Secularism, Feminism and Race in Representations of Australianness

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Randell-Moon
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Women's Autonomy ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender ◽  
John Howard

In 2005 and 2006 members of the John Howard led Coalition Government, including the Prime Minster and Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, questioned whether Muslim dress, such as the hijab, conformed with ‘mainstream’ Australian standards of secularism and gender equality. In doing so, Howard and Costello used a feminist-sounding language to critique aspects of Islam for purportedly restricting the freedom and autonomy of Muslim women. I argue that race is implicated in the construction of Islam as a “threat” to secularism and gender equality because an unnamed assumption of the Australian ‘mainstream’ as Anglo-Celtic and white informs the standards of normalcy the Government invokes and constructs Islam as a ‘foreign’ religion. Further, whilst the demand for Muslim women to conform with ‘mainstream’ norms potentially contradicts the Government’s commitment to women’s autonomy, such a contradiction is not peculiar to the Howard Government. Using the work of Jean-Luc Nancy and Stewart Motha, I place the ‘hijab debates’ within the tension in liberal democracies between fostering autonomy and requiring a universal civil law to guarantee (but exist above) individual autonomy.

PENDIDIKAN BERBASIS KESETARAAN GENDER: Studi Kebijakan Pemerintah dan Aplikasinya dalam Pendidikan

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inayatul Ulya
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Gender Analysis ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
Library Research ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Gender equality-based education is education that accommodate gender differences. This study aims to reveal the gender sensitivity insocial and educational as well as identify government policies in building gender equ ality and its applications in formal education. This study is qualitative with an inventory of government policies in building gender equality, and then analyze it with the reality of education in Indonesia. The approach used in this study is referring to the normative approach to the study of government policies in enforcing gender equality and its applications in formal education. The research data was collected using the techniques of literary study (library research). Materials that have been acquired and processed is described and analyzed by using descriptive interpretative paradigm and gender analysis. Although many efforts have been taken by the government for the realization of gender equality, but in the education sector still  show gender inequality. The indication can be seen from three aspects, they are not unequal participation in education for women, unequal educational material as well as the selection of majors unequal proportions of men and women. The phenomenon is not yet reflect the totality of gender equality education. Keywords:pendidikan, kesetaraan gender, kebijakan pemerintah

scholarly journals European Muslim Youth and Gender (in)Equality Discourse: Towards a More Critical Academic Inquiry

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Colleen Boland
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Religious Fundamentalism ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Religious Difference ◽  
Muslim Youth ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
And Gender

In Europe, gender equality can be framed as a secular value, juxtaposed against affiliation with and practice of Islam. Academic and public debate has either given special attention to the spread of religious fundamentalism in Europe, or to the way Muslim women dress, citing how both purportedly jeopardize gender equality. This is despite findings that a link between gender equality and religiosity or practice of Islam is neither inherent nor circumscribed. Moreover, it is possible to demonstrate that such discourse rests on implicitly racialized conceptualizations of the Muslim “other”. Meanwhile, Muslim youth in particular are benchmarked against these imagined standards of gender equality, as compared with non-Muslim peers. This work examines ways in which normative secular frameworks and discourses, taking ownership of gender equality narratives, have shaped Europe’s academic inquiry regarding Muslim youth. It notes what is absent in this inquiry, including intersections of race and class, which remain divorced from the limited conversation on gender and religious difference. A reflexive, intersectional approach to this discussion, conscious of the importance of embedded racial or structural inequality and what is absent in current inquiry, better serves in understanding and navigating power relations that ultimately contribute to multiple exclusion of these youth.

