Les Féministes et le changement social en Belgique (1918-1968). Programmes, stratégies et réseaux. Catherine Jacques. <p>Thèse de doctorat présentée sous la direction de Mme Eliane Gubin (Université libre de Bruxelles)et de Mme Christine Bard (Université d’Angers) en vue d’obtenir le titre de docteure en histoire.<p><p>Alors que l’histoire des femmes est relativement bien implantée en Belgique, il n’existe encore aucune étude qui envisage l’ensemble des mouvements féministes dans leur rapport à la société civile et politique. L’époque choisie s’étend de 1918 à 1968. Si les prémisses du féminisme et ses activités jusqu’en 1914, ainsi que sa reconversion durant les années de guerre, ont fait l’objet d’un certain nombre d’études, en revanche de multiples pans de l’activité féministe de l’entre-deux-guerres aux années 1960 demeurent largement méconnus. Pour les aborder, il convient d’évaluer d’abord l’impact de la guerre 14-18 sur les mouvements féministes et sur la condition des femmes. En effet le conflit les a profondément marquées, et les féministes en particulier qui s’étaient fortement impliquées dans le courant pacifiste de la Belle Epoque. Pendant la guerre, toutes ou presque, se sont engagées dans des activités patriotiques ou caritatives et certaines, au lendemain des hostilités, les prolongent au sein du mouvement féministe, dont elles deviennent d’importantes représentantes. <p>L’armistice conclue, les différentes associations féministes se reconstituent mais elles adaptent leurs revendications au contexte nouveau :la thèse analyse entre autres les relations entre féministes d’avant et d’après guerre, afin d’évaluer dans quelle mesure il y eut transmission (ou non) d’un savoir militant et d’expériences antérieures. En effet, aux côtés des associations féministes existant avant 1914 et reconstituées après 1918, naissent de nouveaux groupes, surtout à partir de la fin des années 1920. Ils se composent de femmes venues d’horizons sociaux relativement différents des militantes précédentes. Souvent universitaires, engagées dans une vie professionnelle, ces féministes formulent des revendications nettement plus radicales :c’est le cas par exemple du Groupement belge de la porte ouverte (1929) qui s’oppose clairement à toute législation protectionniste du travail différenciée selon les sexes, telle qu’elle est prônée par le Bureau international du Travail ;c’est le cas d’Egalité, une association dirigé par l’avocate et future sénatrice cooptée libérale Georgette Ciselet, qui affiche un programme féministe relativement radical en matière d’égalité civile et politique.<p>Le contexte a ici toute son importance :le féminisme d’entre-deux-guerres est en effet confronté à la mise en place de nouveaux processus d’intervention de l’Etat et aux conséquences des politiques natalistes menées par tous les gouvernements. L’idéal féminin que l’on tente d’imposer est marqué par l’assimilation quasi totale de l’identité féminine à la fonction maternelle et à la fécondité. Cette tendance, déjà forte avant guerre, s’accentue encore sous la pression de la grande crise et du chômage, que l’on croit pouvoir résorber en dégageant des postes de travail par le renvoi des femmes au foyer. Or ces tendances sont en totale contradiction avec l’implication des femmes dans l’espace public (elles sont devenues électrices communales), avec leur accès à de nouvelles filières professionnelles (infirmières, assistantes sociales), avec leur arrivée plus nombreuse dans l’enseignement secondaire et même supérieur. <p>De quelle manière et dans quelle mesure les deux générations de militantes ont-elles collaboré ?En d’autres termes, comment et par quels biais s’est assurée la transmission féministe ?Ces questions sont également abordées pour la période qui suit immédiatement la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Celle-ci reste un domaine pratiquement inexploré, complètement occulté par l’explosion du néo-féminisme des années 1970. Longtemps, on a cru qu’en signalant l’accès des femmes au suffrage en 1948, on avait tout dit ;pour beaucoup, ces années seraient caractérisées par un mouvement féministe affadi, en léthargie en quelque sorte. Cette version, généralement admise, doit être largement nuancée. Les années 1950 et 1960 voient fleurir au contraire des revendications réformistes, même si elles adoptent encore un ton mineur et qu’elles doivent être replacées dans le contexte de l’époque. Elles sont énoncées de manière telle que les contemporains puissent les entendre. Ce féminisme en réalité très vigoureux engrange des succès et mène des combats fondamentaux, tels que l’accès complet à la citoyenneté des femmes, la féminisation des études supérieures, la réforme du code