The Impact of Covid-19 on Small-Scale Women Entrepreneurs In Sri K. Lanka: A Qualitative Study of the Matara Area (SK Town and Meddawatta)

COVID-19 has impacted people across the world regardless of geographical boundaries, gender, age, and economic status. However, women have become disproportionately more vulnerable. To explore women entrepreneurs’ experiences, the difficulties they face, and the strategies they employ for the survival of their businesses, this study selected Matara district as one of the most famous coastal areas of the southern province, and Sk Town and Meddawatta as the most popular tourist destinations of this district. This qualitative research employed a purposive sample of 15 females. Data collection for this research was mainly done through interviews (face-to-face, telephone, and WhatsApp calls), participants’ observations, and cyber ethnography. All of the participants, though not hit by the virus, have been impacted by COVID-19 related social and economic problems. Although all the participants suffered loss of income, surprisingly, the pandemic led some women to focus on exploring new income-generating activities. The research shows, as narrated by the respondents, that small- and medium-scale female entrepreneurs have not received adequate attention or help for the amelioration of their plight from government-led welfare activities, including bank loan payment extensions.

COVID-19 AND EDUCATION OF MASS COMMUNICATION:

The sudden closure of educational institutions in 2020 brought multiple financial and learning challenges for Pakistani female students. In our experience, not only formal and informal learning realms of female students have been affected in the post pandemic educational landscape, but a distinct gender and digital divide (GDD) is also noticeable between technology-equipped and deprived students. Considering the theoretical perspectives of digital divide, this paper will essentially explicate the chasms existing within female students of Mass Communication in Pakistan. Given Pakistan’s conservative and patriarchal culture, it is very important to study how female students of Mass Communication, from both urban and rural areas, responded to the change after the pandemic. Through in-depth interviews of twenty female students, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated already existing GDD in Pakistani educational landscape. Especially the first order GDD in education can be seen frequently in Pakistani rural locations. Moreover, economic limitations and socio-cultural norms also play an essential role in exacerbating second order GDD in the Mass Communication education. Thus, in this sense, the pandemic has brought a change that is charged with exclusion and disparity. Moreover, we argue that digital divide is a gendered concept for a periphery country such as Pakistan.

A Qualitative Analysis of Online Classes During Covid-19: Perspective of Female University Students

The intent of this research is to analyse female students’ perspective on online education in public sector universities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. To get a better understanding of these perceptions, the Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST) (Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), has been selected for this qualitative, exploratory, and interpretive study. The data for the study was analysed using the discourse analysis technique, and themes were extracted from the data. This analysis enabled us to delve into specific issues linked to female students’ experiences regarding online learning. This goal was achieved by relating access to and use of technological resources and the effectiveness of online classes. Keeping in view the application of online classes, both pros and cons are discussed as compared to face-to-face classes. The findings indicate the need to adapt and adjust the methodology’s implementation by taking into account not only its unique characteristics but also its merits and demerits. To sum up, incorporating such a technique into the educational environment may be justified if specialised training is obtained to maximise the potential of online classes.

Women’s Adaptability, Multiple Roles Maintained in the Work-Family Context: Covid-19 Experiences

COVID-19 emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and since then has impacted work, family, and social life of people around the globe. The working community had to face difficulties and barriers due to increasing job insecurity and changing working environments during the pandemic. Employees around the world have experienced sudden, significant changes in their work and family roles. This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on married women’s work-family balance during the lockdown in Sri Lanka. The research problem of the study is: Does the working woman maintain the balance of work-family environment? By applying the mixed research methodology, we draw on the quantitative data by surveying married women working from home to understand and analyse their adaptability to work from home during the lockdown within two months (from May to July 2020). In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data of the study selecting the purposive sampling method. The sample consisted of women with diversity in age, employment, and educational level. A majority of women reported working for long hours without any leave during the lockdown period. This study revealed that 57% of women could manage their household work and job-related work during the period, in contrast, only 43% of respondents could not do so. Even though there were several difficulties faced by married women, they successfully managed both, i.e., their job-related work and their family chores. While 43% of the respondents belonged to nuclear families, 57% of them belonged to extended families. Eighty-three percent of respondents reported high levels of support from husbands for housework and office work. In conclusion, although Sri Lankan women encounter significant difficulties, they are inclined to maintain a balance and adaptability between work-family tasks.

Migration and the Gender Impact of Covid-19 on Nepalese Women

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives globally, and many have been “stranded” overseas with little if any support in getting home. The stranded include migrant workers whose remittances bolster their household income and home country’s national GDP, and who are often overlooked in COVID-19 responses. This paper focuses on Nepalese women employed in the domestic work sector but last on repatriation flight lists and returnee policies and programmes. The pandemic has made an already precarious working life even more difficult. The study focuses on how women employed in Lebanon in in normal times have been able to exercise their agency in a complex socio‑political environment and how this has been disrupted by COVID-19 and the hostile political and social environment, both at home and abroad. This research is based on literature, contemporary newspaper reports, and key informants’ interviews with people working on migration issues in Nepal.

