Showing papers in "Womens Studies International Forum in 2018"

The gendered modus operandi of the illiberal transformation in Hungary and Poland

Abstract: Based on a comparative analysis of the ideological and policy tools of illiberal ruling parties in Hungary and Poland, this paper makes the case that the 21st century Central European illiberal transformation is a process deeply reliant on gender politics, and that a feminist analysis is central to understanding the current regime changes, both in terms of their ideological underpinnings, and with respect to their modus operandi. It argues that: 1. opposition to the liberal equality paradigm has become a key ideological space where the illiberal alternative to the post-1989 (neo)liberal project is being forged; 2. family mainstreaming and anti-gender policies have been one of the main pillars on which the illiberal state has been erected, and through which security, equality and human rights have been redefined; 3. illiberal transformation operates through the appropriation of key concepts, tools and funding channels of liberal equality politics which have been crucial to women's rights. The article describes some new and distinct challenges illiberal governance poses to the women's rights, feminist civil society and emancipatory politics in Hungary and Poland.

What factors explain women's empowerment? Decision-making among small-scale farmers in Uganda

Abstract: Evidence from studies on women's empowerment suggests that when women have a larger role in decision-making, household well-being improves. Understanding patterns influencing women's empowerment in rural areas is therefore important. We use gender-disaggregated survey data from rural Uganda to explore individual and household characteristics associated with women's empowerment. We find links between empowerment and age, education, proximity to a paved road as well as the marketed share of crop production. Age and education are associated with higher empowerment, but equality in education between the spouses is more important than the average level of education. Remoteness is associated with lower women's empowerment, as is greater commercial orientation in crop production. This may be due to the fact that men are more involved in cash-crop activities, giving them an advantage through higher income. One policy implication is that education needs to target both girls and boys, especially in remote areas, putting special focus on girl's involvement in value added activities.

Determinants of awareness and adoption of mobile money technologies: Evidence from women micro entrepreneurs in Kenya

Abstract: Over the last decade mobile phone based money services continue to expand in most of the developing countries. The spread of the technology is believed to reduce transaction costs and promote market integration. Even with the introduction of mobile money technologies, financial exclusion remains endemic especially with regard to gender aspect. This paper analyses women entrepreneur's adoption of mobile money services in Kenya. The results suggest that women's membership to table banking groups would easily influence awareness and consequently increase adoption of mobile payments services. Also, we established that women's control of enterprise finances and decision making significantly impact on awareness and usage of mobile money technologies. However, women are less likely to adopt mobile banking technology perceived to be out of reach for their communities and those that have hidden charges irrespective of having knowledge of their existence.

Rethinking the possibilities for hegemonic femininity: Exploring a Gramscian framework

Abstract: In this paper I consider and challenge the ways in which hegemonic femininity has mainly been conceptualised in the gender literature. This approach has several limitations, including being strongly binary, positioning girls and women as Other and frequently essentialised. After suggesting some criteria for a more useful conceptualisation, I consider some of the alternatives, which I critique for their dependence on sexuality and sexual desire. I propose an alternative definition of hegemonic gender performances, avoiding binary distinctions, building on Francis et al.'s (2016) suggestion that a more directly Gramscian conceptualisation may be useful. Having outlined this alternative, I examine how it is played out in the specific context of one English primary school classroom.

Intimate intrusions online: Studying the normalisation of abuse in dating apps

Abstract: Intimate intrusions in mobile dating contexts are a pressing social issue given the high uptake of dating apps and frequent anecdotal reports of abuse. Despite emerging popular and scholarly interest in gendered violence and online abuse, little is known to date about women's everyday lived experiences of intimate intrusions facilitated through dating apps. In this review, I draw on three bodies of literature to demonstrate how sexual harassment, dating violence, and dating app research can help us better understand women's experiences on Tinder and similar apps. I then adapt the continuum of sexual violence as a framework to interrogate patterns of normalised abuse in this context. I argue that the theory of a continuum of sexual violence can help researchers to contextualise intimate intrusions on dating apps and consider their implications. It is important to pay attention to the normalisation of abuse in mobile dating contexts, particularly as a factor that may reinforce a culture that supports violence against women.

Unsolicited dick pics: Erotica, exhibitionism or entitlement?

