Women Empowerment in the Arab Region： Between the Anvil of Illiteracy and the Hammer of Passive Representative Bureaucracy

This paper emphasizes on enacting comprehensive mainstreaming institutional mechanisms to promote the role of women in socio-economic development in the Arab region. Sustainable development could never take place unless both the government and civil society are committed towards women empowerment and gender parity to achieve gender mainstreaming. However, cultural legacy, with its socioeconomic and political dimensions, is envisaged as the most challenging impediment. There are three critical areas of concern of substantive nature, which are high rates of women illiteracy, passive representative bureaucracy, as a result of underrepresentation at decision-making levels, as well as gender disparity. To investigate women empowerment challenges in the region, the study first presents the multifaceted hurdle of cultural legacy and identifies the relevant social, economic and political challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective. Thereafter, it looks at two inseparable issues facing women in the Arab region, illiteracy and underrepresentation at decision-making levels. The study, then, indicates the pressing need for policy changes to fill up the massive gender gap existing in the majority of Arab States, where not only a description of gender disparity profile of the Arab region is presented but also a comparative outlook vis-a-vis global trends is highlighted. Finally, the research identifies the indispensible roles of both the government and civil society to address key challenges in synchrony. It does not only call for placing women empowerment among the top priorities on the agenda of policy-makers in setting development plans, but also reiterates the significant role of civil society institutions in the areas of illiteracy eradication, civic education, and women fights advocacy. In this context, a framework of recommended policy actions is presented in an attempt to set effective women empowerment mechanisms to achieve gender mainstreaming and hence contribute to sustainable development.

Women’s empowerment and food consumption:Evidence from female-headed households in Tanzania

Despite the growing recognition of women’s increasing role in the household and corresponding empowerment programs in sub-Saharan Africa,intensive research on the relationship between women’s influence and household food consumption is minimal.Using the most recent(2017-2018)national household survey data from Tanzania,this study examined the influence of women’s empowerment on household food consumption.First,we compared the monthly consumption of eight food categories between female-headed households(FHHs)and male-headed households(MHHs)using both descriptive statistics and the propensity score matching(PSM)method.Furthermore,we adopted the two-stage Linear Expenditure System and Almost Ideal Demand System model(LES-AIDS)to estimate income and price elasticities for the two household types.The results show that FHHs consume bread and cereals,fish,oils and fats,vegetables,and confectionery(sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.)more than MHHs.Moreover,FHHs have a significantly higher income elasticity of demand for all food groups than MHHs.They are also more price elastic than MHHs in meat,fish,oils,fats,sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.

Seaweed farming for food and nutritional security,climate change mitigation and adaptation,and women empowerment:A review

Seaweed is a promising marine macroalgae of the millennium,providing various ecological,social,and economic benefits.At present,seaweed production reached 35.8 million t from farming,accounting for 97%of global seaweed output,with a world market of US$11.8 billion.Seaweeds are an excellent source of nutritious human food because of their low lipid content,high minerals,fibers,polyunsaturated fatty acids,polysaccharides,vitamins,and bioactive compounds.Many seaweed sub-products offer unique properties to develop various functional foods for the food processing industries.In the perspective of climate change mitigation,seaweed farms absorb carbon,serve as a CO_(2)sink and reduce agricultural emissions by providing raw materials for biofuel production and livestock feed.Seaweed farming system also helps in climate change adaptation by absorbing wave energy,safeguarding shorelines,raising the pH of the surrounding water,and oxygenating the waters to minimize the impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia on a localized scale.Moreover,it contributes substantially to the sustainable development of the economic condition of coastal women by providing livelihood opportunities and ensuring financial solvency.This review paper highlights the significance of seaweed farming in global food and nutritional security,mitigation and adaptation to global climate change,and women empowerment within a single frame.This review paper also outlined the major issues and challenges of seaweed farming for obtaining maximum benefits in these aspects.The main challenges of making seaweed as a staple diet to millions of people include producing suitable species of seaweeds,making seaweed products accessible,affordable,nutritionally balanced,and attractive to the consumers.Various food products must be developed from seaweeds that may be considered equivalent to the foods consumed by humans today.Lack of effective marine spatial planning to avoid user conflicts is vital for expanding the seaweed farming systems to provide aquatic foods and contribute globally for mitigation and adaptation of climate change impacts.Hence,women’s empowerment through seaweed farming is primarily constrained by the lack of technical knowledge and financial resources to establish the coastal farming system.All the information discussed in this paper will help to understand the critical needs for large-scale seaweed farming for climate resilience mariculture,potentials for global food security,and future research on various aspects of seaweed farming and their diverse utilization.

Women on Boards of Directors

This research aims to measure the current gender representation in membership of boards of directors,and to study the factors affecting the presence of women on boards.The results of the study will support the decision makers and policy makers at all levels by providing knowledge that contributes to bridging the current gap in participation of women boards.The methodology used in this research is the descriptive analytical approach,which relies on quantitative methods in the process of collecting and analyzing data.This study represents the boards of directors in the three sectors(public,private,and non-profit)in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,The study sample contained 350 targets,where a random sample of 150 people in the public sector,100 people in the private sector,and 100 people in the non-profit sector were selected.The research result found that the majority of the responses believe that the lack of experience and training,and social factors,are the most impact areas of explaining the reasons for the existence of a gap in women’s membership in boards of directors in the three sectors.And the most important reasons for the existence of a gender gap in board membership are:there is no statutory minimum percentage for women’s representation on boards of directors,and scarcity of female competencies in general,and the lack of women occupying leadership positions.

