This study comparatively analyzes the narratives containing six international graduate student mothers’ lived experiences. Stories about intersectional identities and their transformation process through new experiences were reconstructed by the participants as storytellers. These student mothers are enrolled in international master’s programs in Sweden, who are underrepresented population in higher education research. Also, Sweden as a host country and learning setting is an under-researched location for this topic. The findings show that IGSMs (International graduate student mothers) learning and living abroad experiences include various challenges and diverse enablers. Their experiences are shaped by the host country, the institute, and the people around them. They experienced that social and cultural values embedded in the specific learning space affected their experiences, and the participants also felt it through social and cultural differences and transformation in themselves. All participants had a unique intersection of their multiple identities, and they made their strategies to deal with dilemmas and struggles. They learned new perspectives, attitudes, and lessons from interactions with other individuals, culture shock, observing differences, and through their studies and family. This study provides a chance to understand how female learners make sense of the ‘self’ and the world around them and how they transform their perspectives in international higher education settings while they face important phases in their family and academic life.

This study tried to counter the stigmatized narratives in Molenbeek and nuance the stigma bybringing to the forefront the experiences and views of the local inhabitants through storytellingand an ethnographic approach. I have interviewed both inhabitants of Molenbeek and a plannerfrom the municipality of Molenbeek to understand both the discourse of the inhabitants andthat of the planners at the municipal level about current urban development projects in andaround Molenbeek. With the empirical tale, I was able to present both discourses as if theywere discussing together to see where they differ or agree. I used the theory of territorial stigmaof Wacquant et al. (2014) to analyze to what extent the situation in Molenbeek can be explainedwith the theory of territorial stigma. I found that territorial stigma seems to fit the currentsituation of Molenbeek and its stigmatized inhabitants to a certain extent but underestimatesthe feeling of community between inhabitants. This study has shown that the urban and socialsituation in Molenbeek is much more complex than the stigma and stereotypes narrated. Futureresearch should look into the discourse of developers and their relation to territorial stigma.Finally, I hope this study will inspire urban planners to engage in storytelling and to be criticalof their own story realm. By listening to other stories and including them in their planningprocess they will be able to create more inclusive and richer spaces, which should be the goalof every urban development project.

This thesis addresses the pervasive influence of coloniality in the lived experiences of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. Based in intersectional and decolonial feminist theories and methodology, my aim was to centre the silenced narratives of this marginalised group. By highlighting the conditional nature of hospitality, which perpetuates the asymmetrical power imbalance between the superior ‘host’ and inferior ‘guest’, the aim was to show how coloniality impacts the social and ethical dimension of the lives of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. Simultaneously, I tried, together with the research participants, to find decolonial options to resist this coloniality, while proposing alternatives for a more humane and equitable decolonial otherwise. After conducting conversations with six asylum seeker men, I found that they face multiple colonial encounters on a daily basis, presenting in exclusionary patterns of racialization and victimisation, systems of control that erode their agency, while leaving them in a liminal state of uncertainty. With the use of thematic analysis, I concluded that decolonial resistance against this means the right to speak out, the right to refuse assimilation and the establishment of community that is grounded in relationality and pluriversality, rejecting the conditional nature of the existing colonial system, while welcoming everybody not as just guests, but as full members who are capable of co-creating a better, hospitable society and decolonial future.

In this thesis, I have studied the United Nations concluding observations on Sweden in relation to international human rights obligations. Specifically, in regards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).  The Committee on the Rights of the Child have, in their Concluding Observations from 2023, expressed a deep concern about continued racism and discrimination of many children in Sweden. Meanwhile, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recommended Sweden to take immediate measures for the purpose of eliminating all forms of racial discrimination.  In terms of critical analysis, the aim of this thesis has been to study how the Swedish state's international human rights obligations for the purpose of eliminating racial discrimination relates to the implementation of children's rights according to the principle of non-discrimination. According to my study, it is necessary for the Swedish state to promote and respect the human dignity inherent in every child, to be able to guarantee every child within the jurisdiction the rights under the CRC. A central example is the child's right to education in alignment with general human rights principles. Therefore, it is required for the state to prevent the normalization of racism in Sweden, in accordance with the international human rights obligations under the ICERD. This includes, for example, the prohibition of racist organizations in national law, for the purpose of eliminating racist hate speech, and the elimination of racial profiling by national law enforcement. Many children's living conditions and access to the rights under the CRC are affected by racism in several ways, through structural and everyday racism, when they themselves are exposed to racism and when people in their close surroundings experience racism. This has led me to the conclusion that active and immediate measures by the Swedish state, for the purpose of eliminating racial discrimination, are necessary for the possibility of guaranteeing the children who are victims of racism their rights in alignment with the CRC.

