This study is based on how rural poor Muslim women in Bangladesh have become the target of both international donor agencies and of Islamic preachers. In Bangladesh, religion and politics are not viewed separately, nor are they subsumed under the other. This thesis focuses on how Islam is currently being practiced by Islamic groups and attempts to analyse the socio-political conflicts between Islamic views and empowerment opportunities provided by NGOs in rural Bangladesh. Widely speaking, the secondary focus here is the hegemonic model of development espoused by multinational and local NGOs that offer poor rural women employment, and the opposing approaches offered by the main Islamist political party. In addition this study discusses the targeted women‘s capability of identifying the best option among the contested approaches offered by those dominant groups.

This study investigates women's economic empowerment in relation to micro'credit schemes in southern Nigeria. The study also evaluates the benefits and limitations of micro'credit as a resourceful means of enhancing women's economic activities in the labour market and eliminating poverty among market and rural women. Micro'credit schemes and institutions which provide soft loans to women have become a critical tool in development programmes aiming to empower them. The Nigerian government (both at Federal and State levels) has pursued this development trend since 1985 and today, it is estimated that an increasing number of Nigerian women participate in these schemes. Besides, it is widely accepted among development practitioners that micro'credit schemes not only contribute to poverty reduction but also empower the have'nots. My research design has drawn on gender analytical frameworks such as the 1980 Harvard Analytical Framework, Kabeer's 1998 Women's Empowerment Assessment, and Mayoux' 2001 micro'credit empowerment paradigm. This study employed as its methodology, ethnographic field research. This includes semi'structured interviews and participant observation. In addition, data was obtained from state databases, archives and development websites. Throughout, both qualitative and quantitative methods and analysis were used. This study found that women in southern Nigeria are extensively engaged in economic activities. It also established that micro'credit provides finance to enhance market and rural women's participation in production and trade. The study further ascertains that women have some control over their loans. However, increased economic activities may have also increased participants' financial responsibilities and household decision'making is still a prerogative of male head of the family. In addition, this study found that older married women in this region enjoy a comparatively high degree of personal mobility, but restrictions on travel in terms of distance and time are very common for younger married women. These restrictions are sanctioned by customs, household obligations, and social infrastructures. While problems with the transportation network have enhanced the middlemen's domination of economic activities in this region they increased women's dependence on their services. All this renders empowerment for women more difficult to achieve although it makes a practical contribution to their everyday lives.

S.W. Tynedale, a remoter rural area of the UK with a history of agricultural and industrial activity, is the location for the analysis of womens / accessibility to rural services and cultural/educational opportunities. Increasing car ownership and the decline in rural services have created difficulties for some rural women in gaining access to opportunities. Changes, through time, in the role of rural women and the space they occupy are analysed in terms of gender relations and the division of labour. Women's access to, and use of, power in S.W. Tynedale reveals a reluctance to seek political office. A survey conducted in 1981, and the 1981 Census data are used to explore the relationship between physical accessibility and the socio-economic, mobility and behavioural characteristics of women. Two indices are constructed to measure private and public transport accessibility, respectively. Although, socio-economic variables relate more to private transport accessibility, mobility and behavioural variables can be better explained in terms of public transport accessibility. A space-time approach is used in which the dimensions of the potential space-time prism in S.W. Tynedale is described and compared with the experiential prisms for three different groups of women. Using case study material an analysis of the behaviour of rural women points to the importance of the constraining and enabling mechanisms of the family support system in explaining womens' accessibility behaviour at different stages in the lifecycle. Through the application of Principal Component Analysis the underlying structure of accessibility is investigated. Nine axes of differentiation are identified including life style, life cycle, community involvement and education. Remoteness and mobility summarise the surveyed womens's location in space and ability to overcome distance. Measures of knowledge of facilities are summarised by three components _ local, town and city orientation from which space-time prisms are constructed. Distinct regional variations are apparent in the use of the resources of space and time. Finally, future possibilities for the accessibility of the two groups of rural women, the carless and the family dependent, are considered in relation to the wider stage of the political economy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Anthropology, June 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Simon Fraser University, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Martin Frick. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-79).

A cross-sectional study with repeated measures was conducted in the Ecuadorian Highlands to determine whether quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) production was associated with improved nutrition among women. Agricultural production systems, income, socio-economic status, morbidity, diet and protein-energy status were compared between a group of quinoa-producers and a randomly sampled quasi-control group of non-quinoa-producers (total n = 90 households) over four study rounds (pre- and post-quinoa-harvest). / Seasonal and age-related variability in nutrient intakes as well as anthropometric status provided evidence of nutritional vulnerability in this population. Post-menopausal women (50+ years of age) consumed less energy (300 calories), less protein (11 g) and maintained a lower mean body weight (3.66 kg) compared to their younger counterparts. Seasonal changes in dietary quality and anthropometric status were apparent for women of all ages with less protein and micronutrients consumed post-harvest and mean arm circumference 6 cm smaller. Marked prevalences of inadequate intakes of many of these same nutrients (including iron, niacin, and vitamin B12) were demonstrated with the Probability Method. / Correlates of diet quantity (energy), quality (animal protein adjusted for energy) and anthropometric status were established. By means of a Principal Components analysis, socio-economic status was shown to be comprised of two unique constructs: modern lifestyle and farming wealth. Both factors were related to diet quality but neither was related to diet quantity. Diet quality, in turn, was significantly related to anthropometric status in multivariate models. / Women in quinoa-producing households consumed higher amounts of most nutrients and maintained larger arm protein-energy stores than those in non-quinoa-producing families. Trends were similar in children with no evidence of a difference in anthropometric status. However, quinoa-producers scored higher on both scales of socio-economic status, demonstrating self-selection bias. In multivariate models, quinoa production was related to increased intakes of energy, iron, zinc and folate but effects on animal protein intake and anthropometric status were confounded by the socio-economic effects. Therefore, while quinoa production was associated with positive nutritional impacts, the most impoverished households were left virtually untouched by this agricultural opportunity.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 159-171.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 124-130.