Patriarchal Beliefs Research Articles

Accompaniment in the Gender and Social Discrimination of Migrant Women Victims of Gender-Based Violence: From Bibliography to Situated Key in Burgos, Spain

Migrant women who experience gender-based violence face a framework of social vulnerability that is compounded by their status as both women and migrants, requiring specific attention in social support. The aim of this study is to understand the situation of women in the social and health access realm, drawing from scientific literature as well as the voices of migrant women and professionals who support them, in order to establish priority guidelines for social support. The study begins with a bibliographic analysis of scientific literature on migrant women who have experienced gender-based violence, which informs six interviews with migrant women and five professionals, delving into their social needs and support requirements. The most prominent results point to the need for sustained and interdisciplinary support throughout the process of accessing healthcare and legal services. In addition, there is a call for social awareness in understanding the specific and personal needs of migrant women. Finally, educational support is required to dismantle patriarchal beliefs that legitimize gender discrimination and violence, avoiding re-victimization and acknowledging the multi-dimensional nature of women’s experiences.

Women’s bargaining power and spending on children’s education: Evidence from a natural experiment in China

How women’s bargaining power affects children’s education remains an open question. This paper explores the impact of women’s bargaining power on children’s educational expenditure, using a sample comprising 5099 couples from China Family Panel Studies. The Difference-in-Differences approach is applied based on the natural experiment of an amendment to the Chinese Marriage Law concerning intrahousehold property ownership. We find that the decline in women’s bargaining power caused by the law amendment significantly reduces couples’ expenses on children’s education. Holding all the characteristics of the couple and time and regional factors constant, when women are deprived of their housing property, expenditure on children’s education drops by an average 35.9%. Further analysis shows that when the husband has a larger advantage in education and income, and stronger patriarchal beliefs, the wife’s bargaining power is affected more by the law amendment, with a larger significant negative effect on spending on children’s education. This paper suggests that policies that deteriorate gender equality can affect not only women’s status within the household but also household’s investment in child education.

Determinants of women’s agency in accessing and utilising reproductive healthcare services; a systematic review

Women’s agency is vital to access and use reproductive healthcare services, particularly in contexts where patriarchal beliefs and cultural norms limit women’s desire to act on their goals or affect their access to essential resources. However, less is known about what resources enable women to exercise agency to access these services. A comprehensive systematic review was conducted to summarise existing evidence on the determinants of women’s agency in accessing and using reproductive healthcare services. Various determinants were identified, including individual characteristics; household structure; reproductive health-related determinants; social relations; and economic factors. These determinants of women’s agency in accessing reproductive healthcare services were strongly associated with social norms and cultural beliefs. Several gaps in the literature included inconsistent definitions and measurement of women’s agency; lack of considering cultural sensitivities and socially acceptable practices in the conceptualisation and measurement of women’s agency; a narrow focus on services related predominantly to pregnancy and birth, with other aspects of services including sexual health and safe abortion being largely unreported. The literature focused on developing countries in Africa and Asia, leaving a significant gap in knowledge about women’s agency to access services in other geographical areas or among immigrant or refugee populations living in developed countries.

Cooperation without Submission: Indigenous Jurisdictions in Native Nation–US Engagements by Justin B. Richland (review)