civil et des régimes matrimoniaux. Il balise à bien des égards la voie pour les revendications de la seconde vague féministe, il est donc erroné et réducteur de les présenter en rupture totale. <p>La thèse privilégie une approche thématique des revendications féministes :une partie traite des avancés dans la sphère publique (pour l’essentiel la question du droit à la citoyenneté économique et politique) et l’autre dans l’espace privé (réforme du code civil, droits des mères et réflexions sur la sexualité). <p>Ce type d’analyse permet de mieux contextualiser les revendications en les mettant en rapport avec les enjeux contemporains. A terme les éléments dégagés éclairent les processus de construction des citoyennetés civile, politique et sociale des femmes.<p>Les stratégies élaborées par les féministes sont au cœur de notre réflexion. Une attention particulière est accordée aux personnes qui conçoivent et portent ces revendications, de manière à réintégrer dans le processus d’émancipation des femmes des réseaux et des relais insérés dans des courants autres que féministes (partis politiques, syndicats, associations féminines). La mise en évidence de ces relais montre comment certaines idées, nées au sein des mouvements féministes, ont pénétré dans des groupes qui réfutaient toute adhésion à la cause féministe mais qui, à terme, en ont adopté les demandes et les ont diffusées dans un public plus large. La manière dont ces revendications féministes parviennent à “ remonter ”, à la fois au sein de structures politiques et associatives, et atteindre ainsi un grand nombre de femmes (et d’hommes) est central dans l’analyse proposée.<p>Mais faire l’étude des mouvements ou des associations sans tenir compte des personnes qui les composent, laisse subsister des zones d’ombre. La sociabilité des militantes est interrogée. Celle-ci est, sans doute, un élément d’explication à la constance de certains engagements. <p>Notre étude si elle se situe sur le plan national, envisage conjointement l’impact de l’international sur l’évolution du féminisme belge. Au plan international, l’ensemble des organisations faîtières dont dépendent de nombreuses associations nationales trouvent leur place dans notre étude :le Conseil international des Femmes qui chapeaute le Conseil national des Femmes belges, l’Open Door pour le Groupement belge de la Porte Ouverte, etc. L’angle d’approche n’est pas l’organisation faîtière en tant que telle mais bien les rapports entretenus avec l’association nationale. Sans oublier les instances internationales (SDN puis ONU, OIT, BIT,etc.) auprès desquelles les associations internationales féministes exercent depuis leur création un lobbying serré en faveur des intérêts féminins qui, mesuré aux nombres des conventions et des accords en tout genre indiquent que leur influence est réelle et attestent de l’existence de véritables stratégies féministes dans l’entourage des organismes internationaux. <p>Au terme, la thèse permet de mieux comprendre le processus d’inclusion des femmes dans la société belge et éclaire sur les mécanismes de démocratisation de celle-ci par l’intégration de ses citoyennes./Feminists and social change in Belgium<p>(1918-1968)<p>Program, strategy and networks<p><p><p>Although women history is rather well established in Belgium, no survey has been made on all the women movements in the frame of their relationship with civil and political society. The studied area spans from 1918 till 1968.<p>The context is important :feminism for the inter bellum period and after the second world war must face the increasing impediment of the State in public life, generating new discriminations. This thesis uses predominantly a thematic approach of the different feminist demands :one part will deal with the progress made in the public domain (mainly the issue of the right to economic and political citizenship) and another one in the private domain (civil code reform, mothers’ rights and considerations on sexuality).<p>In the long run, the points brought forward bring to light the building process of civil, political and social citizenship of women.<p>The strategies elaborated by the feminists lie at the heart of our thought. A special point of attention is made for the people conceiving and bringing forward these demands, in order to integrate in the emancipation process of women the networks and relays used outside the women sphere (political parties, unions, women societies).<p>Even if this survey is made at the national level, it also involves the impact of what is happening at the international level on Belgian feminism.<p>Eventually, the purpose of this thesis is to better understand the inclusion process of women in Belgian society and to bring to light the impact the integration of women had on the democratization mechanism of the same Belgian society.