Throughout the 19th century, large numbers of enslaved people were brought from southeastern Africa to work on Somali plantations along the Benadir Coast and Shebelle River. As these southeast Africans were manumitted or escaped bondage, many fled to the west and settled in the heavily forested and fertile Gosha district along the Juba River. Unattached, lacking security, and surrounded by Somalis-speaking groups, these refugees established agricultural communities and were forced to construct new identities. Initially these riverine peoples could easily access clan structures and political institutions of surrounding Somali sub-clans, which in pre-colonial Jubaland were relatively fluid, open, and—in time—would have allowed these groups to become assimilated into Somali society. British colonial rule however changed this flexibility. Somali identity, once porous and accessible, became increasingly more rigid and exclusive, especially towards the riverine ex-slave communities—collectively called the Gosha by the British—who were subsequently marginalized and othered by these new "Somali." This project explores how British colonial rule contributed to this process and argues that in Jubaland province a "Somali" identity coalesced largely in opposition to the Gosha. / Master of Arts

The present study has a threefold aim: First, the theoretical aim is to give a contribution to refinement of the theory of dialogue based feminist ethics, concerning the understanding of judgment and narration within such an ethics.  The study also has an empirical aim, defined as to clarify what kind of knowledge, relevant to the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor, can be received from dialogical interpretation and analysis of a limited selection of critically reflecting life stories. Third, a methodological aim is defined as to develop an approach to interpretation and analysis of reflecting life stories, which renders the storyteller visible as a reflecting moral subject, and makes the story accessible as a source of knowledge for the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor. The thesis combines philosophical reflection and argumentation, with a narrative-hermeneutic method for interpretation of life stories, relating the two to each other in a hermeneutic process.  The theoretical reflection draws on Seyla Benhabibs theory of communicative ethics. A dialogue based model for moral justification and a likewise dialogue based model for political legitimacy are at the heart of this universalistic theory, although in combination with a conception of a narratively and hermeneutically constituted context sensitive moral judgment, based on Hannah Arendt’s concept “enlarged thought”. In the reflection, this model is related to other feminist theorizing within the tradition of dialogue based feminist ethics, as found in the works of Iris M. Young, Georgia Warnke and Shari Stone-Mediatore. The empirical study draws on three critically reflecting life stories from Israeli-Palestinian women activists for a just peace. The methodology for interpretation and analysis that is worked out combines dialogical interpretation as presented in Arthur W. Frank’s socio-narratology with a method for structural analysis derived from Shari Stone-Mediatores theory of storytelling as an expression of political resistance struggle. The results show that some stories drawing on marginalized experiences have a potential­ to stimulate further public debate through their capacity to enable a stereoscopic seeing, elucidating a tension between ideologically structured discourse and non-linguistic experience; implying that narrative-hermeneutic competence should be considered crucial for public debate.

Cette recherche-action participative s’inscrit dans un paradigme féministe intersectionnelle. Elle présente la façon dont sept jeunes femmes de la rue (18-23 ans) de Québec ont fait l’expérience de la violence structurelle et ont déployé des stratégies pour y faire face. Elle s’articule autour d’une définition de la violence structurelle inspirée de celle proposée par Farmer, Bourgois, Scheper-Hugues et al. (2004) qui la présentent comme étant le processus à la racine des inégalités sociales et de l’oppression vécue par différents groupes sociaux. Ce processus s’opère dans trois dimensions complémentaires soit : 1) la domination symbolique, 2) la violence institutionnelle et 3) la violence quotidienne. Une analyse de contenu thématique a permis de dégager l’expérience des participantes dans chacune de ces dimensions. L’analyse de la domination symbolique a montré que les participantes ont été perçues à travers le prisme de quatre visions ou préjugés : 1) l’image de la jeune délinquante (Bad girl), 2) le discours haineux envers les personnes assistées sociales, 3) la culture du viol et 4) l’hétéronormativité. Les différentes expériences de