Women's Ownership Research Articles

Coletivos ciberfeministas como fonte de informação

Objetivo: Analisar os coletivos ciberfeministas como fonte de informação, cujos problemas incluem questionar se esses sites disponibilizam sugestões de bibliografias com publicações que abordam o tema, identificar quais são os tipos de materiais (e-books, artigos, vídeos, dissertações, teses, cartilhas, leis, etc.) disponibilizados, quem os acessa, quem os produz e se mensuram os acessos aos materiais.Método: Optou-se pela pesquisa exploratória usando-se o método de etnografia virtual, avaliando os coletivos feministas brasileiros destacados na literatura pesquisada: Think Olga, Não Me Kahlo, Geledés, Blogueiras Negras, Escreva Lola Escreva, Blogueiras Feministas, Biscate Social Club, Gorda e Sapatão, Transfeminismos.Resultado: Os coletivos estudados apresentam, em sua maioria postagens de textos, muitos dos quais construídos a partir da consciência e conhecimento que o escritor tem do assunto, alguns seguindo uma abordagem próxima a de um depoimento, mostrando uma percepção pessoal sobre o tema, enquanto outros apresentam uma discussão com maior neutralidade. A busca por informação nesses blogs e outros ambientes virtuais, como páginas em redes sociais, nem sempre é facilitada, uma vez que alguns deles apresentam tags e campos de busca, mas nem todos. Se posicionam quanto ao possível público-alvo, contudo não foi localizado quantos acessos são realizados. Os comentários dos leitores são um indicador de que há interesse pelos materiais disponibilizados, mas não se tem um mapa dos acessos sobre quem e quanto foi acessado.Conclusões: Considera-se que a Ciência da Informação é fundamental para o ciberfeminismo, pois contribui diretamente para o empoderamento feminino, dado que visa compreender a dinâmica de desenvolvimento e difusão de uma cultura informacional nesse meio, e uma das principais propostas é promover o acesso e a apropriação à informação pelas mulheres

Does owning a bank account improve reproductive and maternal health services utilization and behavior in India? Evidence from the National Family Health Survey 2015-16.

•Ownership of a bank account is associated with improved reproductive and maternal health services utilization and behaviour.•Observed associations are strongest in states where the utilization of studied services is far below the national average.•No association is found between women's ownership of a bank account and institutional delivery.