<p><p><p><p><p> / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Institute for Gender and Youth Studies / PHDGS / Historically, the cardiovascular disease (CVD) has internationally been viewed as a man’s disease. This is witnessed by the high number of males who have fallen victim to this scourge. However, with rapid changes in today’s societies, the disease has increasingly become a public health concern among women also. This study aimed to explore rural women’s perspectives of CVD in Gwanda South Rural District. The study was guided by a feminist perspective where theories of gender such as social construction feminism, intersectionality and standpoint theory, were employed as a theoretical framework. In this process, the research endeavoured to unearth some contradictions inherent in the manner in which women view CVD. The population of the study comprised of females aged 21-60 years residing in Gwanda South Rural District of Zimbabwe. An exploratory case study design was adopted and this guided the qualitative data collection and analysis. Purposeful sampling technique was used to select 16 participants for semi-structured interviews and six participants for focus group discussions. Data were analysed using thematic analysis which is an essential tool for qualitative data analysis. Data were presented and discussed as themes and subthemes. The concepts of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were used to describe and ensure various aspects of trustworthiness. Ethical considerations like informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity and no harm to participants were ensured. The following seven themes were derived from the study; women’s knowledge of CVD, causes of CVD, prevention of CVD, perceived effects of CVD, difference in experiences of CVD, assistance of women with CVD and management of CVD. Findings revealed that women had limited knowledge of most CVDs but were familiar with hypertension and stroke. Various symptoms of CVD were identified. It was concluded that rural women do not have adequate knowledge of CVDs. A lot should be done by the government and other stakeholders to ameliorate cardiovascular health in rural women. / NRF

Why do we defend the social conditions responsible for our injustice and exploitation? We are confused when disadvantaged women of color cite personal shortcomings rather than the social system as the source of their precarity. Yet, when social philosophers take up these questions by appealing to the concept of ideology, they turn to structural accounts and dismiss theories of false consciousness outright. Accounts of false consciousness, often understood as an epistemic failing to recognize some features of our inadequate social world, meet with a host of objections. Some argue that ascriptions of false consciousness involve authoritarianism, while others criticize the concept for commitments to an implausible correspondence picture of truth. Meanwhile, dismissal of false consciousness accounts of ideology have led to the neglect of an important feature of how ideology works: in and through our own agency. Without an account of false consciousness, critics fail to account for the fact that social structures are the result of our collective consent. They also fail to address how social structures are not analyzable without turning to the self-understandings of the participants in these very institutions. This dissertation addresses issues in ideology critique that account for our agency. By preserving what is still alive in a theory of false consciousness while addressing the long-standing concerns about authoritarianism and correspondence, this project reconstructs the notion of false consciousness. It closely engages with figures in critical social theory such as Marx, Lukacs, Habermas, Haslanger, Honneth, and Jaeggi, while widening the terms of the debate to consider the relevance, for instance, of object relations psychoanalysis for social philosophers. Beyond this, this dissertation shows that false consciousness is a damaged way of relating to ourselves, to each other, and to the social world. It is characterized, I propose, by affective investment. This move helps us clarify both the phenomenology of false consciousness and what a viable form of critique could look like. Psychoanalysis offers us a new way of understanding ideology critique by directing us beyond the model of critique as judgment as part of overcoming false consciousness.

李淨昉. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-219) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Li Jingfang.