ASSESSING FISHERY LEGISLATION FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT IN FISHERY COMMUNITIES IN INDONESIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Ani Purwanti ◽  
Dyah Wijaningsih ◽  
Muh. Afif Mahfud ◽  
Fajar Ahmad Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
Fishing Industry ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender

The research objective was to analyze the problem of fisherwomen empowerment and gender equality based on legal reviews in Indonesia. The research method used is normative legal studies. The results of the study found that there are discriminatory implications in Law Number 7 of 2016 concerning the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Farmers, and Salt Farmers or commonly referred to as the PEF Act (Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen) which is not in line with the empowerment of fisherwomen and is in conflict with gender equality. The findings make it clear that fisherwomen, unlike other economic actors in the fishing industry, are the most overlooked group rooted in socio-cultural prejudice. The PEF Act does not specifically recognize or even mandate any form of affirmative action for fisherwomen to gain equal access to protection and empowerment programs. This causes fisherwomen who have been culturally forcibly placed in households and away from the fishing industry. But instead, the PEF Act dwarfed the position of women as a mere secondary role in fishery households instead of the main breadwinner. Therefore, this study suggests that the government should make a strict amendment to the PEF Act. Namely recognizing gender equality in the role of fisherwomen and followed by reforming gender mainstreaming in the fisheries bureaucracy to accommodate fisherwomen's rights to access community empowerment programs for fishing communities.

scholarly journals A Community of Shared Values? Dimensions and Dynamics of Cultural Integration in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Plamen Akaliyski ◽  
Christian Welzel ◽  
Josef Hien
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Shared Values ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Value Sharing ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Academic Discourses ◽  
The Eu

Whether the EU is a community of shared values is increasingly contested in public debates and academic discourses alike. We analyse the level and change in the acceptance of the EU’s officially promoted values in seven domains: personal freedom, individual autonomy, social solidarity, ethnic tolerance, civic honesty, gender equality and liberal democracy. We find that EU-member populations support the EU- values strongly and increasingly over time, especially in individual freedoms and gender equality. Regarding support for these values, EU-member populations are notably distinct from non-EU populations. Simultaneously, however, EU-member populations are internalizing the EU-values at different speeds—alongside traditional cultural fault lines that continue to differentiate Europe—in the following order from fastest to slowest internalization: (1) Protestant, (2) Catholic, (3) Ex-communist and lastly (4) Orthodox countries. In conclusion, the EU- population writ large evolves into a distinct value-sharing community at different speeds.

Neoliberalism and Gender Equality: Canadian Newspapers’ Representations of the Ban of Face Coverings at Citizenship Ceremonies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Previsic
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Gender Oppression ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
The Press ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Canadian Citizenship

In late 2011, Canada’s Conservative government banned face coverings for those taking oath at citizenship ceremonies. The ban was unequivocally interpreted by the press to be targeting veil-wearing Muslim women. This paper analyzes newspaper coverage in the month following the announcement of the policy. It argues that most commentators conceptualized citizenship to be a neoliberal tool of rescuing veiled Muslim women from their male oppressors and making them more like the equal/neoliberal “us” and/or as a reward for those who already are or will become equal/neoliberal. Most non-Muslim commentators constructed gender oppression as the reason for which veiled women should (not) become citizens. Gender equality in Canada was represented as a key national value and inequality was erased or minimized and presented as a Muslim problem. In attempting to deflect these arguments, most Muslim commentators silenced gender inequality among Muslims by arguing that veiled Muslim women choose the practice and by relegating gender oppression to Western societies, thereby constructing veiled Muslim women as ideal neoliberal subjects worthy of Canadian citizenship.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v11i1.253

scholarly journals Federalism and Gender Equality

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-519
Author(s):  
Susan H Williams
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Ideal Orientation ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender

Despite the enormous literature on federalism in constitutional design, and the growing attention to gender equality in constitutional design, there has been remarkably little attention paid to the interaction between the two. This article seeks to provide a summary of the existing literature on this intersection, to apply the insights of that literature to the case of Myanmar, and to offer a contribution concerning the theoretical connections between federalism and gender equality. The analysis generates four primary conclusions. First, federalism is inherently neither good nor bad for gender equality: it all depends on the details of the federal system and the context in which they are applied. Second, there are, nonetheless, some guidelines that can be gleaned from the experiences of countries around the world about the design elements that can make federalism more or less useful for promoting gender equality under different conditions. Third, applying these elements in the case of Myanmar suggests that women's organisations might make common cause with the ethnic minority groups that are negotiating with the government and the army over federalism issues because the women share with these groups certain goals with respect to federal systems. And fourth, there is a connection between gender and federalism, not at the pragmatic or design level, but at the theoretical level. This connection concerns the type of (ideal) orientation that is required of citizens in a federal system and the ways in which that orientation might be valuable for gender equality. It is, then, the character of federal citizens, rather than the federal system itself, that could be inherently beneficial to gender equality.