Abstract: Technologically mediated forms of sexual abuse have been the subject of extensive media discussion in the 2000s. Arguably, digital media have transformed sexual abuse. Cultural anxieties around sexting and revenge porn have been accompanied by an emerging body of scholarly literature on image-based sexual abuse and harassment. Concern with image-based sexual abuse has centered on the non-consensual distribution of private nude images of women and girls via digital media, which is often represented as harmful, dangerous for the woman or girl in the image, and potentially criminal. Conversely, scholars have just begun to turn their attention to men's intentional distribution of unsolicited images of their penises to women. In this article, we consider the theoretical concepts of the continuum of sexual violence and sexual and aggrieved entitlement alongside the interdisciplinary literature on image-based sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and exhibitionism to propose a future research agenda for understanding the contemporary phenomenon of men sending unsolicited dick pics to women. We argue that dick pics merit scholarly attention as an emerging cultural practice.

Concerned, meet terrified: Intersectional feminism and the Women's March

Abstract: The first US Women's March on January 21, 2017 seemingly had the potential to unite women across race. To assess the progress of feminism towards an increasingly intersectional feminist approach, the authors collected and analyzed interview data from 20 young African American women who shared their impressions of the Women's March that followed Donald Trump's inauguration during the month after the march. Interviewees believed that Trump's election and his sexism spurred the march, prompting the participation of many women who had not previously embraced feminism. Interviewees suggested that the march provided white women with a means to protest the election rather than a way to address social injustice disproportionately affecting lower social classes and people of color. Interviewees believed that a racially inclusive feminist movement would remain elusive without a greater commitment to intersectional feminism.

Illegality, motherhood, and place: Undocumented Latinas making meaning and negotiating daily life

Abstract: Federal immigration policies powerfully shape immigrants' and their families' lives, but the consequences are uneven across place. Taking seriously the notion of place as socially constructed, this article draws from two qualitative studies, one in the new rural immigrant destination of Southwest, Montana, and the other in the traditional urban destination of Los Angeles, California, to examine how undocumented immigrants navigate daily life in the US. In the face of legal violence and place-specific forms of exploitation, mothers exert strained forms of agency through access to or creative redefinitions of local work, social services, and networks. They make meaning of place as best as they can through the lens of motherhood, regardless of how they achieve financial or emotional stability for their children. The analysis reveals that illegality intersects with dynamic characteristics of place to produce varying experiences of exploitation and constrained agency centered often on motherhood.

Literature on gendered agriculture in Pakistan: Neglect of women's contributions

Abstract: Women's role in agriculture is widely reported to be essential; despite this, women's role in the wheat-sector is under-researched. Feminist standpoint theory is applied in analyzing 73 documents on women's role in agriculture from 1990 until 2016 to answer the following questions: How does the world look, and operate, for males and females in wheat growing households? What do we know about social relationships and mediating processes (i.e., social factors mediating men's and women's access to resources and activities) that exist in the prime wheat growing regions in Pakistan? The paper highlights a knowledge gap in relation to the life histories, local experiences, as well as unofficial and informal networks of small farmers in general, and of poor and marginalized women in particular. This neglect of rural subjects is a missed opportunity to learn and to engage in improved program design that contributes to enhanced food security and resilience in rural communities. The paper is relevant to development professionals and agriculture researchers and proposes further research questions on topics that appear to have an influence on women's role in wheat farming and food systems and women's ability to be successful in securing a wheat-based livelihood.

Barriers to healthcare among Muslim women: A narrative review of the literature

Abstract: Background Islam is the world's fastest growing religion and is projected to be the world's most popular religion by the end of the century. The growing population and increased mobility among Muslims make certain that healthcare providers anywhere will encounter Muslim patients in their clinical practice. The intersection of religion, culture, and gender for Muslim women has unique implications for their healthcare provision but remains understudied. Method We conducted this narrative review of the literature to describe the known barriers for Muslim women in accessing and receiving high quality healthcare, with an emphasis on what individual providers may do to heighten cultural awareness and sensitivity. Results Potential barriers discussed include modesty and privacy among Muslim women, gender preference for providers, family involvement in care, fatalism and predestination, maintaining religious practices during illness, low health literacy and language proficiency, preference for traditional remedies, fear of stereotype and discrimination, and limited healthcare access. Specific advice is included for healthcare providers. Conclusions When caring for Muslim women, healthcare providers' awareness of common barriers to effective care and methods of addressing them is valuable. Additionally, an appreciation of the diversity of religious practices, health beliefs, and preferences of Muslim women and their families will enable providers to engage this population with effective and culturally competent care.