violence quotidienne et institutionnelle vécues par les participantes peuvent être mises en lien avec ces manifestations de la domination symbolique. Les participantes ont expérimenté la violence institutionnelle à travers leurs trajectoires au sein des services de protection de l’enfance, durant leurs démarches pour obtenir un emploi, un logement ou du soutien financier de la part des programmes offerts par l’État et pendant leurs demandes d’aide auprès d’organismes communautaires ou d’établissements du réseau de la santé et des services sociaux. L’analyse de l’expérience des participantes a permis de révéler deux processus imbriqués de façon cyclique de violence structurelle : l’exclusion et le contrôle social. La plupart des stratégies ii expérimentées par les participantes pour combler leurs besoins fondamentaux les ont exposées au contrôle social. Le contrôle social a exacerbé les difficultés financières des participantes et a accru leur crainte de subir de l’exclusion. Bien que la violence structurelle expérimentée par les participantes se situe à la croisée des rapports de pouvoir liée au genre, à la classe sociale, à l’âge et à l’orientation sexuelle, il se dégage que la domination masculine s’est traduite dans le quotidien des participantes, car l’exclusion et le contrôle social ont créé des contextes où elles ont été susceptibles de subir une agression sexuelle ou de vivre de la violence de la part d’un partenaire intime. L’analyse de la dimension intersubjective de la grille d’analyse de Yuval-Davis (2006) montre la présence de certains rapports de pouvoir liés à la classe sociale au sein même de la population des jeunes de la rue. Cette analyse souligne également la difficulté des participantes à définir les contours de la violence et d’adopter des rapports égalitaires avec les hommes. Enfin, le processus de recherche-action participative expérimenté dans le cadre de cette thèse a été analysé à partir des critères de scientificité présentés par Reason et Bradbury (2001). L’élaboration de deux projets photos, choisis par le groupe en guise de stratégie de lutte contre la violence structurelle, a contribué à ouvrir le dialogue avec différents acteurs concernés par la violence structurelle envers les jeunes femmes de la rue et s’est inscrit dans une perspective émancipatoire. / This participatory action-research shows how seven street involved young women (18-23 years) in Quebec have experienced structural violence and how they deployed strategies to overcome. It is based on a definition of structural violence inspired by Farmer, Bourgois Scheper-Hughes et al., (2004) who presents this as the root of social inequality and oppression experienced by several social groups. This process operates in three complementary dimensions: 1) the symbolic domination, 2) institutional violence, and 3) the daily violence. A content analysis has identified the participants experience in each of these dimensions. The analysis of symbolic domination revealed that participants were seen through four prejudices: 1) the bad girl, 2) prejudices against welfare recipients, 3) rape culture and 4) heteronormativity. The violence of everyday life and institutional violence experienced by participants may be connected with symbolic domination. Participants experienced institutional violence during their paths within the child protective system, through their efforts to get a job, housing or financial support from government programs, and during their requests for help from community organizations or establishments of the health and social services. It reveals two patterns of structural violence that mutually reinforce each other in a cycle: Social exclusion and social control. Most of participant’s strategies to overcome social exclusion and to fulfill their needs make them vulnerable to social control. Social control helps increase their financial difficulties and their fear of exclusion. These two patterns of structural violence had created context for sexual victimization and intimate partner violence. While structural violence experiences by participants is at the crossroads of power relationship related to gender, social class, age and sexual orientation, it emerges that male domiiv nance is reflected in participants daily life. The analysis of the intersubjective dimension of Yuval-Davis grid (2006) identifies power relationship within the population of street youth, participants struggle to defining violence and to adopt egalitarian relationships with men. Finally, an analysis of the participatory action-research process experienced in this thesis was conducted from Reason and Bradbury (2001)’s criteria of validity. The development of two photo projects, selected by the group as a strategy against structural violence, helped open a dialogue with various stakeholders involved in structural violence against street-involved young women.