The aim behind this study was to observe and understand barriers to access the eHealth system equally. The study was conducted in Stockholm based on qualitative data in which semi- structured interviews were conducted among 15 interviewees from different localities of Stockholm. The findings from the collected data revealed that language barriers, lack of knowledge about digital literacy, unawareness of Swedish healthcare services, psychological and social barriers, safety and privacy concerns, and the lack of an e-identification are all major barriers to accessing the eHealth system. From the data, it has also been observed that the main causes of the aforementioned hurdles are based on varied socioeconomic levels, literacy conditions of an individual, cultural background, and age. Another important observation shows that highly qualified people with limited language abilities have a difficult time using eHealth services.  Keywords  Ehealth, Covid-19, nudge approach, digital literacy, linguistic skills, Bank ID, 1177.se, Alltid öppet.

Human Trafficking, also known as Trafficking in Persons, or Modern-Day Slavery, is a multibillion-dollar industry that consumes millions of individuals from diverse social, cultural, racial, national, or gender backgrounds. Human trafficking can take many forms: labor, organ, and sex trafficking. It is a crime where people are treated as objects, goods, and commodities, becoming subjects to mental and physical abuse.  To this day, women and children are the ones receiving the most attention when talking about this crime, for men are neglected and overlooked due to socially constructed gender roles. However, male trafficking victims are often overlooked and under-researched but are just as subjected to physical, forced labor, sexual abuse, or any other form of trafficking as female human trafficking victims.  Therefore, this paper aims to provide an introduction to male trafficking victims through the lenses of structural violence, masculinity, (mis-) recognition, and governance theories. Despite an existing focus on female trafficking victims, this study endeavors to draw upon the experiences of male trafficking victims.  Lastly, acknowledging male trafficking victims could help raise awareness about the main issue and work towards its complete abolishment. Most importantly, it can help break down stereotypes that are circulating around human trafficking and gender roles.

[pt] O presente trabalho investiga a constitucionalização, validade e facticidade do direito dos quilombos no Brasil com fundamento na ética do discurso de Habermas. A partir de casos concretos se tentou demonstrar a força da etnicidade na definição do direito dos quilombos, bem como o modo como as instituições jurídicas e políticas atuam na dinâmica de conflito em torno destes direitos. Buscou-se analisar o discurso parlamentar, judicial, do Ministério Público, agentes do mercado, da burocracia e do saber antropológicos na operação da dinâmica em torno da aplicação dos direitos étnicos e territoriais das comunidades negras rurais remanescentes de quilombos. Observa-se do ponto de vista sociológico o controle de constitucionalidade abstrato e concreto e a judicialização das relações étnicas no campo específico dos quilombos. Faz-se também análise dos discursos especializados no campo do direito, da antropologia e da historiografia em torno do Art. 68 do Ato das Disposições Constitucionais Transitórias – ADCT da Carta Constitucional de 1988. / [en] This paper investigates the constitutionalization, validity and factuality of the rights of Quilombos in Brazil basis it on the ethical Habermas s speech. From concrete cases it was tried to demonstrate the strength of the ethnicity in defining the right of Quilombos, and how the legal and political institutions work in the dynamics of conflict around these rights. It was sought to analyze the speech of Parliamentary, Judicial, Prosecution, Market Agents, Bureaucracy Agents and the Anthropological knowladge on the dynamics of the operation around the application of ethnic and territorial rigths of the remaining rural black communities of quilombos. From the sociological point of view the constitutional control abstract and concrete and the legalization of ethnic relations in the specific field of quilombos. It is also analyse specialized discourses in the field of Law, Anthropology and Historiography around the article 68 of the Constitutional Provisions - ADCT of the Constitutional Charter of 1988.