Exploring the representation of gender and identity: Patriarchal and citizenship perspectives from the primary level Sindhi textbooks in Pakistan

Abstract: This paper explores the representation of men and women in Sindhi language textbooks from Year 1 to 5 in Sindh, Pakistan. Pictorial representations and accompanying text from these books were analysed using thematic coding. The pictorial and textual analysis confirms the salient features of patriarchal ideology being reproduced through the textbooks. The pictures and text portray women as secondary citizens in the society – those who are inferior to men and cannot access the public sphere or do anything, independent of male supervision. We argue that patriarchy prevails through the textbooks as women's familial roles are mostly depicted as engaged in household tasks and performing their assigned roles. The findings from this research can be used to develop pedagogic practices for gender equality in Pakistan.

Perceived gender discrimination, belief in a just world, self-esteem, and depression in Korean working women: A moderated mediation model

Abstract: Past research has found that perceived gender discrimination is related to women's poor mental health outcomes. However, despite the high prevalence of gender discrimination in South Korea, this relationship, and the mechanism that explains such a relationship remains understudied. The current study investigated married Korean working women's perceptions of gender discrimination, self-esteem, belief in a just world, and depression by testing a moderated mediation model. The results suggest that perceived gender discrimination was negatively related to self-esteem, but only at high levels of belief in a just world. In addition, we found support for a moderated mediation effect in which self-esteem mediated the relationship between perceived gender discrimination and depression, but only at high levels of belief in a just world. These findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the relevance of a belief in a just world to an understanding of women's self-esteem and depression in the context of gender discrimination.

Marriage for the ‘New Woman’ from the Lord's Resistance Army: Experiences of female ex-abductees in Acholi region of Uganda

Abstract: A number of studies have documented and analyzed forced marriage patterns and realities of girls within the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). However, the impact of wartime abduction, captivity and forced marriage on forging and sustaining post-LRA marriage relationships has been under-researched. This article contributes to addressing this gap by examining how stigma against female LRA ex-abductees influences their prospects for choices in marriage as they seek to reintegrate in communities of Uganda. Drawing on findings from Acholi area of northern Uganda, the article discusses how cultural and traditional perspectives stigmatize female ex-abductees, considered as ‘unacceptable’, ‘stained’ and therefore ‘unmarriageable’. The findings suggest that stigma adversely affects access to key community relationships such as marriage, thereby hindering social and economic opportunities for recovery and reintegration among the female ex-abductees in Uganda.

Voices of Yazidi women: Perceptions of journalistic practices in the reporting on ISIS sexual violence

Abstract: In this article, we use a global transnational feminist perspective to explore Yazidi women's perceptions of the nature and impact of media reporting on women and girls who survived captivity, rape, and trafficking by the self-declared Islamic State (ISIS). Through 26 face-to-face interviews of displaced Yazidi women, we identify five narrative themes that characterize interviewees' reflections in the wake of these atrocities, including the sense of pressure women felt from journalists and other sources to share their stories of ISIS captivity; the belief that some journalistic practices are putting women and girls at risk; the recognition of the severe emotional toll on survivors' that results from repeatedly telling their stories; the sense of urgency and usefulness of going public nonetheless; and the resultant feelings of frustration and betrayal that the willingness to share their traumatic experiences has not resulted in a concerted global response to the genocidal attacks against the Yazidi people. Our findings suggest a paradoxical narrative of victimization and resistance in women's media engagement that is indicative of a kind of “bargaining at the intersection of patriarchies” that has implications for journalists covering sexual violence in conflict zones.

