The gendered effects of statecraft on women in tourism: Economic sanctions, women’s disempowerment and sustainability?

Abstract

Despite sanctions being one of the most common and far-reaching forms of economic statecraft, there is a notable absence of research on the gendered effects of economic sanctions on women’s empowerment in general, and more particularly in relation to tourism. This is surprising given that the burden of economic sanctions is overwhelmingly felt by women due to their vulnerable socio-economic and political status in targeted countries. Drawing upon a disciplinary base in international relations and political science and using a gendered lens via a series of interviews, this study sought to explore the gendered effects of economic sanctions on Iranian women’s empowerment in the country’s tourism and hospitality industry. The study’s findings indicate that sanctions have negatively affected and deteriorated economic, psychological, social and political aspects of women empowerment. The results highlight the vulnerability of empowerment within the religio-patriarchal society of Iran. As such economic empowerment is recognized as a major contributor to the overall empowerment of women in Iran which is therefore severely affected by sanctions. Overall, this study fills a significant gap in tourism research by highlighting the gendered implications of a ubiquitous state tool of coercive diplomacy and foreign policy and its effects on women’s empowerment.