Alors que les activités anthropiques font basculer de nombreux écosystèmes vers des régimes fonctionnels différents, la résilience des systèmes socio-écologiques devient un problème pressant. Des acteurs locaux, impliqués dans une grande diversité de groupes — allant d’initiatives locales et indépendantes à de grandes institutions formelles — peuvent agir sur ces questions en collaborant au développement, à la promotion ou à l’implantation de pratiques plus en accord avec ce que l’environnement peut fournir. De ces collaborations répétées émergent des réseaux complexes, et il a été montré que la topologie de ces réseaux peut améliorer la résilience des systèmes socio-écologiques (SSÉ) auxquels ils participent. La topologie des réseaux d’acteurs favorisant la résilience de leur SSÉ est caractérisée par une combinaison de plusieurs facteurs : la structure doit être modulaire afin d’aider les différents groupes à développer et proposer des solutions à la fois plus innovantes (en réduisant l’homogénéisation du réseau), et plus proches de leurs intérêts propres ; elle doit être bien connectée et facilement synchronisable afin de faciliter les consensus, d’augmenter le capital social, ainsi que la capacité d’apprentissage ; enfin, elle doit être robuste, afin d’éviter que les deux premières caractéristiques ne souffrent du retrait volontaire ou de la mise à l’écart de certains acteurs. Ces caractéristiques, qui sont relativement intuitives à la fois conceptuellement et dans leur application mathématique, sont souvent employées séparément pour analyser les qualités structurales de réseaux d’acteurs empiriques. Cependant, certaines sont, par nature, incompatibles entre elles. Par exemple, le degré de modularité d’un réseau ne peut pas augmenter au même rythme que sa connectivité, et cette dernière ne peut pas être améliorée tout en améliorant sa robustesse. Cet obstacle rend difficile la création d’une mesure globale, car le niveau auquel le réseau des acteurs contribue à améliorer la résilience du SSÉ ne peut pas être la simple addition des caractéristiques citées, mais plutôt le résultat d’un compromis subtil entre celles-ci. Le travail présenté ici a pour objectifs (1), d’explorer les compromis entre ces caractéristiques ; (2) de proposer une mesure du degré auquel un réseau empirique d’acteurs contribue à la résilience de son SSÉ ; et (3) d’analyser un réseau empirique à la lumière, entre autres, de ces qualités structurales. Cette thèse s’articule autour d’une introduction et de quatre chapitres numérotés de 2 à 5. Le chapitre 2 est une revue de la littérature sur la résilience des SSÉ. Il identifie une série de caractéristiques structurales (ainsi que les mesures de réseaux qui leur correspondent) liées à l’amélioration de la résilience dans les SSÉ. Le chapitre 3 est une étude de cas sur la péninsule d’Eyre, une région rurale d’Australie-Méridionale où l’occupation du sol, ainsi que les changements climatiques, contribuent à l’érosion de la biodiversité. Pour cette étude de cas, des travaux de terrain ont été effectués en 2010 et 2011 durant lesquels une série d’entrevues a permis de créer une liste des acteurs de la cogestion de la biodiversité sur la péninsule. Les données collectées ont été utilisées pour le développement d’un questionnaire en ligne permettant de documenter les interactions entre ces acteurs. Ces deux étapes ont permis la reconstitution d’un réseau pondéré et dirigé de 129 acteurs individuels et 1180 relations. Le chapitre 4 décrit une méthodologie pour mesurer le degré auquel un réseau d’acteurs participe à la résilience du SSÉ dans lequel il est inclus. La méthode s’articule en deux étapes : premièrement, un algorithme d’optimisation (recuit simulé) est utilisé pour fabriquer un archétype semi-aléatoire correspondant à un compromis entre des niveaux élevés de modularité, de connectivité et de robustesse. Deuxièmement, un réseau empirique (comme celui de la péninsule d’Eyre) est comparé au réseau archétypique par le biais d’une mesure de distance structurelle. Plus la distance est courte, et plus le réseau empirique est proche de sa configuration optimale. La cinquième et dernier chapitre est une amélioration de l’algorithme de recuit simulé utilisé dans le chapitre 4. Comme il est d’usage pour ce genre d’algorithmes, le recuit simulé utilisé projetait les dimensions du problème multiobjectif dans une seule dimension (sous la forme d’une moyenne pondérée). Si cette technique donne de très bons résultats ponctuellement, elle n’autorise la production que d’une seule solution parmi la multitude de compromis possibles entre les différents objectifs. Afin de mieux explorer ces compromis, nous proposons un algorithme de recuit simulé multiobjectifs qui, plutôt que d’optimiser une seule solution, optimise une surface multidimensionnelle de solutions. Cette étude, qui se concentre sur la partie sociale des systèmes socio-écologiques, améliore notre compréhension des structures actorielles qui contribuent à la résilience des SSÉ. Elle montre que si certaines caractéristiques profitables à la résilience sont incompatibles (modularité et connectivité, ou — dans une moindre mesure — connectivité et robustesse), d’autres sont plus facilement conciliables (connectivité et synchronisabilité, ou — dans une moindre mesure — modularité et robustesse). Elle fournit également une méthode intuitive pour mesurer quantitativement des réseaux d’acteurs empiriques, et ouvre ainsi la voie vers, par exemple, des comparaisons d’études de cas, ou des suivis — dans le temps — de réseaux d’acteurs. De plus, cette thèse