Editorial Note: Colonial Intimacies and Gendered Violence

Editorial NoteColonial Intimacies and Gendered Violence Elisa Camiscioli and Jean H. Quataert This issue begins with Tamara J. Walker's account of a brutal knife assault on a free negra laundress in colonial Peru by her former lover, a Spanish sailor. By describing the cosmopolitan port city of Callao as a colonial contact zone where Europeans, slaves, and free blacks mingled in the streets, the taverns, and also in the bedroom, Walker introduces three themes that will reappear throughout this issue: colonial intimacy, sexual honor, and gendered violence. In "That Is How Whores Get Punished," Walker analyzes the testimonies provided during the 1774 criminal case that followed the assault on the laundress Marcelina Cordova, revealing how honor-based violence in late seventeenth-century Latin America drew on gendered ideas about female sexual respectability and men's ownership of women's bodies. One fateful evening, Marcelina Cordova walked by the local tavern in the company of another man, in full view of her former lover and his mates. The sailor responded to the perceived affront by calling her a "whore" and attacking her to within an inch of her life. In a world where the laundress's earnings depended on her reputation, to be labeled a whore was nearly as injurious as the assault on her body. Thus one year later, Cordova left the city of Callao, presumably to start her life over. While Walker's account begins as a careful reading of legal documents, she closes by inviting us to sit with the indeterminacy of Cordova's story and asking us to consider how the laundress may have experienced the "embodied afterlife of violence." Did she leave home for the reasons we assume? Did the scars that crisscrossed her hands make it difficult to work as a laundress? Did her scarred face make it impossible to forget the trauma of her attack? After all, the Spanish sailor clearly expressed his desire to leave Cordova "scarred" and thus to mark her as a woman without honor. What did these embodied remnants of violence mean to Marcelina Cordova and to others who witnessed her disfigurement? Different kinds of documentation permit more straightforward responses to questions like these. In "The Body and State Violence, from the Harrowing to the Mundane," Brandi Townsend explores how three women—Sylvia, Alicia, and Oriana—spoke about the violence they endured on their physical bodies while imprisoned under the Pinochet dictatorship (1973–1990) and, in turn, how societal ideas about gender and the body influenced their memories of these experiences. Using oral histories, Townsend confronts her subjects directly about their imprisonment, sexual assault, and other forms of torture, and discusses how they have coped with these living memories in the decades following Pinochet's demise. While this [End Page 7] history is far more recent than Walker's and its subjects are still alive, there are no easy generalizations to be made about the embodied afterlives of violence. Sylvia and Alicia explicitly linked their experiences under Pinochet to deeply seated ideas in Chilean culture that promoted men's domination over women's bodies and predated the dictator: abortion law, notions of sexual honor, and domestic violence. Their past and present politics, along with related life choices, challenged these gendered constraints by affirming bodily autonomy, particularly with regard to reproductive choices and domestic arrangements. For Oriana, however, whose embodied memories included multiple instances of rape, we are faced once again with the indeterminacy of historical narrative. Her testimony reminds us that sexual trauma, as well as recovery, does not lend itself to a coherent narrative. The next article returns to colonial Peru, exploring gendered violence and sexual honor under slavery. In "Alien to my sex," Frank Trey Proctor III examines the charges of "abuse" that enslaved women brought against slaveholders in eighteenth-century Lima, as was permitted by Spanish imperial law. The law did not define abuse differentially for women and men. Proctor shows, however, that enslaved women and their proxies singled out certain kinds of labor and punishment as inappropriate for women—especially if they damaged women's sexual honor. Such offenses ran the gamut from hair cutting and raising women's skirts in public to sexual...

Women's ownership rights to landed property in Nigeria: key to economic empowerment

Using desk reviews and qualitative data collection methods, the paper critically examines the rights of women to own land in current Nigeria, with a specific look at the three major tribes, both under the Nigerian customary laws and statute; the problems faced by women in Nigeria as a result of lack of unhindered access to land in their fatherland; the effects of such denial on their level of economic empowerment; and its ripple effect on the crucial role of women to achieve sustainable development goals. The paper concludes by recommending an awakening of the consciousness of relevant stakeholders.

Women's ownership rights to landed property in Nigeria: key to economic empowerment

Using desk reviews and qualitative data collection methods, the paper critically examines the rights of women to own land in current Nigeria, with a specific look at the three major tribes, both under the Nigerian customary laws and statute; the problems faced by women in Nigeria as a result of lack of unhindered access to land in their fatherland; the effects of such denial on their level of economic empowerment; and its ripple effect on the crucial role of women to achieve sustainable development goals. The paper concludes by recommending an awakening of the consciousness of relevant stakeholders.

Implementing small-scale poultry-for-nutrition projects: Successes and lessons learned.

This paper examines Helen Keller International's model for nutrition-sensitive poultry production using a programme implemented in four diverse African contexts-three rural and one urban. Consecutive cross-sectional surveys conducted every 5months among ~15% of participating households show that despite project-provided training and inputs, there was only limited uptake of many "best practices." Few households constructed improved henhouses; vaccination rates varied and were highest when support was provided. Poultry mortality was high. Egg productivity remained average for village poultry systems, and egg consumption remained low (two to six eggs consumed per household per fortnight). However, children whose mothers were exposed to project messages on nutrition were more likely to eat eggs, and consumption was consistently higher among households with chickens. Women's involvement in chicken rearing was widespread, but their control over revenues from the sale of poultry products was limited. Key lessons learned from implementation were as follows: (a) strong behaviour change communication is needed to encourage egg consumption, (b) nutrition-sensitive village poultry programmes should often focus more on improved practices than improved breeds, (c) supporting women's chicken production is not a route to empowerment without complementary activities that directly support women's ownership and decision making. There is also a need for rigorous research on the role of village poultry in livelihoods, food systems, and consumption as well as the structure of poultry and egg markets in low-resource areas.