Agency, structures and women managers' views of their careers in tourism

Abstract: Tourism is an important employer for women in many countries. However, despite this seeming ‘women-friendliness’, women are still underrepresented at the top of tourism businesses. Previous research on women managers' careers in tourism has neglected the analysis of their careers in the light of new career concepts, such as the boundaryless career. Hence, in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with twenty-four female senior managers in Portuguese hotels and travel businesses, including entrepreneurs across a wide range of business sizes. The aim was to analyse these women's perspectives on how they have reached the top. It is concluded that women regard their careers as an outcome of their inherent characteristics, agency and a desire to seize challenges that lead to intrinsic satisfaction. They downplay the role of both structural enablers and structural barriers. This article analyses these issues from a boundaryless career model perspective and with a gender lens.

‘Individually-led’ or ‘female-male partnership’ models for entrepreneurship with the BISP support: The story of women's financial and social empowerment from Pakistan

Abstract: Gender and Development is a central priority of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). International development agencies provide adequate financial support through development/humanitarian projects to achieve specific targets related to gender equality globally. Pakistan also aims to alleviate poverty and improve the status of women in society. In this context, the ‘Banzir Income Support Program’ (BISP) has launched various cash grant programs for the poorest families in Pakistan. Women are the direct beneficiaries, but the program also produces indirect beneficiaries including male family members. The program managers believe that reduction in poverty will indirectly improve women's position within families and they will gain financial and social empowerment. How does the BISP's support enable women to challenge traditional stereotypes toward their financial and social empowerment? And in which dimension does BISP's support bring change in gender relations within the family? These are the questions addressed in the current research. A mixed-methods approach is adopted to conduct this study – both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used to collect and analyze data, which was collected in two phases. Initially, secondary data is accessed from three tehsil offices of the Multan district. To follow up, in-depth interviews are conducted with two Assistant Directors of the BISP. The findings reveal that although the BISP support has significantly increased familial income, women appear only as indirect beneficiaries of the program. They pass on allocated funds to their male family members or nominate them as active business partners. In a few cases, women have started their own businesses. Several factors influence women's decisions while selecting business options under “individually-led” or “female-male” partnership models. Newly started enterprises have increased family income dramatically, although this does not alter the patriarchal division of labour within families nor does it empower women financially as well as socially.

Explanations of resilience in women and girls : how applicable to black South African girls

Abstract: Our aim in this article is to explore what is known about resilience in women and girls; to theorise how gender-roles are reflected in women's and girls' resilience processes; and to explore how apposite researchers' explanations of resilience are for black South African girls. We 1 conducted a systematic review entailing a qualitative synthesis using relevant qualitative studies focusing on resilience in girls and women of all ages and from diverse cultural groups. Findings from studies that report predominantly on the experiences of Western women suggest that women's and girls' resilience-supporting mechanisms (agency and strength-fostering spirituality) are cultivated through constructive relational contexts that offer emotional and pragmatic support. Gender-roles of interdependence, the physical and emotional caretaking of others, and emotional expressiveness manifest in resilience-supporting mechanisms through complex person-context interactions. However, if the context- and culturally-specific nature of resilience is taken into account, explanations of resilience in black South African girls are limited, and further robust research on the subject is needed.

Changing nature and emerging patterns of domestic violence in global contexts: dowry abuse and the transnational abandonment of wives in India

Abstract: This paper argues for the need to understand dowry-related abuse through a lens that focuses not only on micro-and meso-level gendered socio-cultural milieus and economic norms but also on macro-level formal-legal structures and global power asymmetries. Based on life-history narratives of 57 women in India and 21 practitioner interviews, this paper documents a growing phenomenon whereby men who are resident in another country abuse their Indian-origin wives, appropriate their dowry and abandon them. While dowry-related abuse in such marriages is part of a continuum of domestic violence prevalent in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, we explore how gender and migration intersect to exacerbate existing forms of violence against women and foster new forms of violence such as transnational abandonment. Gender-blind transnational formal-legal frameworks and gendered and transnational structural inequalities come together to construct transnational brides as ‘disposable women’ who can be abused, exploited and cast aside with impunity.

Indonesian young voters: Political knowledge and electing women into parliament

Abstract: While there are numerous studies available on general elections and young voters in Indonesia, far less research has systematically studied the particular connection between young voters and electing female representative. This contribution deals with Indonesian young voters (17–24 years old) by investigating (a) their shared political knowledge on electoral systems and (b) their preferences in electing female legislators. Using data from 234 respondents with various backgrounds, it argues that the vast majority of Indonesian youth are relatively less-informed with regards to the country's political and electoral systems. This paper demonstrates the gender gap exists in both political knowledge and preferences. It also suggests that young electorates offer a massive support to male over female candidates as nearly 75% of respondents are more inclined to elect a male parliamentarian. The study finds that there is no significant difference in terms of voting behaviour between young and non-young Indonesian voters during legislative elections, as both groups are influenced by gender stereotypes about the ability of male and female politicians to represent the constituents.