inclut une étude de cas qui fait la lumière sur l’importance de certains groupes institutionnels pour la coordination des collaborations et des échanges de connaissances entre des acteurs aux intérêts potentiellement divergents. / As anthropic activities are slowly pushing many ecosystems towards their functional tipping points, social-ecological resilience has become a pressing concern. Local stakeholders, acting within a diversity of groups — from grassroots organizations to higher-scale institutional structures — may act on these issues and collaborate to develop, promote, and implement more sustainable practices. From these repeated collaborations emerge complex networks, the topologies of which have been shown to either enhance or hinder social-ecological systems’ (SES) resilience. The main topological characteristics of a stakeholder network enhancing SES’s resilience include a combination of: a highly modular community structure, which helps groups of stakeholders develop and propose solutions both more innovative (by reducing knowledge homogeneity in the network), and close to their interest and values; high connectivity and synchronizability, in order to improve consensus building, social capital and learning capacity; and high robustness so as to prevent the first two characteristics from sharply decreasing if some stakeholders were to leave the network. These characteristics are straight-forward both in concept and in their mathematical implementation, and have often been used separately to discuss the structural qualities of stakeholder networks in case studies. However, some of these topological features inherently contradict each other. For example, modularity is in direct conflict with connectivity, which is in conflict with a network’s robustness. This issue makes the creation of a more global measure difficult, as the level to which stakeholders contribute to enhancing SES’s resilience cannot simply be a summation of these features, but instead needs to be the outcome of a delicate trade-off between them. The present study aims to: (1) explore the trade-offs at work between these structural features; (2) produce a measure of how well-suited empirical stakeholder networks are to enhancing the resilience of their SES; and (3) thoroughly analyze an empirical stakeholder network in the context, among other things, of its resilience-enhancing qualities. This dissertation is organized in four parts. The first part (Chapter 2) is a review of the literature on SES resilience. It identifies a series of structural features (as well as their corresponding network metrics) associated with resilience-enhancement in SES. The second part (Chapter 3) is a case study on the Eyre Peninsula (EP), a rural region of South Australia where land-use, as well as climate change, contribute to biodiversity erosion. For this case study, field work was conducted in 2010 and 2011, during which time a series of face-to-face interviews was conducted to populate a list of individuals — and groups of individuals — holding a stake in biodiversity conservation on the EP. The data was thereafter used to develop an online questionnaire documenting interactions between these stakeholders. The two steps led to produce a weighted, directed network of 129 stakeholders interacting through 1180 collaboration links. The third part (Chapter 4) describes a methodology to measure the level to which stakeholder networks contribute to resilience-building in SES. The method is articulated in two steps: (i) an optimization algorithm (simulated annealing — SA —) is used to craft a semi-random archetypal network which scores high in one compromise of modularity, connectivity, synchronizability, and robustness, and (ii) an empirical stakeholder networks (such as our EP network) is compared to the archetypal network through a measure of structural distance. The shorter the distance, the closer the empirical network is to its ideal configuration. The fourth and last part of the dissertation research (Chapter 5) is an improvement on the simulated annealing used in Chapter 4. As is frequently done for this kind of optimization technique, the SA used in Chapter 4 projected the four dimensions of the multi-objective problem into one (as a weighted average). While performing well, this only resolves one of the possible trade-offs between the objectives. To better explore the trade-offs at work in this optimization problem, a true multi-objective simulated annealing (MOSA) is proposed where, instead of optimizing one solution, the algorithm optimizes a multidimensional surface of solutions scoring better than the others in a least one of the objectives. This study, which focuses on the social part of SESs, improves our understanding of the stakeholder collaboration structures which, theoretically, best contribute to resilient SESs. It shows that while some resilience-enhancing topological characteristics are in conflict (modularity vs. connectivity, and connectivity vs. robustness to a lesser extent) others can be easily reconciled (connectivity vs. synchronizability, and, less-so, modularity vs. robustness). It also provides an intuitive method to quantitatively assess empirical stakeholder networks, which opens the way to comparisons between case studies, or monitoring of stakeholder network evolution through time. Additionally, this thesis provides a case study which highlights the importance of a key institutional group in coordinating collaborations and information exchanges among other stakeholders of potentially diverging interests and values.

Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of first-generation, highly educated Iranian women who came to Canada to pursue further education in a ‘just’, ‘safe’, and ‘peaceful’ place. The research has revealed that these women who were fleeing from an ‘oppressive’ and ‘unjust’ Iranian regime face new challenges and different forms of oppression in Canada. This dissertation examines some of the challenges that these women face at their place of work and/or at graduate school. The research findings are based on narratives of eleven Iranian women who participated in in-depth interviews in the summer of 2008. These women, whose ages range from 26 to 55 and are of diverse marital status, all hold an academic degree from Iran. They were also all enrolled in different graduate schools and diverse disciplines in Ontario universities at the time of the interviews. The research findings indicate that their presence in Canada became more controversial after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade centers in New York. Historically, the social images imposed on Middle Eastern women derive from the Orientalism that arose following the colonization of the Middle East by Western imperialists. The perpetuation of such images after the 9/11 attack has created a harsh environment for the participants in this research. After 9/11 most immigrants from the Middle East were assumed to be Muslim and Arab, which many North Americans came to equate with being a terrorist. In order to analyze the participants’ voices and experiences, I have adopted a multi-critical theoretical perspective that includes Orientalism, anti-colonialism and integrative anti-racist feminist perspectives, so as to be equipped with the tools necessary to investigate and expose the roots of racism, oppression and discrimination of these marginalized voices. The findings of this research fall under six interrelated themes: adaptation, stereotyping, discrimination, being silenced, strategy of resistance, and belonging to Canadian society/ graduate school. One of the important results of this research is that, regardless of the suffering and pain that the participants feel in Canadian graduate school and society, they prefer to stay in Canada because of the socio-political climate in Iran.

Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of first-generation, highly educated Iranian women who came to Canada to pursue further education in a ‘just’, ‘safe’, and ‘peaceful’ place. The research has revealed that these women who were fleeing from an ‘oppressive’ and ‘unjust’ Iranian regime face new challenges and different forms of oppression in Canada. This dissertation examines some of the challenges that these women face at their place of work and/or at graduate school. The research findings are based on narratives of eleven Iranian women who participated in in-depth interviews in the summer of 2008. These women, whose ages range from 26 to 55 and are of diverse marital status, all hold an academic degree from Iran. They were also all enrolled in different graduate schools and diverse disciplines in Ontario universities at the time of the interviews. The research findings indicate that their presence in Canada became more controversial after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade centers in New York. Historically, the social images imposed on Middle Eastern women derive from the Orientalism that arose following the colonization of the Middle East by Western imperialists. The perpetuation of such images after the 9/11 attack has created a harsh environment for the participants in this research. After 9/11 most immigrants from the Middle East were assumed to be Muslim and Arab, which many North Americans came to equate with being a terrorist. In order to analyze the participants’ voices and experiences, I have adopted a multi-critical theoretical perspective that includes Orientalism, anti-colonialism and integrative anti-racist feminist perspectives, so as to be equipped with the tools necessary to investigate and expose the roots of racism, oppression and discrimination of these marginalized voices. The findings of this research fall under six interrelated themes: adaptation, stereotyping, discrimination, being silenced, strategy of resistance, and belonging to Canadian society/ graduate school. One of the important results of this research is that, regardless of the suffering and pain that the participants feel in Canadian graduate school and society, they prefer to stay in Canada because of the socio-political climate in Iran.

L’Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours, ou « Église mormone », émargea au cours de la première moitié du XIXe siècle dans une Amérique en proie à des mutations sociales et religieuses. Joseph Smith, son prophète-fondateur, l’inscrivit dès le départ dans une radicalité doctrinale en « protestant » les fondamentaux du christianisme tels qu’ils avaient été définis et acceptés auparavant. Il s’attira de ce fait le courroux des « Églises établies », en particulier de celles du protestantisme évangélique. Malgré une américanité foncière, sa religion fut affublée de l’étiquette « un-american » et ses disciples furent persécutés, poussés à édifier leur « Sion » sur la « Frontière », puis dans l’Ouest, à la périphérie de la société américaine. Contrairement à bien d’autres groupes religieux ou de mouvements utopiques, les « mormons » réussirent à transformer leur marginalisation en force, développant par la même occasion des particularismes qui firent d’eux un « peuple à part ». Or, ils s’éveillèrent aussi à l’évidence que pour échapper aux persécutions, ils devaient se positionner au cœur de l’action politique du pays. L’investiture de Mitt Romney par le Parti républicain pour l’élection présidentielle de 2012 témoigne de leur réussite. Mais comment cela fut-il possible ? Romney fut aussi l’objet d’une formidable opposition religieuse au cours de la phase des primaires du Parti qui n’est pas sans rappeler celles fomentées par les protestants contre