Women's asset ownership and children's nutritional status: Evidence from Papua New Guinea

This study examines how women's asset ownership is associated with children's nutritional status in Papua New Guinea, a country with some of the most severe child malnutrition in the world. The 2009–2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey is employed, but restricted to children under the age of 72 months living with married mothers, leaving a final analytic sample of 1651. Asset ownership is expected to strengthen mothers' income-generating capacity and their bargaining power within the home, which increases investments in children's health. Women's ownership of fishing and agricultural equipment (important for meeting subsistence needs and for generating cash earnings) appears to be driving most of the results. OLS regression results point to beneficial effects of maternal asset ownership for children's height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age Z-scores, and results from detailed quantile regressions indicate that these effects occur at various parts of the distribution, especially for children's WAZ scores.

Envisioning Women-Centered HIV Care: Perspectives from Women Living with HIV in Canada

BackgroundWomen comprise nearly one-quarter of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Canada. Compared with men, women living with HIV experience inequities in HIV care and health outcomes, prompting a need for gendered and tailored approaches to HIV care. MethodPeer and academic researchers from the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study conducted focus groups to understand women's experience of seeking care, with the purpose of identifying key characteristics that define a women-centered approach to HIV care. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 77 women living with HIV across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia, Canada. ResultsWomen envisioned three central characteristics of women-centered HIV care, including i) coordinated and integrated services that address both HIV and women's health care priorities, and protect against exclusion from care due to HIV-related stigma, ii) care that recognizes and responds to structural barriers that limit women's access to care, such as violence, poverty, motherhood, HIV-related stigma, and challenges to safe disclosure, and iii) care that fosters peer support and peer leadership in its design and delivery to honor the diversity of women's experiences, overcome women's isolation, and prioritize women's ownership over the decisions that affect their lives. ConclusionDespite advances in HIV treatment and care, the current care landscape is inadequate to meet women's comprehensive care needs. A women-centered approach to HIV care, as envisioned by women living with HIV, is central to guiding policy and practice to improve care and outcomes for women living with HIV in Canada.

Women in the Informal/Unincorporated Textile Sector of India: Gendered Relationship between Proprietorship, Employment and Types of Enterprises Across States

Women have been associated traditionally as producers and consumers of textiles in India. The textile industry has over the years provided employment to both men and women and presently it is the second largest employer after agriculture in India and women form almost fifty percent of the workforce in the textile sector of India.Given the importance of textile sector in the labor force particularly for women, it is important to throw some lights on the employment of workers in the unincorporated textile enterprises of India. Therefore, this study explores gender based scenario in the unincorporated textile sector of India and examines differences among states with respect to ownership and employment of women and men.The paper analysis the relationship between female based employment and industrial classification of enterprise concentration in states the paper also brings to light the states in which women ownership has predominance and attempts to analyse it in relationship with the number of women employed across states in the unincorporated textile sector. Some of the Indian states have been found to be very high on women proprietorship and women employment of women and the overall relationship between the two exists in India.

Women's participation in self‐help groups as a pathway to women's empowerment: A case of Nepal

Non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and the government of Nepal have made some effort to reduce poverty in Nepal by creating women's affiliation groups, some of which are micro‐credit organizations. Using capabilities as defined by Amartya Sen (Development as freedom, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2000), which includes employment opportunities, women's ownership in productive resources such as land and/or homes, educational opportunities, and women's participation in decision‐making in the family, this study evaluated the extent to which women's ethnic group or caste affiliation affected a woman's likelihood of being empowered by participation in these groups. We analyzed a sample of 8,973 women which was taken from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Previous research has demonstrated that participation in gender‐based groups is correlated with higher economic status. This study adds to the literature on women's affiliation groups by investigating the impact of structural factors, such as caste and ethnicity, on women's self‐help group participation (women's groups and credit groups).

