According to Skolverket, the Swedish school has two missions: conveying knowledge and teaching values. These values are taught through the common principles (värdegrund) and instruct students about democratic values and human rights. However, Skolverket also reports that students lack such knowledge. Therefore, this essay aims to create a module with the main purpose of formulating and teaching the common principles, by using Phaswane Mpe's Welcome to Our Hillbrow, a text with the ability of presenting ethical issues whilst also making the reader respond to them. To achieve this, the values of the common principles will be extracted with the help of virtue ethics, which creates a conjunction with the book, where three topics are selected: sexism, gender identity and societal transformation. Virtue ethics, representing the common principles, together with Adichie’s definition of African feminism inform the analysis of sexism and gender inequality in the book and show how they are prevalent and extensive. Societal transformation is conceptualised and investigated through the use of narratology. Sexism and gender inequality are located in the horizontal plane of an arena, where the vertical expansion of narrative levels creates the urge for societal transformation. Such an expansion is made possible by an implied author, which provides the effect needed for reader inclusion. As such, Welcome to Our Hillbrow is described to entail an ethical challenge, that forces a responsible reader to emerge. Issues of sexism and gender inequality are then used together with the arena of societal transformation to construct a module in English 7, where students may themselves become reasonable readers through a process of critical self-reflection, a vital part of virtue ethics. This is done by employing Socratic and deliberative dialogue and an affective-humanistic approach, which together promote democratic values and human rights.

Investigaciones señalan el impacto positivo de la publicidad inclusiva y su incorporación de diálogos que empoderan a la mujer. No obstante, son pocas las investigaciones que evalúan las actitudes de las mujeres frente a un discurso que no solo las empodera, sino que también incorpora al hombre como parte de la igualdad de género. Este estudio exploratorio tiene por objetivo evaluar las actitudes de las consumidoras de cervezas de 18 a 25 años frente al spot “Amistad sin diferencias” y analizar el impacto de la narrativa con respecto a la percepción de las mujeres. Para ello, se usó una metodología cualitativa de diseño fenomenológico con mujeres de Lima metropolitana de niveles socioeconómicos B y C. El análisis siguió un proceso de codificación descriptiva. Los resultados de la investigación concluyeron que las mujeres mantienen actitudes positivas frente a la incorporación del sexo masculino en un spot que representa la igualdad de género asimismo valoraron el uso de declaraciones tanto de hombres como mujeres dentro de la narrativa del spot. / Research indicates the positive impact of inclusive advertising and its incorporation of dialogues that empower women. However, there is little research that evaluates women's attitudes towards a discourse that not only empowers them but also incorporates men as part of gender equality. The objective of this exploratory study is to evaluate the attitudes of beer drinkers between the ages of 18 and 25 regarding the spot “Friendship without differences” and to analyze the impact of the narrative regarding the perception of women. A qualitative methodology of phenomenological design was used, with women from metropolitan Lima of socioeconomic levels B and C. The analysis followed a descriptive coding process. The results of the research concluded that women maintain positive attitudes towards the incorporation of the male sex in a spot that represents gender equality. They also valued the use of statements by both men and women within the narrative of the spot. / Trabajo de investigación

Mexico is currently one the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism, with one of the highest death rates in the world. Violence against Mexican journalists has received significant attention from researchers, most recently when it comes to digital threats. Research suggests that online harassment against journalists is not only related to the profession or topic covered, but also individual characteristics like gender, race and sexuality. Digital threats affect everyone, but the threats women are faced with are disproportionate. While digital technologies are useful in developing reporting practices, it has also been shown as detrimental. Through a semi-structured WhatsApp interview with a Mexican women journalists and coordinator in an International Journalist Network, this study attempts to identify the perceptions of online threats against women journalists and the use of Networks as a coping strategy. Through the use of digital testimonies, this study attempts to further amplify Mexican women journalists’ voices and experiences when it comes to using Networks as a coping strategy to confront online violence.  The importance here is to understand the Mexican context and the dimensions to digital violence, the possibilities of resilience and the coping strategies practiced by Mexican women journalists. Through analysing perceptions of the threat and their experiences with Networks, this study attemps to identify the strengths and possibilities of Networks as a coping strategy, when it comes to digital threats, but also its barriers and limitations. This study is important to the field of Communication of Development and Social Change as it underscores the importance of listening, understanding local contexts, perceptions and resilience. This is crucial when undertaking intitaves on a larger scale for social change.

The research aims to understand how female former child soldiers describe the ones who had power over them in the bush of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to understand how patriarchal beliefs in a society affect vulnerable women. The researcher wishes to enhance the importance of working against patriarchal beliefs and stopping child abductions for the sake of young women’s empowerment. The impact of the deep-rooted problem of patriarchy should be researched concerning child soldiers since they are vulnerable and are also the future female population. How they get affected by power relations early in their lives should be examined since they are a part of the future which needs to be brought into empowerment and gender equality and not enhance the patriarchal beliefs. Therefore, the attitudes of former female child soldiers have been examined through a qualitative single case study to see how the gender gap and patriarchal beliefs mirror their experiences in the bush and could affect their empowerment. The patriarchal theory, feminist theory and empowerment theory will help analyze and discuss the findings of the data. The data was collected from stories of four female former child soldiers which were coded, memo written and interpreted. By doing this research the consequences of patriarchal beliefs are enhanced through how hidden parts of society are exposed to gender exploitation due to their vulnerability. The findings show that women’s attitudes towards the ones in power do affect to what extent they experience exploitation and gender-based violence. The result implies that women in developing patriarchal societies are having different attitudes towards empowerment. Ugandan society and other societies need help to transition out of patriarchal beliefs which could lead to potential peace and eventually develop a secure and equal society.