Reviewed by: Cooperation without Submission: Indigenous Jurisdictions in Native Nation–US Engagements by Justin B. Richland Hayden L. Nelson Cooperation without Submission: Indigenous Jurisdictions in Native Nation–US Engagements. By Justin B. Richland. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021. ix + 221 pp. Illustrations, maps, references, index. $25.00 paper. The historical relationship between Native tribes and the United States government is one that is strained and often unbalanced. In this book, Justin B. Richland, an associate justice of the Hopi Appellate Court and professor of anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, provides not only a legal history of tribal engagements with the US, but also a guidebook for improving that relationship. Richland borrowed the concept of "cooperation without submission (CWS)" from the Hopi lawyer and linguist Emory Sekaquaptewa, who regarded Hopi society as an intricate system of mutual respect and understanding between different clans, norms, and relations. Richland expands Sekaquaptewa's complex concept beyond the Hopi, arguing that CWS is a transferable Indigenous theory of jurisdiction while at the same time proposing that this could be a means of improving ongoing relationships between Native Nations and the US. Within the work, another important conceptual contribution is Richland's use of "juris-dictions." While "jurisdiction" is the legal authority of a sovereign state, "jurisdictions" is the everyday legal discourse on specific cases. Richland finds that Native leaders typically insert Indigenous norms and knowledges into their law-speech, making the legal landscape an important place to insist on tribal sovereignty. While Native leaders use the legal space to assert themselves, however, Richland argues that it is the failure of non-Natives to fully recognize Indigenous cultural and legal norms. Why have non-Natives failed to recognize CWS? A major part of this disjuncture lies in the longstanding patriarchal belief in Native Nations not as sovereign nations in their dealings with the US, but instead as lesser, subordinate, and prostrate to the primacy of American law. As Richland rightly points out, however, such domineering perspectives have often failed Native people. Ultimately, failing to recognize these Indigenous patterns of self-governance serves to erase their authority and sovereignty, which is a central component to the ongoing project of settler colonialism. Ultimately, Cooperation without Submission is a fine book that should interest Indigenous and legal scholars alike. While it may conflate the diverse cultural norms and legal practices of various Native Nations under the expanded Hopi concept of CWS, the book has merit in its examination of everyday legal discourse to [End Page 108] discover how Natives and non-Natives understand one another. Despite the book focusing very little on the Great Plains directly, scholars of the region should find interest in the theoretical framework of CWS, as well as the book's discussion on recent legal matters concerning Plains Native Nations, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. The true marvel of this book is its assertion of Indigenous sovereignty in the legal landscape, which Richland suggests is a key component in taking steps toward decolonization and as a way forward in Native Nation–US engagements predicated upon a more equitable relationship of reciprocity, respect, and understanding. Hayden L. Nelson Department of History University of Kansas Copyright © 2023 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Religious and Patriarchal Beliefs that Influence Christian Women to Persevere in Abusive Relationships: With Reference to Giriama People, Kenya

This article examines how cultural beliefs and patriarchal practices during the early period of the spread of Christianity promoted intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in the church. The article begins by exploring some cultural and patriarchal beliefs that were practised by the Jews and Giriama people during the pre-evangelistic period that promoted IPV against women through religious and cultural practices to see violence as normal, thus choosing to persevere in violent relationships. New strategies for preventing IPV against women have been discussed. In this descriptive research, data were collected from 52 informants using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The study interviewed 30 women facing IPV individually. Abused women provided information in focus group discussions. Ten pastors were sampled in order to gather data on how cultural and patriarchal practices with the support of biased biblical interpretation of texts, promoted IPV against Christian women. Twelve questionnaires were administered to six gender officers, three probation officers and three social workers, and the findings were used to supplement data collected from the key informants. This study established that some Bible texts are interpreted and used by wife abusers and pastors offering counselling to the IPV victims to promote and justify IPV. It, therefore, recommended that the church should organise to re-read and re-learn these Bible texts with a view to interpreting them without being biased against women. The church should also re-examine all patriarchal passages in the Bible with a view to facilitating contextual and reasoned scrutiny of the male-controlled beliefs and practices that promote IPV against women. The article established that cultural beliefs and patriarchal practices promote IPV against women. Some pastors and wife abusers interpret some Bible verses to justify spousal abuse; however, if the problem of IPV is to be prevented, the church, the government, and other stakeholders involved in a war against IPV on women must embrace new strategies that are free from cultural and patriarchal beliefs and practices.

The relationship between language and neo-colonialism in the aid industry

Based both on research and on direct field experience, this article analyses the use of language as a tool of power within the aid industry. First, it underlines the deep relation between languages and cultures (or subcultures), then it presents historic examples on how language was purposefully used by colonisers to achieve dominance and, at times, to destroy pre-existing local practices. It then discusses more recent cases of language use by dominant groups, that stem from patriarchal and post-colonial relations. Finally, it analyses some of the practices related to language within the aid industry, showing how they mirror colonial and patriarchal beliefs, and suggests possible alternatives.

