In February 2022 the lives of millions of people all over Europe have been divided into two parts – before and after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fearing for their lives, 5,2 million Ukrainians were forced to relocate to neighbouring countries, women and children accounting for about 90% of all refugees leaving Ukraine, as with few exceptions men are prohibited from leaving Ukraine by law. The law has created an advantage and an ethical dilemma for numerous women: they can either seek safety outside Ukraine, meaning they would have to leave their husbands, brothers, and fathers, or stay together but risk their own lives instead. This thesis aims to investigate the effect of the war on women’s rights and the nature of artificially created gender advantage. It aims to answer the following research questions: what current implications does the war in Ukraine have on women’s rights and how do these implications affect women’s decision to leave Ukraine? Through interviewing volunteers who work with Ukrainian refugees it was discovered that what creates a gender difference and a foundation of an advantage to a certain extent is that women are much more exposed to the danger of sexual violence and human trafficking. They also experience larger financial difficulties resulting in poverty and health complications. But it is the parenthood and the desire to protect their children that actually drives women’s decision to leave Ukraine and seek shelter in other countries, even if it means that they will be separated from their families. By creating a gender advantage, government is trying to rescue children and future generations. They cannot leave alone because someone has to take care of them, and it is usually a mother who would do this in Ukraine due to an existing gender order, so women gain an advantage by proxy, while an actual advantage is given to children.

This study aims to understand how, and if, women use smartphones to enhance their safety when out of the home. Proven safety is difficult to measure, especially through a cross-sectional study; this research will assess how and if women feel safer through adapting how they use their smartphone. The primary research is predominately focused on gathering data from within the UK to understand and assess smartphone behaviours there and the impact these behaviours have on safety.  Existing research also focuses on the UK but takes lessons and development findings from across the globe to be applied as a proxy to the study and to better inform the research in the wider communication for development spectrum.   The key questions being addressed are to understand if women feel their safety is enhanced using their smartphone and if so, how they think this safety is being improved by using their smartphone. The final question addresses how these issues are answered and how communication could be enhanced to promote future safety developments within the sphere of women’s physical safety.    Data was conducted through carrying out primary research through quantitative online surveys and qualitative focus groups. The first offered robust data collection for men and women across age ranges, the second enabled for more detailed finding to be uncovered. This research was carried out in the UK (which is the initial focus of the study); this was a practical approach in terms of geographical location and language barriers, but in follow up analysis, it was also possible to find UK specific information on both smartphone usage and women’s safety. This resulted in there being a range of data to work with and analyse. This was useful to then apply comdev theories to and understand potential ways existing approaches could be developed and utilised around the world. Existing literature within the fields of women’s safety and smartphone usage was assessed to glean a more robust understanding and worldly viewpoint. Theoretical themes were addressed through literature research.    The results indicated that women were wary of their physical environments and adjusted or adapted their behaviours through their smartphone usage more so than men did to improve their safety   As this can be considered a broad and complex topic, there are several theories incorporated. For many women across the globe, the digital revolution, and smartphones, have acted as a means of empowerment. They enable humans to connect with one another regardless of where they are. For women, this has had a massive impact on safety by being able to quickly connect with other, they used messaging options with selected friends/family to notify their whereabouts to enhance their safety, others chose location sharing apps; both of which tie in with the idea of an invited space (Tufte); in this case a virtual space of safety, where the outside physical space may pose as danger. To coincide with this, many of the apps mentioned work through participatory methods, whereby users opt in to improve their safety and the safety of others.

Women’s rights advocacy is as multifaceted and as intricate as women’s position in society. Their fundamental human rights are frequently challenged in the name of religion and culture. In this paper I explore how women’s rights advocates are seeking to find footing between endorsing sovereignty and religious rights within today’s multicultural societies within the theories of universalism and cultural relativism. For many, it is out of the question to separate religious- and women’s rights, therefore navigating between the two, and hence, the two theoretical standpoints become a fundamental principle for those who work within that space. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, this thesis analyses the main navigational strategies and negotiations of the global movement Musawah to further explore the tensions of the two theories and ways in which to work within them. Musawah is a global movement for justice and peace initiated by the Malaysian based organization Sisters in Islam (SIS). It aims to promote an egalitarian Islam, with a focus on women’s rights within the Global South, by reforming Muslim family law and advocating for Islamic feminist voices. This research paper identifies the challenges and navigational strategies of Musawah’s advocacy within both a Muslim and non- Muslim context. It also aims to pinpoint the theories’ main influence within the challenges and strategies of Musawah’s work. I conclude that their advocacy is influenced by both theories as their knowledge-building is founded on a universalist standpoint, and its distribution is based on a cultural relativist stance.