Gender, Assets, and Agricultural Development: Lessons from Eight Projects

Ownership of assets is important for poverty reduction, and women's control of assets is associated with positive development outcomes at the household and individual levels. This research was undertaken to provide guidance for agricultural development programs on how to incorporate gender and assets in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions. This paper synthesizes the findings of eight mixed-method evaluations of the impacts of agricultural development projects on individual and household assets in seven countries in Africa and South Asia. The results show that assets both affect and are affected by projects, indicating that it is both feasible and important to consider assets in the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects. All projects were associated with increases in asset levels and other benefits at the household level; however, only four projects documented significant, positive impacts on women's ownership or control of some types of assets relative to a control group, and of those only one project provided evidence of a reduction in the gender asset gap. The quantitative and qualitative findings suggest ways that greater attention to gender and assets by researchers and development implementers could improve outcomes for women in future projects.

Exploring gender norms, agency and intimate partner violence among displaced Colombian women: A qualitative assessment

Women displaced by conflict are often exposed to many factors associated with a risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) such as high levels of community violence and the breakdown of social support systems. Previous research found that Colombian women perceived IPV to increase after displacement. This study explored how the experience of displacement altered gendered roles in ways that influenced the risk of IPV. Thirty-three qualitative interviews were conducted with displaced partnered Colombian women. Women disclosed that couples often held patriarchal gender norms; however, the roles of each partner necessitated by conditions of displacement were often in conflict with these norms. Men's underemployment and women's employment outside the home were viewed as gender transgressive within some partnerships and increased relationship conflict. Economic resources intended to empower displaced women, notably women's earnings and home ownership, had unintended negative consequences for women's agency. These consequences included a corresponding decrease in partner financial contributions and reduced mobility. Women's ability to obtain support or leave violent relationships was hindered by interpersonal, social and structural barriers. For women to have agency to leave violent relationships, power relationships at all levels from the interpersonal to societal must be recognised and addressed.

Women's Wealth and Intimate Partner Violence: Insights from Ecuador and Ghana

ABSTRACTIntimate partner violence (IPV) by men against their partners is one of the most glaring indicators of women's lack of empowerment. Drawing upon the 2010 Ecuador Household Asset Survey (EAFF) and the 2010 Ghana Household Asset Survey (GHAS), nationally representative surveys for Ecuador and Ghana, respectively, this study investigates the relationship between women's ownership of assets and physical and emotional abuse by spouses against currently partnered women over the previous twelve months. It uses the value of a woman's total assets compared to those of her partner as the main proxy for a woman's bargaining power. Differentiating between physical and emotional violence in both countries, the study finds that women's share of couple wealth is significantly associated with lower odds of physical violence in Ecuador and emotional violence in Ghana. Moreover, the association between women's share of couple wealth and IPV is contingent on the household's position in the wealth distribution.

Peasant women and inheritance of land in fourteenth-century England

ABSTRACTThis study argues that women's ownership of land – an important component of their status – changed little, if at all, after the Black Death of the mid-fourteenth century. Using rentals and obit data from court rolls, a new formula for measuring female inheritance is devised which shows that daughters received even less of their expected due during the plague years. While high death rates might predict that brotherless daughters would be more likely to inherit land, inheritance practices shifted so that women continued to hold much the same total area as before. The article considers several reasons for this continuity, concluding that women found it especially hard to compete in an era of acute labour shortage.

Is Women's Ownership of Land a Panacea in Developing Countries? Evidence from Land-Owning Farm Households in Malawi

Our analysis of a rich representative household survey for Malawi, where patrilineal and matrilineal institutions coexist, suggests that (a) in matrilineal societies the likelihood of cash crop cultivation by a household increases with the extent of land owned (or de facto controlled) by males, and (b) and cultivation of cash crops increases household welfare. The policy implication is that facilitating female ownership of assets through informal and formal institutions does not, on its own, increase welfare, if women do not have access to complementary resources that are needed to generate income from those assets.