The subject and the scope of this study are the challenges faced by Muslim women in contemporary societies as presented by the four prominent authors: Leila Ahmed, Elizabeth Fernea, Fatima Mernissi and Amina Wadud. The methodology applied to the literary analysis is the feminist-qualitative research approach in religious studies with specific reference to Islamic feminist studies. Many Muslim women scholars criticise the study of Third World women as objects of study-cases who are rarely heeded as serious scholars. Misconceptions about Islam and Muslim women are common in Western society. Previous studies have not dealt with the issue satisfactorily and failed to provide a holistic picture. The challenges faced by Muslim women have been interpreted against a Western feminist framework, thus causing more harm than good. The resultant predicament is the subject of this study in which Muslim women’s own attitudes and responses to their present circumstances and future prospects are explored. How and why Muslim women are challenged? How do they envisage the resolution of these challenges? The purpose of this study is to provide a framework that can give an adequate account of challenges as seen by Muslim women and to evaluate strategies that can provide suitable solutions to these challenges. Firstly, an objective Giele/Smock/Engineer framework was developed with reference to the most pressing challenges (articulated in well-documented definitions and descriptions) faced by Muslim women in contemporary societies. These key issues of women’s rights on political participation, education, work, family, and social participation were discussed and analysed in the light of this women-centred approach with specific reference to the writings of four prominent women authors: Leila Ahmed, Elizabeth Fernea, Fatima Mernissi and Amina Wadud. Each author has brought her own particular perspective and area of expertise into the discussion – sometimes arguing among with the other authors in a virtual ‘roundtable’ discussion; at times joining hands in mutual agreement. Finally, Muslim women’s struggle against injustice was subjected to critical scrutiny with particular attention to common strategies and solutions that the four authors have used and developed in the light of the modern debate. It is in the latter discussion that the study reached its ultimate goal by determining how the challenges have been met. Moreover, Islamic feminism was assessed to determine how it related to and coped with social change and how effective it has been in seeking to assert rights of and find justice for women through historical, anthropological, socio-political and hermeneutical approach. / Religious Studies / D. Th. (Religious Studies)

Thesis (MPA (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Unemployment and poverty have an adverse effect on society and proactive and sustainable measures are needed to deal with it. Women and rural women in particular, form the most affected group when it comes to unemployment and poverty. Illiteracy and underdevelopment are the major barriers to the advancement of unemployed rural women. Women in rural settings in most cases rely on local economic development (LED) initiatives for day-to-day survival. Local government has a constitutional mandate to promote social and economic development in order to improve the quality life for the citizens of South Africa. This mandate has been followed by a number of policy documents and guidelines for LED to enable local authorities to perform this task efficiently. The concept of LED is a micro approach in that it deals directly with local issues of economic development through partnerships between communities, business, workers, development agencies and governmental agencies to promote local economy. There is a pressing need for local government to be proactive in dealing with issues of rural development and in supporting LED initiatives of rural women. The literature review covers the theoretical framework of LED through examining both international and domestic practices. The review deals with the history of LED, the LED concept, development theories, evaluation of the practices of LED, as well as participatory development, pro-poor LED, and tourism as a response to LED. It further assesses the contextual framework of LED with particular attention to South African policy and practice. The state of LED in South Africa is discussed, together with the way forward for LED. The study provides an investigation into the background of the Mandeni Municipality by looking at the demographic factors and geographical location of the area. The state of LED in Mandeni Municipality is highlighted, together with LED strategy for the Municipality, and major future development associated with LED. The study clearly portrays that there is a gap between the LED initiatives of the unemployed rural women and the Municipality. The strategic location of the Municipality facilitates future economic prospects for the area and new development proposals associated with LED. It is clear from the LED Unit structure in Mandeni Municipality that there is a lack