The one-sided view of VaTsonga marital endurance, Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu: A challenge to pastoral care

Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu is a Xitsonga idiomatic expression implying that the road to marital success is for a wife to endure hardships. This idiomatic expression is firmly embedded in patriarchal beliefs, as it is only applicable to wives and not husbands. From time immemorial, the VaTsonga people have been aware of the complexities of marriage. Although they regard it as being a vital step towards full adulthood and maturity, they have several sayings which point out that marriage is not an easy undertaking, such as the well-known saying, Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu. The purpose of this article was to examine the VaTsonga idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu, as well as its impact on VaTsonga marriages and patriarchy in VaTsonga marriages. Furthermore, the study provided recommendations to pastoral caregivers to promote gender equality and discourage the abuse of women in Tsonga marriages. A literature review methodological approach was adopted in this research to indicate that the idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu chimes well with the patriarchal mindset of VaTsonga people with regards to marriage in general. Culture is patriarchal and this is general knowledge; therefore, this article argued that women are told and taught to accept male patriarchal rule along with the injustice and hardships that it causes them. Hence, this article challenged practical theology to play a role in fighting against this Tsonga patriarchal rule of marriage.Contribution: In the light of the above-named challenges, the one-sided view of VaTsonga marriage endurance and its patriarchal nature was discussed. Practical theology was called to respond to these issues, as it can play a significant role in challenging pastoral care to respond to such patriarchal VaTsonga idioms.

Bridging the Gap between Past and Present: Post-War Effects and Reconciliation in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (1976)

The article is an attempt to analyze how traumatic experiences of the past shape the materiality of human conditions in the present in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (1976). Tate’s family thinks that they’re trapped in a curse that causes emotional, financial, and psychological disturbances. In reality, they are unaware of the fact that the curse is a traumatic memory of Weston. Weston as a father and husband remain detached, alienated, and aloof from his entire family. He becomes violent when the war memories remind him of his physical injury that caused impotency. He thinks that he has lost all of his power as a husband, father (upholding patriarchal beliefs), and war veteran. The text, Curse of the Starving Class (1976) has been analyzed through the theoretical lens of Trauma and Recovery (1992) by Judith Lewis Herman. The theory states the stages of recovery from a traumatized past. Also, how the traumatic incidents shatter the concept of a happy family; if not forgotten.

Examining the gender equity outlook and patriarchal beliefs of police constables in Allahabad, India: A machine learning approach

Abstract This cross-sectional study examined the association between gender equity outlook (GEO) and patriarchal beliefs (PB) among 190 police constables in Allahabad, India. Results of linear regression and the scatter plot analysis revealed an inverse association (ß= −0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16–0.49) between the GEO and PB of police constables. The feature selection technique of machine learning was also used to understand which socio-demographic characteristics were most important in explaining the GEO and PB. Recursive features elimination, a decision tree, random forest, ridge, and lasso regression showed gender as the most important feature (GEO ß= 3.66, 95% CI, P < 0.00; PB ß= 9.54, 95% CI, P < 0.00) followed by age and education in explaining the prevalence of GEO and PB. The findings underscore the importance of (re)shaping policing policies and interventions with a particular focus on gender equity and equality in eliminating the prevalent patriarchy among police in India.

Breaking Barriers? Examining Neoliberal–Postfeminist Empowerment in Women’s Mixed Martial Arts

This article problematizes claims of women’s empowerment in “masculine” sports through an exploration of women’s participation in mixed martial arts (MMA)—a combat sport colloquially referred to as “cage fighting.” MMA, perhaps more than any other sport, allows women athletes to challenge patriarchal beliefs about gender by demonstrating women’s capacity for physical violence and domination. But whereas investigations into MMA have produced important findings for studies of men and masculinities, there has been surprisingly little attention paid to women’s participation in this hypermasculine world. This article begins to fill this gap through an ethnographic account of this growing sport. Drawing from more than four years of ethnographic fieldwork and 40 semi-structured interviews with professional women’s MMA athletes, I show how the neoliberal–postfeminist culture of MMA undermines its empowerment potential by shaping gendered subjecthood in ways that are conducive to the maintenance of gender inequality. I conclude by discussing the implications of my findings for women’s empowerment in sport.