Policy Initiatives for Governance of Socially Sustainable Development: India’s Account of Incessant Endeavors

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-61
Author(s):  
Anil P. Dongre
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Employment Policies ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender

Societal development in a sustainable way is always treated as a better goal than the economic and political development of the society. Rather, it would be pertinent to say that without social development we cannot attend to the economic and political development of mankind. Keeping this thought alive, policy makers in India since the beginning of policy implementation after independence focused more rigorously on strategizing programs and plans for achieving socially sustainable development. This article aims to discuss policies, programs, and strategies formulated and implemented by the Government of India, subjected to social development. It elaborates on the constitutional provisions, planning endeavors, trends and analysis of the attribute of sustainable development such as education, employment policies and strategies, and gender equality and women empowering policies of the government.

scholarly journals Exploring Gender and Caste Intersectionality among Muslims: A Sociological Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-210
Author(s):  
Rabiya Yaseen Bazaz ◽  
Mohammad Akram
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Lower Caste ◽  
The Government ◽  
Family Based ◽  
And Gender

Aim Caste studies conducted among Muslims in India generally focus on establishing the existence of caste system among Muslims but they seldom talk about different types of oppression and inequalities faced byMuslim women.This empirical study exploreshow gender and caste identities and their mutual intersectionality impact education,occupation and income choices and actual attainments of Muslim women. Methods This study is part of a larger study conducted among Muslims of Kashmir in India.Primary datawas collected from 704 eligible respondents (Male=392, Female=312) using mixed methods. Three layers of ‘caste like’ and ‘caste’ groups existing in the research area are identified and gender situation within these groups are comparatively examined. Results Each of the ‘caste like’ and ‘caste’ groupshas patriarchal caste capital.Higher professions within the government and private services are largely acquired by upper caste male Muslims or other male and female Muslims having rich cultural and social capital. There is preponderance of lower caste male Muslims in low income self-employment but lower caste Muslim females seldom find say in family based business and compelled to join low paid private jobs. More than fifty percent educated Muslim females are unemployed. Conclusion Although patriarchy is the general rule here, not all women face discrimination and inequality in the same way. Upper caste Muslim women often witness so called benevolent restriction of choices whereas lower caste women are the most excluded and marginalised section of the society who face double discrimination due to patriarchy and interwoven caste positions which severely impacts their educational as well as employment choices and attainments. 

How Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution Addresses Women’s Election and Participation in Parliament

2021 ◽  
pp. 432-460
Author(s):  
Makanatsa Makonese
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Gender Parity ◽  
Women In Parliament ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mere Existence ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Rights Issues ◽  
Public Bodies

The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe has been hailed as a modern and progressive Constitution that addresses contemporary human rights issues, including gender equality and the promotion of women’s rights. It clearly provides for gender parity in public bodies, including in elective positions. The affirmative action provisions on a women’s quota in the National Assembly and gender equality in party lists for Senators have been useful in increasing the number of women in parliament. However, even with these improvements, the mere existence of the progressive Constitution has not led to gender parity in the Parliament of Zimbabwe or in other elective or public institutions such as local councils and cabinet. This is mainly because key actors and structures such as political parties, the government, and the successive Presidents of Zimbabwe have not fully adhered to the provisions of the Constitution regarding gender equality in public bodies, except where the Constitution provides explicit guidance on how to achieve this. The enactment of legislation to operationalize some of the less explicit provisions of the Constitution may therefore be useful in ensuring compliance with the gender equality provisions in relation to parliament and other public bodies in the country.

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