highlights women's creative innovation and also examines the importance of copra as a crucial export commodity of the state. In addition to secondary sources, primary sources for this project included archival files from the State Secretary of Terengganu, CO 840/1 (Terengganu Administrative Reports, 1910-1930), CO. 840/2 (Terengganu Administrative Reports, 1931-1940), the National Archives of Malaysia, and the National Archives of Kew Garden in London. The results show that in the early 20th century, Malay women made noteworthy contributions to Terengganu's copra sector. As a result, the Terengganu government acknowledged the production of copra as a vital export during this period. Keywords: Malay women, Terengganu, Copra industry, Early-20th-century Malaya, Working women, Agriculture, Cottage Industries, Introduction This paper discusses the historical roles of women in the early-20th-century economy of the Malay Peninsula. It highlights the traditional division of tasks between men and women while emphasizing [...]

In Hong Kong, Indonesian migrant domestic workers (IMDWs) are forced to leave behind young children in their home country. Often spending the majority of their time in their employer's households, they must manage their limited personal time to maintain connections with their families back home. Many women IMDWs try to overcome distance limitations by performing transnational mothering using any available media to reach their children and to manage and witness their development. By using communication tools such as Internet-mediated calls for distance nurturing, they are able to keep up with their children's lives and monitor day-to-day developments. This research examines the role of communication technologies with an emphasis on the use of social media by women IMDWs in maintaining connections with their families back home. It examines the role social media plays in caregiving for women IMDWs, for whom the family and children's wellbeing back home are one of their most important concerns. This research incorporates netnography, which aims to understand online social interactions. The research was conducted from 2013 to 2019 physically in Hong Kong and through virtual channels. The findings indicate how social media is used as an emotional outlet by women IMDWs in Hong Kong, and how emotional care can be maintained to empower the migrant mothers. Social media and information and communication technology (ICT) have greatly improved channels of communication for IMDWs and created a new space of intimacy. Yet social media also has the possibility of creating tensions and anxiety for IMDWs. Keywords: Migrant, Mothers, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Netnography, Social Media, Introduction Migrant laborers and their activities in their host country cannot be separated from issues of gender. Migration is heavily gendered and most Indonesian migrant domestic workers (IMDWs) in Hong [...]

The rapid advancement of information and communication technology affects many aspects of women's lives. One aspect is social media which provides freedom of expression. However, women are vulnerable to becoming victims of online crime. This study sought to reveal the forms of gender-based cyber violence experienced by Indonesian women, its impact on victims, and strategies for protecting victims of gender-based cyber violence (GBCV). This study employed qualitative research methods. Informants in this study were 98 women students who experienced gender-based cyber violence. This study found various forms of GBCV experienced by victims, including being sent pornographic videos or links, invited to chat or video chat sex, invited to engage in online prostitution (Open Booking Online), forced to engage in pornographic content, asked to post a picture of the body, and threatened that a personal video will be shared to the public. Gender-based cyber violence is often accompanied by violence that victims directly experience in the real world, since most of the perpetrators are ex-boyfriends or current boyfriends. This study found that, in addition to experiencing GBCV, victims also experienced physical and/or verbal sexual violence or harassment including whistling, groping, teasing, non-consensual caressing or hugging, rape and forced sex, hearing comments about their appearance, being sent photos of sexual body parts via social media, being told jokes with sexual overtones, engaging in video chat sex, being abused while sleeping, threatened with death, cursed at, videotaped having sex, and forced to drink alcohol. Gender-based cyber violence has a negative impact with varying degrees of severity. For this reason, efforts involving various parties are needed to eliminate GBCV and all forms of gender-based violence. The handling and prevention efforts carried out by various state institutions in Indonesia also need to be supported by other parties, for example, NGOs, schools, communities, and families. The study concludes by discussing various models of protection strategies for victims of GBCV. Keywords: Gender-based cyber violence, Violence against women, Protection of victims of violence, Gender equality, Introduction The rapid advancement of information and communication technology affects many aspects of women's lives. One aspect is social media which allows women to express themselves freely. However, women are [...]