Cette thèse porte sur la question de la mobilisation de la nouvelle génération des femmes en Afghanistan après 2001. Elle interroge d’abord l’existence d’un mouvement féministe, selon les significations des outils théoriques occidentaux. Ensuite, elle analyse la mobilisation des femmes à partir des éléments qui provoquent une mobilisation pour la transformation socialeet politique afin d’assurer les droits des femmes : ceux qui ont un impact important sur la société comme la politique ou l’économie qui ne laisse pas la place aux femmes pour s’exprimer librement. La nouvelle génération des femmes qui ont grandi sous la Révolution et les théories des révolutionnaires s’engagent progressivement dans un combat pour le droit et la démocratie sous l’influence du développement : la modernisation économique, l’éducation, l’immigration et la mondialisation. / This thesis focuses on the topic of mobilization of the new generation of women in Afghanistan after 2001. First, it questions the existence of a feminist movement in Afghanistan, according to the meanings and Western theoretical tools. Then it analyzes themobilization of women from the elements that cause mobilization for social and political transformation to ensure women's rights: those that have a significant impact on society such as politics and economy of both countries which do not leave room for women to express themselves freely. The new generation of women who has grown up under the Revolution andrevolutionary theories has mobilized progressively in a fight for rights and democracy under the influence of development: economic modernization, education, immigration and globalization.

This research is based upon fieldwork carried out in 2005 and 2006 among Truku people, a Taiwanese indigenous group living in eastern Taiwan. It examines the transformation of the relationship between women and land, and explores meanings related to women’s ownership of land since the government introduced the privatisation of land ownership and cash cropping into Truku society in the 1960s. However, the imposition of these programmes of land reform and capitalisation has generated various types of conflict over land in Truku society. Since the 1960s, Truku people have suffered from loss of lands, arising from various governmental policies on economic development. Hence, many land reclamation movements have arisen, organised by Truku people in order to reclaim their land rights. Furthermore, the transformation of property relations has generated many conflicts over land and inheritance between different households and has created tensions between women and men in terms of land ownership in contemporary society. Most importantly, I reflect on the prevalent idea that women’s right to own land is not sanctioned by ‘traditional’ Truku culture, an argument which, I argue, is problematic, because the idea does not (neatly) fit into actual Truku practices of property transaction. Truku people strategically make use of this narrative of ‘tradition’ in order to strengthen their own tactical position in land disputes which arise between different households. Furthermore, I am critical of the emphasis placed on masculine or male Truku culture in this narrative, which is constructed by Truku activists in land reclamation movements in contemporary Truku society. Through investigation of the processes by which women obtain land in Truku society, I argue that women’s ownership of land cannot simply be regarded as a consequence of the implications of privatisation, but is also a result of kinship practices and their work in cultivating land and maintaining the economic well-being of the household in contemporary society. This research attempts to contribute to anthropological perspectives on property relations, economic anthropology, gender studies, kinship studies and studies of indigenous movements in Taiwan.

Colombia has been characterized by an internal armed conflict since the 1960s where several violations of the human rights have followed. Threats and violence against human rights defenders is one example and this is directed toward both men and women in an attempt to deter these brave individuals from continuing their work. This thesis focuses on the commitment of women’s human rights defenders in Colombia. Numerous international human rights organizations and institutions claim that women are a particularly vulnerable group, which is why I choose to focus on this group. Starting from different feminist theories and with regard to intersectional perspectives, I want to find out: What motivates women in Colombia to defend women’s human rights? Do they pursue any specifically important issues? How do they handle the obstacles they face in their work? These questions are posed in order to find out how these women’s human rights defenders work with human rights in relation to the obstacles that they face. I want to find out what strategies they use to handle the obstacles that they are faced with. The material of the thesis mostly consists of semi-structured interviews with women from domestic women’s human rights organizations in the capital of Colombia, Bogotá. The results show that women’s human rights defenders incentive is individual and cannot be too generalized. According to the common components in the women’s answers they are motivated by the need to fight injustices, mainly social- and political injustices in relation to being a woman and violations within the armed conflict. They are empowered to continue their work through each other, through the processes and the determination to not give up. There are many specifically important issues, for example land rights, gender-based violence and rights of the ethnic minorities. Some of these rights are even said to be today’s biggest challenge for the country. The women’s human right defenders handle the obstacles to their work through not giving up until the injustices are fought and through giving each other hope. They refuse to let the perpetrators win. / Colombia har präglats av en intern väpnad konflikt sedan 1960-talet där en rad kränkningar av de mänskliga rättigheterna har följt. Hot och våld mot människorättsförsvarare är ett exempel och detta riktas både mot kvinnor och män i ett försök att avskräcka dessa modiga människor från att fortsätta med sitt arbete. Den här uppsatsen fokuserar på kvinnorättsförsvarares engagemang i Colombia. Att fokus läggs på kvinnor beror på att flera internationella människorättsorganisationer och institutioner hävdar att kvinnor är en särskilt sårbar grupp. Med utgångspunkt i olika feministiska teorier och med hänsyn till intersektionella perspektiv ställer jag mig frågorna: Vad är det som motiverar kvinnor i Colombia att försvara kvinnors mänskliga rättigheter? Driver de några särskilt viktiga rättighetsfrågor? Hur hanterar de hindren som de möter i sitt arbete? Dessa frågor ställs för att ta reda på hur dessa kvinnorättsförsvarare arbetar med mänskliga rättigheter i förhållande till de hinder som de möter. Jag vill ta reda på vilka strategier de använder för att hantera dessa hinder. Uppsatsens material består till största del av semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnor från nationella kvinnorättsorganisationer i Colombias huvudstad, Bogotá. Uppsatsens resultat visar att kvinnorättsförsvarares motiv är individuellt och kan inte generaliseras för mycket. Enligt de gemensamma komponenterna i kvinnornas svar motiveras dessa kvinnor av behovet att bekämpa orättvisor, främst sociala- och politiska orättvisor i förhållande till att vara kvinna och kränkningar som den väpnade konflikten för med sig. De stärks i att fortsätta sitt arbete genom varandra och genom de förda processerna samt beslutsamheten att inte ge upp. Det finns flera särskilt viktiga frågor som drivs, exempelvis markrättigheter, könsbaserat våld och de etniska minoriteternas rättigheter. Några av dessa frågor anges dessutom vara dagens största utmaningar för landet. Kvinnorättsförsvararna hanterar hindren i sitt arbete genom att inte ge upp förrän orättvisorna har bekämpats och genom att ge varandra hopp. De vägrar att låta förövarna vinna.