The limits of ethical consumption in the sex industry: An analysis of online brothel reviews

Abstract: This article weighs arguments about individualised ethical consumption practices in the sex industry through an analysis of the narratives of men who buy sexual access to women in legal brothels in the state of Victoria, Australia. In order to consider claims of ethical consumption in the sex industry, a theoretical thematic analysis of 50 online brothel reviews is undertaken, focussing on potential expressions of “care and concern”. We find significant narratives of unprotected sex and questionable sexual consent, and that there is an almost complete lack of care or concern shown for the women described in these reviews. This calls into question the ethical consumption assumption in the legislation, and raises further questions about the applicability of ethical consumption concepts to the sex industry more broadly.

What excludes women from landownership in Turkey? Implications for feminist strategies

Abstract: This article investigates the reasons for women's exclusion from landownership in Turkey. Landownership is a crucial element in enabling greater gender equality in developing countries. I argue that the Turkish civil code (1926–2001) discriminated against women in inheriting small-scale agrarian land, and the lack of alignment between separate feminist agendas weakened their capacity to challenge the gender-discriminatory legal framework. Historical analysis of the Ottoman and the Republican periods identifies the diverse implications for women's property rights of transition from the Islamic-premodern to the modern legal framework. The selected period reveals that rural and urban women were divided by changing forms of patriarchal domination, gendered landownership and paid employment. This division of women, alongside attacks and manipulation by the state, prevented the first-wave feminist movement from acting collectively. Consequently, the civil code granted education, employment, and inheritance rights to urban women but discriminated against rural women inheriting small-scale land under cultivation.

Female indigenous entrepreneurs, culture, and social capital. The case of the Quechua community of Tiquipaya (Bolivia)

Abstract: Female indigenous entrepreneurs (FEs) in Latin America are facing several economic problems and social challenges when developing their activities. General society, community values, and individual traits have been signalled as the main factors affecting their development. In this paper, we explore the enablers and inhibitors of FEs of the Quechua community of Tiquipaya (Bolivia) and the role of social capital. As contributions, firstly, we found relevant enablers and inhibitors for the development of FEs at three levels, namely, society, community and individual. Secondly, we identified differences in the perceptions of those factors by FEs, non-indigenous intermediary organisations, and indigenous intermediary organisations. Thirdly, we discovered that the Quechua culture values of collaboration (Ayni) are not being applied by FEs in their business related social contacts, being the individualism more common. Therefore, FEs may be losing opportunities of development and progress and, as an additional problem, this is not considered by the support organisations. Relevant implications for policy and practice are included.

The tension between gender equality and doing gender Swedish couples' talk about the division of housework

Abstract: Sweden is considered as one of the most gender equal countries in the world and most Swedes claim to embrace gender equality. Yet, the majority of couples still organize their family lives according to traditional gendered patterns. This article aims to investigate how gender plays a role for how couples in Sweden talk about, articulate and frame their arguments regarding their division of housework. We identify three practices that act to support and reproduce a traditional gender order. These practices are: constructions of (un)suitability, placement of responsibility and comparison. Through these practices the couples' uneven division of housework is made into something other than a question of gender (in)equality, and change of the present order is made into a non-issue. We argue that the tension between striving for gender equality on the one hand and doing gender on the other, characterizes everyday interaction in modern couples. Recognizing this complexity is important for understanding the slow changes in gendered and gendering patterns and for the slow movement towards greater gender equality. The analysis brings the complex, interwoven and contradictory processes of doing gender to the fore.

Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa: The personal meaning of symptoms and treatment

Abstract: The current study aims to explore the experiences of women with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN). Six women with recurring difficulties of AN for over a decade were interviewed regarding their experiences of their eating disorder and of their treatment. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The results identified the functional role of AN to resolve complex underlying psychological difficulties (in particular a diminished sense of self and search for identity) and the role of unhelpful treatment experiences and negative relationships with staff in the maintenance of AN. The themes provide an insight into the problems of women who struggle with their eating disorder for many years. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed in the context of the need for services to move away from focussing on weight and eating, towards facilitating clients to address the underlying psychological issues of the disorder.