Neoliberal Hegemonic Masculinity and McMindfulness: The Need for Buddhist Values and Principles in Mindful Masculinity Programs

This paper explores how certain Buddhist-inspired principles such as impermanence of self and compassion for all (metta) and the practice of mindfulness can contribute to challenging ways in which young men adopt troublesome aspects of systemic patriarchy. It (1) briefly examines the problem of systemic patriarchy in its most dominant forms, neoliberal hegemonic masculinity and right-wing racist authoritarian masculinity; (2) critically discusses examples of mindfulness education and counseling programs for young men that have been severed from their Buddhist origins (McMindfulness) that attempt to challenge young men around patriarchal beliefs and thoughts but end up reproducing neoliberal hegemonic masculinity; (3) briefly considers the problem of McMindfulness and its relation to Buddhism and neoliberal hegemonic and mindful masculinity; and (4) offers Buddhist perspectives as part of a counter-view that may serve within programs as an alternative to current forms of patriarchy while including and renewing the aforementioned Buddhist principles.

The dynamics of women’s representation in legislative body of Tasikmalaya City, West Java Indonesia

Women’s representation in the legislative body has a significant role in increasing democratic quality. This is because democracy necessitates the equality between men and women in political spheres, including in the legislative body. This article aims to critically analyze women’s representation in the legislative body in Tasikmalaya City and examine the implementation of affirmative action through 30% quota for women. The method used in this research is content analysis companied with political approach. As for the data, this article utilizes primary and secondary data collected through in-depth interview and library research, respectively. In addition, the data were analyzed through the concept of representation proposed by Pitkin as well as an integrated model of women’s representation used by Schwindt-Bayer and Mishler. This study reveals that women’s representation in a political position, such as parliament, does not merely depend on affirmative action through legal rules, it is also influenced by political, socioeconomic and ideological-psychological factors. This study concludes that women’s underrepresentation in parliament of Tasikmalaya City is caused not by a single factor, but by various factors such as education, religious and patriarchal beliefs as well as competencies of women candidates.

Affirmative Action Study on the Political Rights of Women in the Indonesian Constitution

As the world’s third largest democracy, Indonesia’s governmental system should ideally function as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, to borrow the famous words of Abraham Lincoln. In reality, the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, an institution which should best represent the nation’s people in carrying out its duty of drafting legislative products, still fails to do so, as it is dominated by men. Deep-rooted patriarchal beliefs cloud the nation, while inadequate and inefficient laws have also contributed to the present situation of low female representation in politics. This article therefore looks into the effectiveness various laws and regulations intended to protect women’s political rights. It assesses the effect of the low participation of women on the quality and gender-sensitivity of laws passed by the House of Representatives. It also evaluates the urgency to introduce affirmative action policies through the 1945 Constitution to increase women’s participation rates. The authors have used the normative-empirical method, consisting of a statutory, conceptual and comparative approach. Materials used for this research include interviews with prominent figures, analysis of the law and a comparative study. Through this approach, the article concludes that prevailing regulations in Indonesia require improvement, as there needs to be a shift from the present quota system to a system of reserved legislative seats in order to reap the benefits of equal participation.

