This research explores Palestinian refugee women’s political rights through a broader examination of the gender dynamics in one refugee camp in Lebanon. Using two focus groups and individual interviews with 20 women, the research highlights the patriarchal and colonial structures that dominate the women’s lives, preventing them not only from engaging in political activities, but also hindering their opportunities for work and socialization outside their immediate familial spheres. The political disillusionment within the researched and broader Palestinian community, as a result of the encroaching project of Empire as defined by Hardt and Negri, has created a divided Palestinian cause, a failed youth, and a society attempting to hold on to its identity. However, along with that comes the oppression of a sub-section of that society – the women; the remaining possession that the men have. Women who previously engaged in armed resistance have not advanced politically, socially, or economically – and in fact the history of their struggles are being erased as surely as their land is. Nonetheless, pockets of resistance – a Multitude – of women, agents in their own fates, are fighting the current towards a more emancipatory future for themselves and future Palestinian men and women.

This research investigates the potential of digital platforms to broaden the scope of action and empower permaculture communities in their attempt to challenge the capitalist mode of production regarding topics such as food harvesting and consumption patterns. It draws on Manzini’s (2018) critique of neoliberalism and his discussion on designing for social innovation, which suggests focusing on and enhancing existing members' capabilities rather than their needs; fostering cross-collaboration within and among communities; and allowing these collaborations to mature over time. It combines design thinking and co-design to develop further a previously existing proof of concept of a mapping platform that connects permaculture initiatives in Brazil. When it was created in 2018, this platform was tested by potential users who underscored severe usability limitations, and as a result, it was never fully implemented. This thesis discusses such limitations and proposes an improved platform to empower those communities by fostering collaboration beyond individuals and local groups towards regional communities.

This study examines the role women’s groups play in the lives of 10 Muslim women in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was employed to gain information from two women’s groups in Johannesburg. An open-ended questionnaire, focus groups, and individual interviews were used to elicit information. The data were initially analysed using a computer-based content analysis programme (Atlas-ti), to identify a priori and emergent themes and categories in the data. These themes and categories were then used as the basis for a qualitative interpretive analysis, focused in particular on issues of empowerment with respect to psychological, community, economic, intellectual and political empowerment, and more specifically on gender equality. The study would thus suggest that while these groups do have many positive outcomes, the issues dealt with in women’s groups cannot be isolated from the broader social context in which Muslim women live. While the processes of empowerment appear to have begun in areas of psychological, community, intellectual, economic and political empowerment in this sample of women, empowerment with respect to gender equality still seems far off.

臺灣社會隨著新移民的逐年增加，根據內政部移民署統計，截至2016年2月以婚姻來台之東南亞新移民，女性約12萬人，這些新移民女性及新移民二代，是近年臺灣政府積極關心的對象。根據調查，多數新移民來台後生活會有許多考驗與不便，例如語言與生活適應，過去研究也顯示新移民嫁入的家庭多數較為貧窮或屬於農漁養殖業，新移民女性來台後的生活適應因此有許多困境，女性主義學者認為，「賦權」為一種改變弱勢、提升自我地位的手段與過程。 賦權過程有許多方式，本文透過實際訪談新移民女性，瞭解政治賦權對新移民女性有何影響，觀察實際的參與有何行動？本文主要探討問題有三；第一，新移民女性政治賦權之現況與類型為何？第二，比較不同政治參與程度的新移民女性，其參與行為的差異與影響參與的條件為何？第三，目前政治賦權可能扮演何種角色？與教育賦權、經濟賦權相互間的重要性為何？ 本研究經過與12位新移民以及1位非政府組織幹部進行訪談，發現政治參與確實可以改善新移民在社會上的弱勢地位或改善其生活困境，但非每個新移民皆認為其地位為弱勢，因此她們政治參與的類型會有所不同，而經濟與教育程度的差異並非影響政治參與的關鍵因素，所以本文認為新移民在台的政治社會化與自身經驗、個人特質，可能才是影響政治參與的關鍵。 / The number of New Female Immigrants is gradually increasing in Taiwan; according to the statistics of Taiwan Immigration Department indicates, the population of the New Female Immigrant is 120,000 as of February 2016. Previous research indicates these female immigrants had lots of difficulties, such as learning foreign language and adaptation to different culture. Past research also confirms these New Female Immigrants' tough situations because most of them married to those who live in poor villages or engage in agriculture and fishery industry. Some feminist scholars suggest that empowerment is a mean way to enable New Female Immigrant to take control of her own life and improve her social status. Empowerment consists of different dimensions, such as economic, education and political empowerment; this thesis will focus on the political empowerment and discuss its effect on the New Female Immigrant by observing their participation in politics practically. There are three main inquiries in this thesis: First, what are the present situation and type of the New Female Immigration's political empowerment in Taiwan? Second, what is the condition that influences the New Female immigrant's political participation? Last but not least, what kind of role that political empowerment features in the present, and what is the interaction among economic, education and political empowerment? Through the in-depth interview with 12 New Female Immigrants in Taiwan and a Non-Government Organization (NGO) supervisor, this thesis figures out that New Female Immigrants can overcome their difficulties in daily life and weak status by participating in politics. These New Female Immigrants’ different cognitions of their social status lead to various types of political participation. In other words, their economic and educational background are not the key factors in their political participation. To sum up, the core of the New Female Immigrant’s political participation is their personality, experience, and political socialization in Taiwan, regardless of their economic or educational background.