In Vietnam,w omena ccountf or nearly5 2 percenot f thet otal populationo f approximately 68.1m illion. The statuso f womenh asg raduallye volvedf tom a subordinationp ositionb egun under the feudal Chinese Period and continued during the period of colonisation, to a more equitables tatusi n present-dayV ietnam. During the war of reunification,V ietnamesew omen werep ut in a dynamics ituationw heret heyh adt o operatea t parw ith men. Thew ar whichl asted well overa decadec, reateda no pportunityf or themt o participatein whatw asa traditionallym ale dominateds phereo f activity. Subsequentlyth, e societyr eciprocatedb y grantingw omenb asic rightst raditionallyr eservedfo r mena ndt he constitutiona ndl egislationo f then ew independent state was clear about supporting the rights of women. Although Vietnam does lag behind economicallyc omparedto mostd evelopingc ountriesa ndt he industrialw orld, in many domains includingm atemalm ortality,l ife expectancyn,u mbero f womenc omparedto men in the labour force,p arliamentarrye presentatioann dl iteracyr ates,t he gap is minimal, andi n somei nstances surpassese ven figures of women in the developedi ndustrial countries. Following the reunificationw ar (southa ndn orth Vietnam),T he SocialistR epublico f Vietnamh as beenr uled by theV ietnamesCe ommunisPt artyu ndera regimeo f neo-StalinisCt entraPl lanning. Sincet he 1980sV, ietnamh asb eeng raduallym ovingt o a markete conomy.I n 1987w ith the introduction of Doi Moi (economic recovery programme), the Government committed to transform the countryi nto a socialistm arkete conomy. However,w hile progresst owardsa markete conomy is gradually evolving, a disturbing trend is emerging: it appears that women are being marginaliseedc onomically.O f thew orkforcem ader edundanitn 1990,70p ercentw erew omen. Most enterprisesa,n d evena dministrativeo fficesn ow put womena t a disadvantageO. ftens uch discriminationsa re linked with maternityl eavea nd relatede ntitlementsa ccordedt o women employees. This thesiss etso ut to examinet he following hypothesesa: ) to ascertainw hethert he status of women in Vietnam as compared to that of other women regionally and globally is relativelyp ositive; b) to examinet hen atuTeo f the impacto f the emergingm arket economyo n their status;a nd c) to ascertainth e effectso f small and mediums calei ndustryo n that impact, either negative or positive. The research methodology employed to test the above hypotheses consists of a combinationo f methodsc omprisinga nalysiso f archival informationa ndm ultiple cases tudies with two questionnairecso mplementebdy exploratory,e xplanatorya ndd escriptives trategies. The empirical phase is based on two case studies of two small-medium sized industries in Vietnam.T hesep articularc ompaniews eres electedm ainlyb ecauseth eyc ontaineda high female representatiofnro m the textile industry ast hey traditionally employw omen. The resultso f the surveysc onductedf or CaseS tudyA and CaseS tudyB are analysedto identify the statusa nd aspirationos f womenw orking in a small-mediums izedi ndustry. Sociala nd cultural aspectso f these women are also explored. In conclusion, the thesis wraps up the findings of the surveys and draws summations from the literature reviewed. It also offers recommendations aimed at empowering women in overcoming economic difficulties in order to maintain their social equality.