les catholiques Al Smith (1928) et John F. Kennedy (1960). Comment expliquer ce refus de voir un mormon à la Maison blanche ? Nous répondons dans cette thèse à ces questions, et à bien d’autres, notamment en illustrant le fait que Romney, J. F. Kennedy et Al Smith eurent un prédécesseur en Reed Smoot, apôtre mormon dont l’élection en 1902 au Sénat fédéral fut à l’origine du plus grand procès politico-religieux d’Amérique. / The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or “Mormon Church,” emerged during the first half of the 19th century while America was undergoing social and religious changes. Right from the outset, Joseph Smith, the prophet-founder, set the Church in a radical opposition, “protesting” the dogma of traditional Christianity as they had been defined and accepted for centuries. He attracted the ire of the “established Churches” of Evangelical Protestantism. In spite of the profound Americanness of his religion, it was labeled un-american and his followers were persecuted, driven out, and forced to build their “Zion” on the Frontier, and then in the West, on the margins of American society. Unlike several other religious groups and utopian movements, the “Mormons” managed to turn their marginalization into strength, developing thereby traits that made them “a peculiar people.” Yet, they also realized that to escape persecutions, they had to be at the center of the nation’s politics. The nomination of Mitt Romney by the Republican Party for the 2012 presidential election testifies to their success. How did that come about? Romney was also the object of a sturdy religious opposition during the Party’s primaries that reminded the ones set up by the Protestants in the cases of Al Smith (1928) and of John F. Kennedy (1960). How does one account for this refusal to see a Mormon in the White House? In this dissertation, we answer these questions, and to many more, particularly as we illustrate the fact that Romney, J. F. Kennedy and Al Smith had a predecessor in Reed Smoot, a Mormon apostle whose election in 1902 to the U.S. Senate set the tone for the greatest religiously and politically-motivated trial ever in American history.

The purpose of this study is to understand the lack of inclusion of young adults from resource-poor areas when it comes to public cultural institutions, e.g., visits to art exhibitions, theaters and libraries. Previous research has shown that the Swedish culture is socioeconomically divided when it comes to the cultural participation (Lundquist 2017; Myndigheten för kulturanalys 2019; Magnusson & Wärnlöf Bové 2019). There are still inequalities – not all residents have the same opportunity to participate in cultural contexts. With the help from six young adults from resource-poor areas in the city of Gothenburg, semi-structured interviews are held to evaluate the reasons of why the cultural participation is low. By applying key concepts from Pierre Bourdieu's (Bourdieu 1962 see Broady 1988) theory such as cultural capital and habitus, the findings suggests that there is a place-bound identity creation of the informants that not only creates their identity, but also limits them as individuals. Another key finding is that the multiethnic environment in these areas are also sociocultural conditions for participations in new contexts. Additionally, the informants cultural capital turned out to be low, yet different for every informant of why their cultural participation is low.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Descriptions about the matting of hair given by medical practitioners show a significant commonality indicating it as a historic health problem prevalent across the globe, however with less clarity about its etiopathogenesis. In southwestern India, the emergence of matting of hair is considered a deific phenomenon; consequently, people worship the emerged matted hair and restrict its removal. Superstitious beliefs impose a ritualistic lifestyle on affected women depriving them of health and well-being, further leading to stigma, social isolation, and marginalization. For unmarried females, the matting of hair can result in dedication to the coercive devadasi custom whereby women end up marrying a god or goddess. To date, the state, academia, and disciplines such as medicine and psychology have paid far too little attention to the social, cultural, and health concerns of the women affected by matted hair. A Heideggerian interpretive phenomenological study was conducted to document the lived experience of women affected by the phenomenon of matting of hair. The subjective accounts of 13 jata-affected women selected through purposive sampling were documented to understand their health and human rights marginalization through harmful cultural practices surrounding matting of hair. Seven distinct thematic areas emerged from the study exemplified their lived experience as jata-affected women. The prevalent gender-based inequity revealed substantial vulnerability of women to health and human rights marginalization through harmful cultural practices. The ontological structure of the lived experience of matting of hair highlighted the unreflective internalization of religious-based discourse of matting of hair. The hermeneutic exploration revealed events that exemplified jata-affected women’s compromised religiosity, and control of their well-being, human development, and ontological security. The religious-based interpretation of matting of hair and associated practices marginalize the health and human rights of affected women through family members, institutions, society, and religious-based systems. The study demonstrates the need for collaborative, evidence-based interventions and for effective domestic as well as global policies to prevent the health and human rights violations of women through cultural practices. The study offered foundational evidential documentation of the phenomenon of matting of hair as a harmful cultural practice that compromises women’s right to health and well-being.

No description available.