Almost any woman who has worked in a male dominated industry has faced a gender stereotype or bias of some type. Some of these women have even developed coping mechanisms to counteract these biases and make day-to-day interactions at work tolerable. Gathering information to reveal these stereotypes and biases can pose a distinctive challenge. Many women do not want to reveal the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and the vastness of types of challenges makes asking the correct questions very difficult. Through testing, this study has developed a valid data collection instrument that can be used to gather the varying data. The final instrument yielded 22 items that have strong validity and reliability results.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The present research examines the post-formative Islamic legal literature surrounding the question of women’s leadership to gauge whether and to what extent the development of Islamic legislation pertaining to women was determined by genderattitudes prevalent in Muslim society. There are three main theories to explain the prevalence of Islamic legal rulings divesting women of leadership roles. The first is the traditional view that these rulings are best explained by the application of the theoretical and hermeneutical approaches of classical Islamic legal theory to the Islamic source texts, the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The second is that the rulings are best explained as the consequence of the widespread gender attitudes in near-eastern society during the formative and early post-formative period of Islamic Law. The third is that legal inertia is the primary factor in explaining the existing post-formative Islamic legal corpus and little can be determined from it regarding the origin and early perpetuation of the laws. These competing theories are tested and explored by returning to a broad survey of Islamic legal texts from the four canonical schools of thought. The relevant passages from these texts are first translated and then examined according to three separate analytical approaches – a legal-hermeneutical analysis, an analysis of gender motifs, and a diachronic analysis of legal arguments – to explore the ways in which classical legal scholars arrived at and justified the prohibition of female leadership in politics, the judiciary, and congregational prayer. Key

This article is about the issue of Transitional Justice and its relationship with women’s rights. The author defines the concept of this term and makes a list of the rights that are covered by it, also she mentions that women have not been properly considered in the Transitional Justice process by not having the gender perspective, which is necessary to be done. The author concludes by stating that the reports have been more truthful when gender perspective was applied. / El presente artículo versa sobre la Justicia Transicional y su relación con los derechos de las mujeres. La autora define el concepto de este término y da a conocer un listado de los derechos que éste engloba, asimismo menciona que las mujeres no han sido debidamente incorporadas en los procesos de Justicia Transicional al no tener estos una perspectiva de género, lo cual es necesario que ocurra. Finalmente, la autora señala que se han tenido informes más verídicos cuando se aplicó este enfoque de género.

This thesis is a study of gender and honour, focusing on NGO’s who work to support women in Sweden who have escaped honour violence. The purpose of this thesis is to find out and explain how they make sense of honour and more specifically, to investigate how does Swedish authorities can help the Middle Eastern women who are victims under this tradition. My focus through this thesis will be on the data analysis, moreover, using intersectionality as an analytical tool will help to explain the intersections which lead to the honour killings. The results show that the honour violence still exists in the Swedish society as well as the Middle East, in addition, some Middle Eastern people who moved to Sweden still believe and practice the honour culture in the Swedish society. More than that, I got the answers for all the research questions which helped me to clarify the relation between honour and its intersections which helped me to know the reasons why does the Honour violence/killings can happen. The answers agree that the honour violence is connected to the shame and guilt cultures. The meaning of honour is different in different cultures. Most of the honour related cases have women as victims. The honour has many intersections, most of them related to virginity, homosexuality, out marriage relations and rape. The Swedish organisations offer help for the victims of honour.  More than that, reading my thesis will give the reader the understanding of the phenomena of Honour, its intersections and how it does exist in the Middle Eastern culture and its old traditions. / Gender Studies