of capacity to deal with the LED challenges and local economic initiatives. From the literature review it is clear that women are critical role players in LED because of their ability to initiate community-based economic development projects and to perform multi-task activities. It is evident that strong partnerships with various LED stakeholders working directly with low-income communities can play a meaningful role in alleviating poverty, and in the creation of employment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Werkloosheid en armoede het vandag .n nadelige invloed op die gemeenskap en proaktiewe en volhoubare maatreels is nodig om dit hok te slaan. Wat werkloosheid en armoede betref, val vroue onder die groepe wat die meeste geraak word, veral plattelandse vroue. Ongeletterdheid en onderontwikkeling is die vernaamste hindernisse vir die vooruitgang van werklose plattelandse vroue. Vroue in .n plattelandse milieu steun sterk op plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe vir hulle dag tot dag oorlewing. Plaaslike regering het .n konstitusionele mandaat om maatskaplike en ekonomiese ontwikkeling te bevorder ten einde die lewenskwaliteit van burgers van Suid-Afrika te verbeter. .n Enorme behoefte bestaan dat die plaaslike regering proaktief moet optree wanneer aangeleenthede rakende plattelandse ontwikkeling en ondersteuning van plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelings-inisiatiewe vir plattelandse vroue aangespreek word. Op beleidsvlak het Suid-Afrika sterk klem geplaas op plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling as maatreel om sosio-ekonomiese toestande vir plattelandse gemeenskappe te verbeter. Plattelandse vroue staar egter reuse uitdagings rondom onderontwikkeling in die gesig. Die groot probleem vir hierdie navorsing is dat die Mandeni munisipaliteit se plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsprogramme, wat vroue as voorheen gemarginaliseerde en kwesbare groepe teiken, onsigbaar is. Plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe geskied in isolasie van die munisipaliteit en daar blyk maar .n powere vennootskap tussen die munisipaliteit en plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe wat deur vroue gevoer word, te wees. Die Plaaslike Ekonomiese Ontwikkelingseenheid (LED-eenheid), wat oor .n mandaat beskik vir die implementering van plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsprogramme, het .n niksseggende rol in die bevordering van plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsprogramme vir plaaslike werklose vroue gespeel. Daarbenewens is daar baie vroue onder die bevolking van die Mandeni-munisipaliteit en die meerderheid van hulle is werkloos. Die vernaamste doelwitte van hierdie studie was om probleme te identifiseer wat die LED-eenheid gehad het met die implementering van LED-programme vir die werklose vrou en om sy vlak van deelname, in belang van die werklose plattelandse vroue, te assesseer. Die fokusgroep-metode is tydens navorsing ingespan met die insameling van data oor die twee verskillende vroueorganisasies wat plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsprojekte geinisieer het. Voorts is die onderhoud-metode tydens die studie toegepas vir die insameling van data rondom die drie munisipale amptenare en die Speaker van die munisipaliteit. Die vernaamste bevindinge van die navorsing toon duidelik dat daar .n gaping bestaan tussen LED-inisiatiewe deur die plattelandse werklose vroue en die Mandeni-munisipaliteit. Die bevindinge van die studie dui daarop dat die LED-eenheidstruktuur van die Mandeni-munisipaliteit oor onvoldoende fondse beskik en gebrek toon aan die nodige vermoe om die plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsuitdagings en plaaslike ekonomiese inisiatiewe van die werklose plattelandse vroue te hanteer. Dit is duidelik dat vroue kritiese rolspelers in plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling is weens hulle vermoe om gemeenskapsgebaseerde ekonomiese ontwikkelingsprojekte te inisieer en hulle kennis om veelvuldige taakbedrywighede van stapel te laat loop. Ten slotte beveel die studie aan dat die LED-eenheid geherstruktureer word om die LED-agterstande binne die Mandeni-munisipaliteit aan te spreek, dat daar behoorlike koordinering van LED-programme moet wees, en dat die plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe vir vroue sterk deur die Mandeni-munisipaliteit gesteun moet word.