Displaced selves, dislocated emotions and transforming identities: Syrian refugee women reinventing selves

Abstract: This study presents the voices of four Syrian refugee women to improve the understanding of complexities of human displacement. The interviews were conducted in 2016 in Gaziantep, Turkey, a border city to Aleppo, Syria. The study offers an intersectional framework for approaching identities. While all four women have apparent commonalities, such as their gender, their displacement and the host country/city in which they live, the study examines other important identities that shape their experiences: Afran is Kurdish and transgendered, Nabila is a niqab-wearing Sunni Muslim woman who lost her upper-class status after her displacement and has political visions for the future of Syria, Farah is an atheist who removed her hijab and became financially liberated after leaving Syria, and Zeinab is a human rights-defending leftist. The concepts of ‘displaced selves’ and ‘dislocated emotions’ are introduced in connection to becoming and belonging beyond physically forced emigration from state borders.

Criminalisation and prostitution of migrant women in Turkey: A case study of Ugandan women

Abstract: Based on an empirical research, this paper explores Ugandan migrant women's experiences as cheap undocumented migrant workers in gendered segments of the labour market and in prostitution in Turkey. They often face labour exploitation, discrimination as well as sexual harassment. When these difficulties are combined with the pressure from home and paying off debt, some Ugandan women are even pushed to sell sex. This paper argues that migrant women's involvement mechanisms in prostitution involves varying degrees of lack of choice as a result of gendered migration processes, criminalisation, coercion, exploitation and agency.

When structural violences create a context that facilitates sexual assault and intimate partner violence against street-involved young women

Abstract: This article presents findings from a participatory action research project conducted with a group of seven street-involved young women in the urban area of Quebec City (Canada). The objective of this research was to explore their experiences of homelessness through the lens of structural violence. Structural violence is the process through which social inequalities are produced. The data gathered through five focus groups revealed the presence of two gendered patterns of structural violence: social exclusion and social control. These two processes reinforce each other in a cycle. Indeed, the participants' strategies to overcome social exclusion and to fulfill their basic needs made them vulnerable to social control. In turn, social control had increased their financial difficulties and their fear of exclusion. These two processes of structural violence had also created contexts that facilitate sexual victimization and intimate partner violence.

Examining women's physical mobility and microfinance participation in Bangladesh: Results from a nationally representative sample

Abstract: Using data from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, this study examined the association between physical mobility of women and their participation in microfinance, an anti-poverty empowerment program in Bangladesh. Physical mobility was operationalized by a two-item measure that assessed whether women can and if they do go out alone to seek health care. Chi squared tests and propensity score matching techniques were used to examine the association between physical mobility and microfinance participation. Results revealed that women who reported to have physical mobility were 12 percentage points more likely to participate in microfinance compared to a matched group of women who reported to not have physical mobility. In conclusion, the findings indicate that social welfare programs are successful to the extent that norms and institutions support those programs. Furthermore, it highlights the contradiction between the proliferations of empowerment programs and patriarchal social, cultural, and infrastructural barriers that prevent women from accessing such programs.

Negotiated voices: Reflections on educational experiences and identity by two transnational migrant women

Abstract: In this paper, as two transnational migrant women of colour we explore both privilege and disempowerment as afforded us by our education, laden with postcolonial influences and reinscribed patriarchal limits. We also examine our sense of vulnerability and ‘voicelessness’ as migrants in defining our positionalities and gendered identities within a transnational space. Within the conjunctures in our stories we analyse the impacts of postcolonialism, education, gender, patriarchy, identity discourses and transnationality. Using evocative autoethnography through ‘intimate landscapes’ of self-confession we focus on intergenerational female relationships, in particular with our mothers. Through socio-cultural, postcolonial and transnational feminist lenses we substantiate our arguments on the denial of ‘voice,’ irrespective of educational achievements. Our stories contribute to discourses surrounding the ambiguities around contested and intersecting notions of education, gender, social and cultural differences and identities within the spaces of postcolonial histories and transnationalism.