The paper analyzes the most current family changes in modern Turkish society, occurring during the last 35 years. The author identifies the trends of Turkish family development, revealing changes of family structure, socio-gender relations between its members and traditional family values. The paper provides the analysis of developments of marriage and divorce, socio-gender roles and responsibilities, family planning and gender issues in childrearing and education. / Работа посвящена анализу наиболее актуальных изменений, происходящих в современной турецкой семье в последние 35 лет. Автор выявляет тенденции развития турецкой семьи, раскрывая изменения в структуре турецкой семьи, в социогендерном положении ее членов и семейных традициях и ценностях. В работе представлен анализ изменений, произошедших в заключении брака и бракоразводном процессе, в распределении гендерных ролей и обязанностей в семье, в планировании семьи и гендерных аспектах воспитания и образования детей.

The primary goal of development organizations is poverty reduction, but their initiatives have in recent years also been recognized as a potential tool in empowering women and raising their status. Previous knowledge on the topic is largely based in an understanding of empowerment that seems to miss or overlook limitations and impacts of initiatives which authors with a more feminist view on empowerment address. Thus, this thesis aims to increase the understanding of women’s empowerment in relation to development initiatives. A case study focusing on women who had previously participated in the business training and microcredit program of an NGO in Nairobi, Kenya was conducted. The study shows that through development organizations’ various initiatives women can be empowered on a personal and a collective level. For instance, the women’s self-confidence has increased and they see themselves as entitled to do things on their own, such as running a business. Further, through coming together as a group they gain access to new spaces and agency to act on their collective interests. However, little evidence of women’s empowerment on a relational level is seen. The study also shows that there are economic and gender-related barriers constraining the empowerment process. / Utvecklingsorganisationers primära mål är att minska fattigdom, men deras initiativ har på senare tid också kommit att erkännas som ett potentiellt verktyg för att främja kvinnors egenmakt och höja deras status. Tidigare kunskap om kopplingen mellan egenmakt och organisationers initiativ utgår i stor utsträckning från en förståelse av begreppet egenmakt som verkar missa eller förbise vissa begränsningar och effekter av initiativen, som andra med en mer feministisk syn på egenmakt lyckas belysa. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att öka förståelsen för kvinnors egenmakt i förhållande till utvecklingsinitiativ och den har utförts som en fallstudie fokuserad på kvinnor som tidigare deltagit i ett entreprenörskaps- och mikrokreditprogram hos en ideell organisation i Nairobi, Kenya. Studien visar att genom organisationers olika initiativ kan kvinnors egenmakt stärkas på ett personligt och ett kollektivt plan. Bland annat har kvinnornas självförtroende ökat och de ser sin rätt att göra saker på egen hand, såsom att driva ett företag. Genom att samlas som grupp får kvinnorna dessutom tillgång till nya utrymmen och möjligheter att agera på sina kollektiva intressen. I studien ses emellertid svaga tecken på kvinnors egenmakt inom äktenskapet. Slutligen visar studien att det finns ekonomiska och könsrelaterade barriärer som begränsar utvecklingen av kvinnors egenmakt.

No description available.

No description available.

As long as disparities persist in the way women are treated as compared to their male counterparts, the issue of gender will continue to call forth literary productions. For this reason, female writers are on a mission to dismantle the stereotypes that keep women confined to societal roles. Grounded in a feminist framework, this study focuses on the gender disparity theme in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions. The aim is to examine how these writers represent the trauma of women living in an African patriarchal system. The traumatic experiences of the female characters in both texts for this study are analyzed using Judith Herman’s Psychological trauma and Bessel Van der Kolk’s trauma theory to explain women’s struggles and their responses to traumatic experiences. A content analysis of the novels shows that resilience and agency are achievable and that one way to achieve agency is through interdependence which is a crucial dimension often overlooked in existing scholarly engagements.

Qualitative and quantitative research designs were employed to assess the influence of religion on gender equality and women empowerment in Mulanje district in Malawi. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires through interview with 18 key informants who were sampled by judgmental sampling and 4 FGDs with men and women belonging to different religions who were sampled by stratified random sampling. Quantitative data was collected using a self administered questionnaire to 130 participants sampled by stratified random sampling. Quantitative data was analyzed by using SPSS computer program version 16.0 in order to reach to a valid conclusion. The analysis of the data involved descriptive statistics. For qualitative data, themes were induced from the interview with key informants and FGD. Findings have revealed positive religious teachings and beliefs that have empowered women and promoted equality between men and women. Nevertheless, the study has also revealed that discriminatory religious teachings and attitudes are a reality in religious institutions and these have influenced not only the way women are treated in religious institutions but also the way women look at themselves. In light of the findings, recommendations have been made to the government of Malawi, religious institutions, religious leaders and CSOs to take appropriate actions to promote gender equality and women empowerment in Mulanje district. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)