Perception of Home Demands, Social Support, and Marital Adjustment Among Women During Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring colossal impact on families, particularly on marital adjustments. This paper reports findings of a study that examined perceptions of home demands, social support, and marital adjustment among women during COVID-19. A sample of 252 women was taken. Participants were administered a Demographic information sheet, Home Demands Questionnaire, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Enrich Marital Satisfaction Scale. The data was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression analysis. Results revealed a significant negative relationship between perceptions of home demands and social support, and marital adjustment, and also a significant positive relation between social support and marital adjustment among women. Findings showed that women are likely to face additional problems because of limited sources of social support due to COVID-19 which is an imperative aspect for marital adjustment. Findings have implications for marriage counsellors, therapists, and clinical practitioners.

Depicting Women Through Transitivity Choices: A Comparative Analysis

The study aims at depicting how male and female authors portray female characters and how their core ideologies and social influences affect these depictions. This study is based on the feminist stylistic approach, proposed by Sara Mills (1995), embedded with the literary theory of feminism. It is an overlapping field that has its roots in critical discourse analysis. This stance is significant as it allows to critically look at the substance to uncover the ideology related to women. From a feminist stylistic perspective, the notion of presenting the distorted image of the female entity is associated with male authors leading to the point that female authors portray female characters positively as compared to their male counterparts. By employing Halliday’s transitivity framework (2004) in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as an analytic tool, the utterances of the female protagonists from both the novels: The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, have been analysed into the process, participants and circumstances. Social influence, mostly in the form of male domination, on ideologies and linguistic choices in the depiction of women in both the writers’ work has been found on almost equal grounds.

Female Leadership in the Local Governments: Reconstruction of Traditional Gender Identity of Women in Rural Bangladesh

The local government bodies of Bangladesh have always been dominated and controlled by men––the traditional power holders. Bangladeshi rural women are mostly confined to household chores and engaged in subsistence agricultural activities due to the patriarchal social system and a rigid gender division of labour. Moreover, women’s lives are controlled by cultural and religious gender norms which limit their mobility in public spaces and political participation. Hence, women’s participation in local government has always been a symbol of tokenism up until the introduction of a direct election system for women. Given this context, this study explores how Bangladeshi rural women have proved themselves to be the change-makers in the rural society and what influencing factors supported them in reconstructing their traditional gender identities despite social and structural constraints. The study was conducted through a qualitative inquiry by adopting a case study approach. Data and information for the study were collected through 12 in-depth (IDI) interviews of elected female Union Parishads (lowest local administrative unit) (UP) chairpersons, UP members and Upazila (subdistrict local administration council) female vice chairpersons along with four focus group discussions and five key informant interviews from four selected districts of Bangladesh. This study concluded that these female leaders are enormously motivated and committed to reshaping their traditional gender identity and altering unequal gender power relations that predominantly factor in the rural social fabric of Bangladesh.

An Ecofeminist Reading of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’urbervilles and its Movie Adaptation by Roman Polanski: A Comparative Study

Ecofeminist examination of audio-visual and textual narratives is the central concern of this article. At the core of my study is a comparative analysis of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) and its movie adaptation by Roman Polanski (1979), with an aim to explore convergent and divergent ecofeminist imperatives. I argue that the novel highlights the intersection between the oppression of women and exploitation of nature. By contrast, the movie adopts an ambiguous stance that undermines the potential of an ethical ecofeminist critique. This is clearly reflected through scenes that represent the encounter between Alec and Tess as a pastoral romance taking place against the backdrop of nature, that ultimately serve to cast their association as the result of natural instinct rather than a crime. This reworking of the novel seems to suggest that the movie’s thrust as a whole is towards exonerating Alec, which undermines the novels’ ecofeminist overtones.

Cognitive Mapping of Migrants’ Identity in Mohja Kahf’s: The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf

My article investigates the experience of migration from the Middle East to America in Mohja Kahf’s novel, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf. To understand the narrative of the world of migrants, it would be helpful to perform a cognitive cartographic analysis. Kahf performs a form of social and psychic cartography by exploring migrants’ space through the character of the coming-of-age girl, Khadra, by situating the turning points in her character at certain places. I classify these places into three types: space of conflict, space of illumination and space of reconciliation. The text can be read as a map of the represented transatlantic space(s). However, this map shows particular locations in which Khadra is involved. Khadra’s character develops through her physical interaction with certain geographical, urban and cultural spaces. Hence, this text emphasises the role of literature in the process which Fredric Jameson terms “cognitive mapping” and provides an understanding of the experience of migration. Since space in the context of Kahf’s narrative is a mental, cartographic construct as it is being explored and grappled with all the time, I employ a geocritical approach in my analysis of the book.