Li Shuk-wan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-203). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.I / 摘要 --- p.II / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.III / Chapter CHAPTER 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Statement of Goals --- p.1 / The Feminization of The Occupation --- p.4 / Setting： The Development of Gender Rights in Hong Kong --- p.10 / Literature Review --- p.11 / Methodology --- p.20 / Field Observation --- p.23 / About Skyhawk Air --- p.24 / Questionnaires with the General Public --- p.25 / Media Data --- p.25 / Field and Thesis Languages --- p.26 / Ethical Issues --- p.26 / Outline of Thesis --- p.27 / Chapter CHAPTER 2. --- "NEGOTIATING ""HUNGJE"" STEREOTYPES IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE" --- p.30 / "Discourse, Ideologies, and the Normalized Public" --- p.30 / Images of Hungje in the Media： The Public/Private Dichotomy --- p.33 / Kind and Caring Mothers --- p.35 / Friendly Neighbors --- p.37 / Agents of Smile --- p.38 / Beauty Icon --- p.41 / Sex Icon --- p.44 / Stereotypical Images of Hungje in Public Discourse --- p.47 / FAs' Responses to Stereotypical Images in Public Discourse --- p.49 / """Hungje and the Public/Private Dichotomy" --- p.50 / """I am a Flight Attendant"" and ""I Work in the Airline Industry """ --- p.52 / Chapter CHAPTER 3. --- RECRUITING THE RELEVANT BODY --- p.62 / Experiences of Recruitment --- p.62 / """To See and To Be Seen""" --- p.66 / Phoenix Air Recruitment --- p.68 / The Face --- p.68 / "A ""“Pro ´ح Dress Code" --- p.70 / The Arm-Reach --- p.71 / "The ""Official"" FA Image" --- p.72 / Tiger Air Recruitment --- p.73 / The Arm-Reach --- p.73 / The Standing Posture --- p.73 / The FA Image --- p.74 / The Sitting Posture --- p.75 / "The ""Official"" FA Image" --- p.76 / The Skin --- p.77 / The Hairstyle --- p.78 / Body Gestures --- p.79 / Pre-Employment Briefing --- p.81 / Conclusion --- p.82 / Chapter CHAPTER 4. --- CREATING AN APPROPRIATE MARKETABLE IMAGE --- p.84 / The Training Course --- p.85 / Image Management at Work --- p.87 / Behavioral Management --- p.88 / Emotional Management --- p.91 / "Teaching the Essence of ""“Heart""" --- p.92 / Quality Control on Workers' Smiles --- p.95 / Smile War: Keeping Smiles in Difficult Times --- p.97 / Body Image Management --- p.103 / Practicing Sexually-Dichotomized Gender Images --- p.104 / Interacting with the Make-up and Dress Codes --- p.111 / Chapter CHAPTER 5. --- BODY IN SERVICE: INTERACTING WITH CO-WORKERS --- p.123 / Ethnography of FAs' Work Life --- p.123 / Going to Work and Meeting the Public --- p.124 / Pre-Flight Work --- p.126 / Pseudo-Kin System --- p.127 / Pre-Flight Briefing --- p.129 / Leaving for the Ramp and Ground Preparation --- p.130 / Welcome On Board --- p.131 / Rush Hours --- p.132 / Body Contact in the Galley --- p.132 / Other In-Flight Work and FAs' Rest Time --- p.133 / Landing --- p.134 / Interacting with Co-workers --- p.134 / Expected Gender Roles --- p.135 / Embodying the Socialized Gender Responsibilities --- p.144 / Chapter CHAPTER 6. --- EMBODYING GENDER AND ETHNICITY: INTERACTING WITH PASSENGERS --- p.149 / Teaching the Relationship with Passengers --- p.149 / Maintaining a Physical Distance from Passengers --- p.151 / In-Flight Violence --- p.153 / Sexual Harassment --- p.159 / Verbal Harassment --- p.160 / Optical Harassment --- p.160 / Physical Harassment --- p.161 / In-Flight Courtship --- p.164 / Chapter CHAPTER 7. --- CONCLUSION --- p.172 / between work and family： individuality vs. motherhood --- p.176 / "Changing Attitude Towards The Conventional ""“Mother"" Role " --- p.180 / "The ""Traditional"" Gender Concepts " --- p.182 / "Gender Politics Between ""Traditional"" and ""New"" Concepts " --- p.186 / The Future of Gender Relations in Hong Kong --- p.189 / APPENDIX 1. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS --- p.191 / APPENDIX 2. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE HONG KONG CHINESE PUBLIC --- p.194 / APPENDIX 3. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE HONG KONG CHINESE PUBLIC (ENGLISH TRANSLATION) --- p.195 / REFERENCE CITED --- p.196

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many questions have been asked as to why sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly South Africa, has such a high incidence of HIV/AIDS. While social and economic power imbalances between the sexes, coupled by the biological vulnerability of women, play an important role in the rapid spread of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, what truly seems to set South Africa apart from the rest of the world is the high incidence of multiple or concurrent sexual relationships. Multiple or concurrent sexual relationships are defined as sexual partnerships that overlap in time, when one partnership starts before another terminates. These types of relationships have the potential to create complex sexual networks – commonly referred to as a “sexual superhighway” – for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS. While the practice of multiple or concurrent sexual relationships is to a large extent under-reported by the South African media, a great deal of media attention is given to President Jacob Zuma’s practice of polygamy as a Zulu cultural tradition. The researcher proposes that Zuma’s intimate partnerships stray from the well-defined parameters of cultural polygamy and that he does, in fact, has multiple or concurrent sexual relationships that fall outside the boundaries of polygamy. The researcher further proposes that the example set by the President in his personal life has an effect on the general morality of the South African people and especially on women’s status in society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Baie vrae is al gevra oor hoekom sub-Sahara Afrika, en spesifiek Suid-Afrika, so