This thesis contributes to a relatively small but burgeoning body of feminist and critical discourse analytic research into the social construction of gender and gender inequality conducted within critical social psychology. It begins by critically discussing the various theories of gender within the discipline. The thesis is an explicitly political endeavour. As is discussed, all work is political even if it fails to acknowledge this. This research aims to be openly reflexive about its ideological underpinnings and the historical and cultural climate in which the work emerges. Feminist theories of gender are also critically discussed. Having explored the various theories of gender and their relative de/merits, the adopted feminist social constructionist approach is explicated. Such an approach addresses the main failings of other approaches which are variously centred around, for example, inattention to power, language, multiplicity of identities and genders, essentialism, self-contained individualism and the historical, cultural and contextual relativity of meaning. These issues are explicitly attended to through the chosen methodology of critical discourse analysis. Three studies were carried out. All utilise the same analytical methodology but vary in terms of context, focus and data collection method. The first study analyses the interview talk of male psychology undergraduates at a northern English university. The men were found to present themselves, and men generally, as Victims'. The second study aims to address a wide-scale problem in social constructionist work on gender which also afflicts the first study presented here. Whilst theory has shifted away from essentialism, both theoretical and empirical work continues to promote an implicit essentialism by assuming that the biological sex of participants should correspond to the gender of interest (e.g. studying 'men and masculinity'). The second study includes both male and female volunteer interviewees from a similar sample population as the first study. Both sexes were found to be bolstering inequality by constructing a picture of equality between the sexes. This was achieved through three repertoires. One overtly constructed 'equality as imminent/achieved'. Another, the 'women as oppressors/men as victims' repertoire, presents instances of women's capability of inverting men's general power. The third, 'women as manipulators', was only utilised by the women and suggests women have a more covert power which counterbalances men's overt power. This greater focus on discourses and shift away from essentialism, evidenced in the diminished interest given to embodiment and identity, is more fully embraced in the third study which concentrates on an internet discussion board. In this context, embodiment and identity cannot be known with confidence. The discussion board contributors construct men and women as internally homogeneous and oppositional groups. Two repertoires are discussed: 'communication difficulties' and 'the spokesperson'. Men and women are said to find communication between them incredibly difficult. Contradictorily, men and women are solicited for, or take it upon themselves to offer, 'insider' views on their particular sex group. Taken together, the three studies therefore represent quite different contexts, samples, and methodological approaches to the problem of the net inequality between the sexes, and contribute to a growing body of research on how inequality is maintained through linguistic practice in particular contexts.

The aim of this work is to analyze quranic feminist interpretation focusing on controversial verse 4:34. We attempt to demonstrate the way islamic feminist exegets deal with the key concepts of this verse mostly notion of male authority (qiwwama and faddala), female obedience (qanitat) and disobedience (nushuz) and wife beating (idribuhunna) through the islamic feminist hermeneutical principles mainly contextual, holistic and through reexamination of terminology. Particular arguments, approaches and interpretative manoeuvres of feminist Qurʼanic exegesis aiming to legitimize gender egalitarian reading of the Qurʼan and challenging centuries of andocentric exegetical tradition will be examined.

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Women today continue to struggle against male-dominated values and norms, and male prejudices, both in society and the Church. This balance of power needs to be altered to free women from the domination of men. The strategies proposed in this dissertation are based on the Christian ethic of justice and equality. Their implementation, I argue, would empower women to resist oppression, independently of men, to achieve liberation and equality so that male-dominated ideologies and structures could no longer oppress. A case study of women ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa revealed discrimination against, and the limitation of the ministries of women clergy. The ethical dilemma of the Church appearing to follow, rather than to lead society on such issues was noted. The attainment of the liberation of women is dependent solely upon themselves and the extent to which they are prepared to take responsibility for their own lives. / M.Th. (Theological Ethics)

Women today continue to struggle against male-dominated values and norms, and male prejudices, both in society and the Church. This balance of power needs to be altered to free women from the domination of men. The strategies proposed in this dissertation are based on the Christian ethic of justice and equality. Their implementation, I argue, would empower women to resist oppression, independently of men, to achieve liberation and equality so that male-dominated ideologies and structures could no longer oppress. A case study of women ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa revealed discrimination against, and the limitation of the ministries of women clergy. The ethical dilemma of the Church appearing to follow, rather than to lead society on such issues was noted. The attainment of the liberation of women is dependent solely upon themselves and the extent to which they are prepared to take responsibility for their own lives. / M.Th. (Theological Ethics)