Teaching About Female Genital Mutilation: Complex Question of Cultural Relativism and Preventive Movement

This study aims to investigate three things. First, how is the tendency of the perspective used in discussing the issue of female circumcision in society; second, what is the value base that distinguishes the practice of female circumcision in one society from another; and third, how each value base in the practice of female circumcision is realized or transformed in the feminist movement. The research was carried out with a qualitative approach where data were obtained using a literature study method by reading books, journal articles and various reports on the practice of female circumcision. The results show that studies that discuss the practice of female circumcision tend to be discussed in five perspectives, namely in the perspective of gender, culture, health, religion and law. In practice, female circumcision has a different value base from one society to another. The value bases used in female circumcision include women's initiation into adulthood; purification or cleansing, beautification; and female fertility. Different value bases become the basis for feminists to make efforts to prevent the practice of female circumcision, starting from the level of binding regulations to prevent the practice of female circumcision, community participatory dialogue to abandon the practice of female circumcision, and empowering women through education and the economy.

Assessing suicide ideation among older adults: a systematic review of screening and measurement tools

ABSTRACT Objectives: Rates of suicide in older adults may be higher than reported due to poor understandings of presentation of suicide ideation in this group. The objectives of this paper were to (i) review current measurement tools designed for older adults to detect suicide ideation and (ii) assess their psychometric properties. Design: We used a systematic review approach to identify measurement tools developed specifically for older adults without cognitive decline or impairment. Results: Ten articles that reported on a total of seven different measurement tools were identified. These included tools that focused on resiliency to suicide and those that measured risk of suicide behavior. There was wide variation across the articles: some were adaptations of existing scales to suit older populations, others were developed by authors; they varied in length from four to 69 items; a range of settings was used, and there was a mix of self-report and clinician-administered measures. Most displayed good psychometric properties, with both approaches showing similar quality. Limitations in terms of samples, settings, and measurement design are discussed. Conclusion: The case for specific measures for older adults is clear from this review. There appear to be unique factors that should be considered in understanding suicide ideation and behavior among older adults that may not be directly assessed in non-specific measurements. However, there is a need to expand the diversity of individuals included in measurement development to ensure they are appropriate across gender, culture and minority status, and for the views of professionals to be considered.

The Challenges of Using a Feminist Pedagogical Approach

The introduction of a pathbreaking new master’s degree in Gender, Culture, and Development required a pedagogy to match its program contents. Since the aim of the program was to cultivate the next generation of leaders with the knowledge, vision, and skills to not only implement the UN Millennium Development Goals but to set the future goals and agenda, students needed to experience an educational setting that was empowering. As such, we introduced feminist pedagogy into the first seminar, defining feminist pedagogy as the ‘extent to which a community of learners is empowered to act responsibly toward one another and the subject matter and to apply that learning to social action’ (Shrewsbury, 1997, pp. 166–173). But how do we introduce feminist pedagogy in a large class where many students had previously been subjected to the passive, rote memorization teaching utilized in most educational systems in which adult students would have participated, especially given the popularity of what Paolo Freire would call the ‘banking method of education’ in colonial regimes? We responded to that challenge by being as transparent as possible in our teaching, and by modelling feminist pedagogy in all that we did.

Gender and Learning in Rwanda

This book presents an unparalleled mix of aspiration and achievement, of feminist theory and practice. It does not claim to be complete or final, nor is it a snapshot of a single point in time. It falls into two parts. One part containing scholarly chapters written academics involved in developing and teaching in the innovative Master’s program in Gender, Culture and development offered from 2011 at the Kigali Institute of Education in Rwanda. The second part contains statements written by students in the first cohort, most of which have been revised and updated. All the contributions are informed by a set of common experiences, but each writer presents her (or his) own perspective. This is most clearly evident in the short chapters written by the women who brought their diverse scholarly backgrounds together in their passion for the scholarly development of other women and men, in an empowering, feminist, educational experience. This mix of experiences and the diversity of writings make the book a challenging read and an invaluable resource for anyone interested in research-based approaches to social change, the weaving of personal experience into scholarly reflections, and in insights into leaders in working towards gender equality, a policy area which affects social relationships throughout a society, including at the most intimate level.

Establishing the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development at the Kigali Institute of Education

This chapter describes the establishment of the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development at the Kigali Institute of Education in the Rwandan context of strong support from the President, Government and international development agencies for gender equality. The Centre and its graduates have played an important role in national development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Teaching Gender Research Methods for Leadership: Reflections from Rwanda

This chapter discusses teaching and research undertaken by the author in Rwanda between 1997 and 2011. The author draws on her experiences of establishing and running an institution in Rwanda from 1997 to 1999, undertaking research for her PhD in 2000, visiting the country in 2007 to gain further insights into the reconstruction of education and in 2011 teaching at the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development. Using a gender lens, the author reflects on teaching gender research methods, the interactions with an amazing first cohort of students and the immense leadership potential shown by the students. The chapter concludes with some recommendations and implications.

Promoting Ethnic and Religious Diversity for the Nigerian School Children: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study is to provide evidence on the school library as an important medium for promoting ethnic and religious diversity among the Nigerian school children. Though the issue of diversity continues to evolve and expand in the 21st century to include dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, culture, abilities, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age and religious preferences (Perrault & Mardis, 2015), the Nigerian nation is presently being troubled by the crisis related to ethnic and religious groups. The education system seems not to be doing much in encouraging coexistence among the citizens. The school library serves as a safe place for addressing these issues of ethnicity and religiosity among learners from diverse backgrounds in the Nigerian school system in which the school timetable is busy with a lot of passive learning activities. Even though ethnic and religious diversity should be addressed in a normal classroom environment, there is still a continuous rise in the lack of ethnic and religious coexistence in Nigerian community which has brought about religious rivalry and ethnic bigotry in the different communities of the nation (Akwanya, 2015; Ojo, 2016). This has continually led to a greater output of school children who are not ready to welcome other cultures and religious beliefs when they become adults; thus steering violence among other members of the community.