What does women’s empowerment have to do with malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa?Evidence from demographic and health surveys from 30 countries

Background:The reduction of childhood malnutrition has been identified as a priority for health and development in sub Saharan African countries.The association between women’s empowerment and children’s nutritional status is of policy interest due to its effect on human development,labour supply,productivity,economic growth and development.This study aimed to determine the association between women’s empowerment and childhood nutritional status in sub Saharan African countries.Methods:The study utilized secondary datasets of women in their child bearing age(15-49 years)from the latest Demographic and Health Survey(DHS)conducted in 2011-2017 across 30 sub Saharan Africa countries.The outcome variable of the study was childhood nutritional status while the exposure variable was women’s empowerment indicators such as decision making and attitude towards violence.Analyses were performed at bivariate level with the use of chi square to determine association between outcome and exposure variables and at multivariate level with the use of regression models to examine the effect of women’s empowerment on childhood nutritional status.Results:Women’s socio-demographic and other selected characteristics were statistically significantly associated with childhood nutritional status(stunted and underweight)at p<0.001.These characteristics were also statistically significantly associated with empowerment status of women(Decision-making,Violence attitudes and Experience of violence)at p<0.001 except for child age and sex.The association between childhood nutritional statuses and women’s empowerment(all three empowerment measures)was significant after controlling for other covariates that could also influence childhood nutrition statuses at p<001.Two of the empowerment measures(attitudes towards violence and experience of violence)showed positive association with childhood nutritional statuses while the third(decision-making)showed negative association.Conclusion:There is an independent relationship between childhood nutrition status and women’s empowerment in sub Saharan African countries.Women’s empowerment was found to be related to childhood nutritional status.Policies and programmes aiming at reducing childhood malnutrition should include interventions designed to empower women in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Women’s Empowerment and Its Subversions in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,firstly published in 1848,was the second and final novel of Anne Brontë,the youngest of the Brontësisters,telling a story of the mysterious young widow Helen Huntingdon,who flees her abusive husband and hides with her son at Wildfell Hall.Just as most contemporary critic defines it as one of the first feminist novels,the overall characterization of Helen sends a strong message of the empowerment of women.What confuses modern readers,however,is the subtle confrontation between the empowerment and its subversion.Thus,this paper conducts an in-depth analysis of the text concerning Anne's empow⁃erment of Helen and the corresponding subversion of the established empowerment before unveiling the fundamental cause of such arrangement with a view of shedding light on the comprehension of Anne Brontë's belief in universal social issues.

Women From Members of Parliament to Leaders of Parliament:A Comparative Analysis of India and Bangladesh

Empowerment is defined as a social action process that promotes participation of people,organizations,and communities in gaining control over their lives in their community and larger societies.Part of the problem stems from the unidentified interests of the women due to their under representation in the political institutions which marked their low level of mobilization and as well of their empowerment.It is generally said that mobilization of women depends on their identification of interests which may vary due to class structures of the society,but on the other hand,autonomous state apparatus had provided a space for the mobility to both privileged and under-privileged to get their targets.The issue of empowerment is being conceived in the perspective of gender related development which has been checked due to inequality in the socio-cultural patterns of the society and it inherited some of the cultural constraints before partition.This paper will analyze the steps of transformation of women from members of parliament to leaders of parliament in India and Bangladesh.

No Longer Invincible： Women＇s Role in Promoting Ubud as Culinary Destination in Bali

The development of cultural tourism in Ubud has contributed to the rise of its image as a culinary destination. Surprisingly, the ascent of this new image was mainly reinforced by women＇s role in practicing local culinary entrepreneurship. Even it is acknowledged that culture is a dynamic entity, Balinese women get very rare exposure in the culinary world as it is commonly known mastered by men. On the other hand, culinary tourism has now taken a major part in many tourist destinations. As an emerging trend, culinary tourism faces the fears the world is surrendering to： McDonaldization and cultural homogenization. With this emerging trend, Ubud＇s cooking culture and tastes own a major potential in promoting the destination. However, as a part of culture local culinary in Ubud is rarely being studied or visible to the academic literatures. Becoming fertile terrain for researches that explore the discipline of cultural tourism, very little research also has been carried out into gender dimension in culinary tourism in Ubud. This paper is a first attempt to unpack women＇s role in promoting Ubud＇s image as an emerging culinary destination. Using qualitative method, the paper explores women who have not only succeeded in lifting local culinary as traveller＇s preferences but also in opening up job opportunities in rural areas. The data presented in this article were collected through observation and in-depth interviews of four leading Ubud women who have run successful local culinary outlets or restaurants offering local dishes. The four women surveyed are the owner of Kedewatan Chicken Rice （Nasi Ayam Kedewatan） Ibu Mangku, the owner of the infamous suckling pig in Ubud Ibu Oka, the owner of Bebek Bengil Agung Raka Suenl, and the owner of Paon Bali cooking class Ibu Puspawati. Combining literature reviews and data obtained through observation and in-depth interviews, this paper aims to provide an overview of the potential of culinary tourism to contribute to the gender equality. The result of this structured evaluation shows that one of the main key elements that played an important role in Ubud＇s success, as a culinary destination, is women empowerment. By understanding what and how known restaurants and local talents like Ibu Oka, Ibu Mangku, Bebek Bengil, and Paon Bali are achieving their success, food can certainly become a large contribution to sustaining cultural heritage as well as a stepping point to Balinese women empowerment.