Is Women's Ownership of Land a Panacea in Developing Countries? Evidence from Land-Owning Farm Households in Malawi

Our analysis of a rich representative household survey for Malawi, where patrilineal and matrilineal institutions coexist, suggests that (a) in matrilineal societies the likelihood of cash crop cultivation by a household increases with the extent of land owned (or de facto controlled) by males, and (b) and cultivation of cash crops increases household welfare. The policy implication is that facilitating female ownership of assets through informal and formal institutions does not, on its own, increase welfare, if women do not have access to complementary resources that are needed to generate income from those assets.

A question of access: women, marriage and land ownership in south-western Australia

Several different 19th century and early 20th century accounts are analyzed to better understand the access of Aboriginal women to land ownership in south-western Australia. The various patterns of land inheritance and ownership of women through lineage and marriage are described.

Women's experiential journey toward voluntary childlessness: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

AbstractVoluntary childlessness is a relatively novel yet growing phenomenon. This idiographic study explored three women's experiential journeys toward voluntary childlessness. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Themes identified were: Owning the choice to be childless, social expectations, and models of mothering. Despite defining ‘voluntary childlessness’ as an unequivocal decision, the women's experiential accounts revealed an intrinsic fluidity in their journeys toward childlessness. Factors including beliefs in equality, independence and career aspirations competed with constructs of mothering/motherhood, partnership and choice to create a complex tapestry of contributory factors in these women's childlessness. The findings question the notion of choice and particularly women's ownership of that choice. The journeys toward childlessness these women shared reveal a synthesis of agentic decision‐making, personal histories and challenging lifestyle choices bound up within an existential need to be a woman. More research is needed to determine the place of voluntary childlessness within society. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Toward a Better Competition Policy for the Media: The Challenge of Developing Antitrust Policies that Support the Media Sector's Unique Role in Our Democracy

It is difficult to formulate meaningful competition policy when there is a fierce debate over the current competitiveness of the media industry. After addressing the importance of the marketplace of ideas in our democracy, our article examines the current state of the media industry, including the response of traditional media to audience declines, the growth of new media, the impact of media consolidation (including its impact on minority and women ownership), and the role of the Internet. In response to recent calls for liberalizing cross-ownership rules to protect traditional media, our article outlines why conventional antitrust policy is difficult to apply in media markets, and how the concerns underlying media mergers differ from other industries. Our article recommends first that Congress should take the lead in formulating a national media policy , second, an agenda for the agencies to look beyond a merger’s impact on advertising rates and more empirical work on media mergers’ impact on the marketplace of ideas, and finally ways the government can promote access to the marketplace of ideas.

WHOSE BODY? THE “WILLING” OR “UNWILLING” MESMERIZED WOMAN IN LATE VICTORIAN FICTION

The prolonged Victorian craze for mesmerism and hypnotism produced a large body of popular fiction between 1860 and 1910, deploying its practices as tropes for a variety of cultural and political issues, though there is as yet little scholarship exploring it. Much of this fiction directly or indirectly addresses urgent late Victorian anxieties about women's ownership of their bodies, their children and their property, in light of the controversial women's property legislation of the 1870s and 1880s. Such fiction usually subjects both the person and property of a middle- or upper-class lady to the control of a male mesmerist or hypnotist. This article foregrounds Florence Warden's A Woman's Face (1888), comparing it with Frank Barrett's The Woman of the Iron Bracelets (1893), to demonstrate how popular fiction by female as well as male authors betrays a profound uneasiness about woman's autonomy, her willpower and capacity for self-governance, and her ability to manage material property. Both novels overtly empower their female protagonists, but deploy subtler, covert means to question female self-control and to warn against female will-to-power. This ambivalent treatment suggests that women's property legislation did not betoken an unequivocal confidence in women's powers, and that fin-de-siècle cultural turmoil contributed to uncertainty about extending women's rights.