Don't Cross the Line: Bounding the Causal Effect of Hypergamy Violation on Domestic Violence in India

AbstractWe empirically examine whether violation of hypergamy—which occurs when the wife's economic status equals or exceeds that of her husband's—causally affects domestic violence using microdata from India. Identifying the causal effect of hypergamy violation on domestic violence, however, is challenging due to unmeasured confounding and reverse causality. To overcome these difficulties, we utilize a non-parametric bounds approach. Employing this approach, we find strong evidence that violation of hypergamy leads to a significant increase in domestic violence. Furthermore, we provide suggestive evidence that this result arises because violation of hypergamy is likely to undermine patriarchal beliefs and norms about gender roles, and also because it is likely to increase men's likelihood of using domestic violence as an instrument to sabotage their wives' labour market prospects. Our findings suggest that policies that seek to empower women and promote gender equality might paradoxically increase women's exposure to domestic violence.

A qualitative study of sexual violence and attribution of responsibility in Georgian youth

Background: Sexual violence is a complex and pressing social issue that needs urgent solutions. Republic of Georgia is one of those countries where despite some advancements in law and practice, patriarchal beliefs and behaviour patterns still prevail in a daily life. So far, there has not been undertaken an in-depth study on how Georgians and particularly youth, define sexual violence and what are the justifications behind these views. The aim of the research is to understand how Georgian students understand sexual violence, who they think are responsible for sexual violence and what are the underlying reasons behind those views. Method: In total, 37 in-depth interviews have been conducted with Georgian students, from September of 2019 to March of 2021. The study participants were recruited from different universities, including the two biggest cities of Georgia - Tbilisi and Batumi. Results: The research revealed that understanding of sexual violence is far more complex than it was expected. Georgian students define sexual violence as a broad category where sexual harassment and sexual coercion have overlapping and at the same time independent meaning. Interpretation and attribution of responsibility in all three categories are dependent on situations and context that contain not only physical violence but also inappropriate touch, insistent gaze, comments about body parts, sexist insults and discrimination, messages of sexual content, psychological pressure and blackmailing. Attribution of responsibility was equally dependent on personal judgements as well as culturally determined stereotypes. Conclusion: Sexual violence is not a new phenomenon in Georgia, but its consideration as a social problem is. The research demonstrated that understanding and judgment on sexual violence, sexual harassment and sexual coercion is nuanced issue and still needs clear categories of definitions.

Towards Dismantling Patriarchy in the Kibera Slum, Kenya: Narrative Accounts of Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

AbstractKibera is the largest informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, and Africa’s largest urban informal settlement. It is a community plagued by poverty and unemployment. In response to the social disorganization common to informal settlements, criminal activity is rampant, particularly in assault and sexual violence cases. Patriarchal beliefs fuel power imbalances which consequently perpetuate violence. Kenyan societies tend to be traditionally patriarchal and characterized by male privilege and female subservience. This article explores the narrative accounts of female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) to overcome patriarchy in Kibera, Kenya. Through a qualitative inquiry, 32 female victims of IPV were interviewed, and the data obtained were thematically analysed. The findings established that patriarchy is sustained in Kibera through control, dominance and violence. Additionally, salient partakers in advancing patriarchy are family structures and authorities. Moreover, strategies to dismantle patriarchy and IPV are proposed through these narrative accounts.

The inclusion of women in jihad: gendered practices of legitimation in Islamic State recruitment propaganda

ABSTRACT Although jihadist terrorist organisations envisage a society divided according to strict gender roles, they have increasingly turned to women in pursuit of their goals. This is a double-edged sword for jihadist groups: while recruitment of women increases the pool of activists, the discrepancy between their patriarchal beliefs and women’s enlistment may have implications for their legitimacy. How jihadists address this dilemma in their appeals to women, however, has received little attention to date. Integrating literature on recruitment and legitimacy, this article looks at the case of ISIS from a gender lens to explore how the group reconciled its recruitment of women with its patriarchal ideology. A critical discourse analysis of the group’s publications between 2015 and 2017 reveals three gendered narratives that ISIS has used to substantiate its recruitment of women. These narratives depict women as builders of the Ummah, representatives of Islam, and guardians of the Caliphate. In all constructs, it is argued, women are assigned agency, with their violent agency specifically developing over time. The legitimation attempts of ISIS provide insight into the growing appeal to enlist women by patriarchal terrorist organisations, their ability to rationalise this, and the potentially refutable claims to counter this trend.