This research examines the impacts and implications of the Philippine labor export migration policy on the human rights conditions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Kuwait, Hungary, and Poland with the specific objectives of determining the adequacy of legal protections provided by the policy. Through the use of a mixed-methods approach, which included qualitative field interviews and quantitative analysis, along with policy examination and an interdisciplinary approach, this research has uncovered alarming patterns of “alienation” and “systematic precarization” of migrant workers. This has resulted in the deterioration of the employment conditions of OFWs. The study, as extensively discussed in Chapters 6 and 7, has shown that the precarization of migrant workers is continuously occurring in Central Europe, specifically in Hungary and Poland. Meanwhile, OFWs in both contexts, Kuwait and Central Europe, have been subjected to highly exploitative and oppressive working conditions comparable to historical servitude and state-induced debt bondage. Notwithstanding the Philippine labor export migration law (RA 10022) designed to protect OFWs, this study has found that it falls short of providing complete protective measures, especially with regard to abusive treatment, systematic alienation, and precarization of migrant workers. The study also shows that OFWs are trapped in a vicious cycle, where the breakdown of employee-employer relationships and enslavement-like treatment result in a violent crackdown on their fundamental rights, leading to their unfortunate fate. Therefore, there is an urgent need for policy reforms to improve the legal dimension of OFWs’ protection abroad. This calls for reconsidering the Philippine labor export migration policy absorbed toward the promotion of just, fair, and inclusive international and national labor migration regulation to meet the challenges posed by neoliberal policies.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 1901, three German American candidates ran for the office of mayor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The winner, Henry Berghoff, had emigrated from Germany as a teenager. This thesis examines the election discourse in the partisan press for signs of ethnic tension. The first chapter places Fort Wayne in historical context of German immigration and Indiana history. The second and third chapters investigate the editorial pages for evidence of ethnic tension. I also reference a few articles of an editorial nature outside of the editorial pages. The second chapter provides background information about the election and examines indications of the candidates’ ethnicity and references to the German language papers. The third chapter considers the editorial comment about Germany, the intertwining of ethnicity and the issues, and ethnic name-calling. In order to identify underlying bias for or against Germany and to better understand the context of the references to German ethnicity, the fourth chapter explores the portrayal of Germany in the Fort Wayne papers.

A tragic massacre in May 1921, commonly referred to as the Bulhoek Massacre, was associated with the ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, founded by Enoch Mgijima. If it were not for the theology of eschatology that this church adhered to, the so-called Bulhoek Massacre would not have happened. The theology of eschatology which Mgijima was focussing on caused the ecclesiology of the amaSirayeli to be the victims of the circumstances. Dulles defines ecclesiology as the church in the process of self actualisation. There is self understanding of worshippers. In the case of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, such self-understanding caused the Bulhoek Massacre. It is said that when people fervently believe in an Ultimate Being, whether such belief is a construction in their minds or a reality, then those people will be willing to defend their belief and die for, if it needs to be. For such a believer, it is because of the hope for a better life in the future that they are willing to even defy earthly authorities. When that believer follows a voice of the supernatural, which is revealed only to him and sounds much louder, much clearer and more authoritative than human voices, it is then that he cannot be void. Such an authoritative voice may be transmitted either through ancestors, known as the living dead, or directly from the Supreme Being. In the case of the said church, it is both. Secondly, an ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ should be understood in the light of their mother church in America under the leadership of Crowdy the founder. Such ecclesiology should also be understood against the religious backdrop of the African Initiated Churches (AIC). These two factors, the mother church in America and the religion of the African Initiated Churches, will be the main components that drive this thesis, and thus illuminate the spark in the said church. Owing to the proliferation of the African Initiated Churches in the continent of Africa, there is a wide speculation that Africa, of the 21st century, will be the centre of World Christianity. Whether this is just a dream or a reality remains to be realized. But the fact remains that, these churches continue to be a religious force that forms part of the church history in Africa. While this thesis will constantly be referring to the 1921 events, an ecclesiology of the said church is a present phenomenon because the church survived the massacre and is still active today. The two researchers, Robert Edgar from Los Angeles University in the USA, and Martin Mandew from the University of Natal, completed their doctoral theses on the Bulhoek Massacre. Edgar was researching on, The Fifth Seal. Enoch Mgijima, The amaSirayeli Bulhoek Massacre, 1921. Mandew concentrated on, War, Memory and Salvation, The Bulhoek Massacre and the Construction of a Contextual Soteriology. Since both researchers come from a distance, and are unable to speak the language of the people they were researching, there were of obviously unfilled gaps in between. As mentioned about cultural differences, therefore, knowing the language of the worshippers makes a big difference. There needs some analysis of idiomatic expressions, enunciated and other formal and informal expressions that tend to be important during communication. However, I acknowledge their research programme but I will go further from their product. This thesis examines the ecclesiology of this church and then relates it to the massacre where they were killed for their own beliefs. It is also important to analyse, as this thesis does, the church-state relations in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to establish how other religious bodies related to the governments of the said period. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)