Micro Credit is a Tool for Women Entrepreneurship Development

As a result of 30 years of an internal armed conflict, women and children not only lost male relatives in struggle, but comprised of the displaced. Most of the households in Sri Lanka are now headed exclusively by women. The micro finance institutions help the poor people in effective ways in order to generate income to enhance their standard of living in the rural areas. This study focuses on women entrepreneurship development through micro credit programme under post war development in Jaffna District selecting four rural areas which are Kopay, Chavakachcheri, Varani and Kodikamam. The main objective of this study is to identify the linkage with micro credit programmes and entrepreneurship development. Further it has an objective to identify the impact of micro credit on entrepreneurship development. The information has been gathered by primary data which has been distributed through the close ended questionnaire to the rural women in the above selected areas and seventy seven （77） responded out of 100. The relation between the micro credit programmes and women entrepreneurship development is examined using Statistical Package for Social Sciences （SPSS）. It is concluded that the Entrepreneurship development has a significant relationship （p〈0.05） with the microcredit programme and its impact on entrepreneurship development is crucial. It is suggested that the microcredit facilities are essential in women entrepreneurship development under post war development.

Empowerment sustainability perspectives for Bahraini women as entrepreneurs

The key objectives of this study were to investigate the factors that empower women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Bahrain and to measure the impacts of such factors on their business development and growth.The four main factors covered in this study were gender equality,quality education,sociocultural,and policies.The quantitative method was adopted to obtain the results of a structured survey distributed among 449 women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Bahrain registered in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.A simple random sampling approach was used.This study examined the empowerment perspectives of Bahraini women as entrepreneurs.Hypotheses were developed and tested using statistical tests to significantly identify the impacts of the factors on women entrepreneurs'participation in the country's business activities.The quantitative results of the study showed the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs in business activities in the Kingdom of Bahrain,which leads to their development and the country's economic growth.The findings confirmed the existence and significant impact of three factors,which are quality education,sociocultural,and policies,that empower and support women to start businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain.No significant effect of the gender equality factor was distinguished.Empowerment and institutional theories were found to be relevant to the context of empowering women as entrepreneurs.The research provided recommendations,such as reinforcing policies that empower entrepreneurs,to enhance the empowerment of women entrepreneurship in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Nexus between Social Networks and Sexual Practices among Female University Students

The study was conducted among college students in Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to understand whether social networks influence students to make decisions on sexual practices. A total of 130 female students between 18-24 years participated in the study. Among them, 122 participated in the survey and eight in the case studies. The study revealed female students joined various types of social networks, which influence the decision making processes and outcomes of their sexual practices. The study has implications for women empowerment activities.

Gender and rural transformation:A systematic literature review

Rural transformation can improve poverty reduction,living standards,and health outcomes in developing countries.However,impacts associated with rural transformation vary by region,household,and individual trait(including gender).While research on rural transformation has been increasing over the last decade,there has been no comprehensive review conducted on the relationships between gender and rural transformation.Here,we conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the impacts of rural transformation on gender and the influence of gender inclusiveness on rural transformation.We reviewed 82 studies from 1960-2021 that explore the relationships between rural transformation and gender.We then developed a framework that captures incidences and flow directions between indicators.Results show that most studies examined the impacts of rural transformation on women and between gender indicators.Few investigated the role of women and the influence of gender inclusiveness on rural transformation.Overall,studies showed that rural transformation typically leads to positive outcomes for women regarding employment,income,and empowerment.However,negative impacts on women’s control over income,stability of new income sources,and access to healthy food are also common.Tailoring future development policies and programs to explicitly account for gender inclusiveness can lead to more successful rural transformation.

UN Official Helps Chinese Rural Women Journey from Poverty to Empowerment

"ONE of the biggest challenges that the international society and this conference has confronted is the fight against poverty," said Dr. Leena M. Kirjavainen. a division director with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW). "Today more than 550 million women live below the poverty line in rural areas worldwide. The feminization of poverty has become the major obstacle to the empowerment of women."

Empower Women in Project Management

Women have made steady gains in project management on many fronts including participation and compensation.On compensation,the gap between men and women has steadily decreased from 24%in 1996 to 18%in 2000;in the latest Project Management Institute(PMI)global salary survey in late 2017,the gap is now nearly 14%(with variations in different regions as seen in Table 1).However,more must be done to attract women to