“My dear unwanted”: media discourse on sex-selective abortion in Montenegro

ABSTRACT Beliefs based on patriarchy have different manifestations, from gender-insensitive language to discriminatory and prejudiced behavior. While the consequences of patriarchal beliefs are observable and well-studied, more attention is required to unravel the role of societal actors that contribute to both their development and their suppression. The present research applies the novel Socio-cognitive Discourse Studies to investigate how the media acts as a significant mediating public structure that has the potential to enable or disable the reproduction of patriarchy. I investigate the media discourse on sex-selective abortion (SSA)—the practice of the targeted elimination of female fetuses. The study takes the case of Montenegro, listed among the leading countries in the world with a significantly distorted sex ratio at birth. Besides confirming that the majority of the media encourage the status quo through its passive approach to SSA, the socio-cognitive analysis also established the relationship between the media and consumers, revealing how the different discourse strategies the journalists use trigger different cognitive responses among their audience. This study discovered discursive patterns in the public presentation of women while pointing out the crucial role the media plays in disseminating analytical and balanced information on significant and worrisome tendencies, such as SSA.

Challenging gender norms: women’s leadership, political authority, and autonomy

PurposeIn patriarchal settings, cultural barriers continue to influence women’s participation in positions of leadership and political authority. This paper aims to explore these findings in light of the theoretical concepts of “hegemonic masculinity” and “patriarchy,” which explain gender disparities in the occupancy of political power and leadership positions in Qatar.Design/methodology/approachData from original face-to-face national surveys conducted among subjects in Qatar were used, including 1,611 completed household interviews.FindingsThe findings were consistent with the prevailing patriarchal beliefs present in Qatari society and Arab Gulf States. The analysis showed that there was greater significant support for men holding key leadership and authority positions than women. Individual-level factors were found to have a significant association with attitudes favoring women. Compared to respondents who had never attended school, those who had completed secondary school and those who had partaken in higher education favored having women in leadership roles.Practical implicationsAs a means to fix the gender imbalance within the occupancy of positions of political power in Qatar, this study recommends putting substantial efforts into increasing the number of interventions underpinning gender equality through social awareness programs that may improve the public’s perceptions. Furthermore, gender-equitable affirmative actions are needed to promote the inclusion of women in power and increase their presence in leadership roles.Originality/valueThis study is among the very few that have theoretically and empirically addressed the issue of women’s authority and involvement in key leadership roles in the context of Qatar.

Lived Experiences at the Intersection of Sediment(ation) Pollution, Gender, Ethnicity and Ecosystem Restoration from the Kaipara Moana, Aotearoa New Zealand

In settler-colonial nations such as Aotearoa, New Zealand, ecosystem degradation and restoration of coastal estuaries and their catchments are typically framed through a scientific lens and often privilege patriarchal beliefs and epistemologies. A consequence of colonization in Aotearoa is that sediment(ation) pollution is deemed undesirable, and science is needed to control and solve such ecosystem challenges. However, there remains a tendency to prioritize science over other ways of knowing. Therefore, ecosystem management strategies and restoration practices fail to attend to the dynamics of social differentiation within Indigenous groups concerning settler-colonial power. Indigenous peoples bring nuanced ways of knowing and being whereby relational ontologies and ethics are imperative starting points. Relational ontologies reshape knowledge production to ensure more ethical and just relationships with nature. We use an intersectional lens to highlight the gendered, ethnic, and natured dimensions of sediment(ation) pollution. We show how pollution manifests differently across intimate scales (body, local), demonstrating the far-reaching effects of settler-colonialism violence. This article presents Indigenist geo-creative narratives from four Māori women regarding their lived experiences and realities of sediment(ation) pollution. Using practices familiar to and chosen by them, narratives are richly nuanced, political and recalled in relational and affective terms. We intend to disrupt and bring forth a relational vision of sediment(ation) pollution as a socially just and equitable way of managing and restoring ecosystems.