ʼn hoë voorkoms van MIV/Vigs het. ʼn Sosiale en ekonomiese magswanbalans tussen mans en vroue, tesame met die verhoogde biologiese kwesbaarheid van vroue vir seksueel-oordraagbare siektes, speel ʼn rol in die vinnige verspreiding van die MIV/Vigs epidemie in Suid-Afrika maar wat ons blykbaar onderskei van die res van die wêreld is die hoë voorkoms van veelvuldige of samelopende seksuele verhoudings. Veelvuldige of samelopende seksuele verhoudings word gedefinieer as verhoudings wat oorvleuel of waar een verhouding begin voordat ʼn vorige verhouding beëindig is. Hierdie tipe verhoudings het die potensiaal om komplekse seksuele netwerke te vorm – algemeen beskryf as “seksuele super-snelweë” – waarbinne seksueel-oordraagbare siektes, insluitende MIV/Vigs, vinnig kan versprei. Terwyl veelvuldige of samelopende seksuele verhoudings min aandag geniet in die Suid-Afrikaanse media, is daar wel ʼn fokus op President Jacob Zuma se uitlewing van sy Zulu-tradisie van poligamie. Die navorser stel egter voor dat Zuma se intieme verhoudings afwyk van die goedge-definieerde riglyne van kulturele poligamie en dat hy in werklikheid eerder veelvuldige of samelopende seksuele verhoudings het wat buite die reëls van poligamie val. Die navorser stel verder voor dat die voorbeeld wat die President in sy persoonlike lewe stel ʼn uitwerking het op die moraliteit van Suid-Afrikaners en veral op die status van vroue in die samelewing.

This thesis is a translation of a chapter that examines the role of Muslim women in politics during the early Islamic period and their engagement with religious and political discourses. This subject raises a combination of provocative challenges for Islamic discourse as Muslim women have had a complex relationship with their religious tradition dating back to the very inception of Islam. Despite Qur’ānic injunctions and Prophetic affirmations of the egalitarian status of Muslim women, social inequality and injustice directed at women remains a persistent problem in Muslim society. In the translated text Abū Shaqqah goes about re-invoking the normative tradition in order to affirm the role of Muslim women in politics. Furthermore the translation is prefaced by a critical introduction outlining the contours of the 20th century landscape, which attempts to describe the struggle of Muslim women in Abū Shaqqah’s time. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Arabic)

The subject and the scope of this study are the challenges faced by Muslim women in contemporary societies as presented by the four prominent authors: Leila Ahmed, Elizabeth Fernea, Fatima Mernissi and Amina Wadud. The methodology applied to the literary analysis is the feminist-qualitative research approach in religious studies with specific reference to Islamic feminist studies. Many Muslim women scholars criticise the study of Third World women as objects of study-cases who are rarely heeded as serious scholars. Misconceptions about Islam and Muslim women are common in Western society. Previous studies have not dealt with the issue satisfactorily and failed to provide a holistic picture. The challenges faced by Muslim women have been interpreted against a Western feminist framework, thus causing more harm than good. The resultant predicament is the subject of this study in which Muslim women’s own attitudes and responses to their present circumstances and future prospects are explored. How and why Muslim women are challenged? How do they envisage the resolution of these challenges? The purpose of this study is to provide a framework that can give an adequate account of challenges as seen by Muslim women and to evaluate strategies that can provide suitable solutions to these challenges. Firstly, an objective Giele/Smock/Engineer framework was developed with reference to the most pressing challenges (articulated in well-documented definitions and descriptions) faced by Muslim women in contemporary societies. These key issues of women’s rights on political participation, education, work, family, and social participation were discussed and analysed in the light of this women-centred approach with specific reference to the writings of four prominent women authors: Leila Ahmed, Elizabeth Fernea, Fatima Mernissi and Amina Wadud. Each author has brought her own particular perspective and area of expertise into the discussion – sometimes arguing among with the other authors in a virtual ‘roundtable’ discussion; at times joining hands in mutual agreement. Finally, Muslim women’s struggle against injustice was subjected to critical scrutiny with particular attention to common strategies and solutions that the four authors have used and developed in the light of the modern debate. It is in the latter discussion that the study reached its ultimate goal by determining how the challenges have been met. Moreover, Islamic feminism was assessed to determine how it related to and coped with social change and how effective it has been in seeking to assert rights of and find justice for women through historical, anthropological, socio-political and hermeneutical approach. / Religious Studies / D. Th. (Religious Studies)