Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenor:
-
Laura Camfield
(Kings College London)
Send message to Convenor
- Formats:
- Papers
- Stream:
- Policy and practice
- Sessions:
- Monday 28 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
The panel brings together diverse examples of female organising in Malawi, Ghana and Pakistan to explore what can be learned from different fights for gender justice.
Long Abstract:
How are women organising? What can we learn from different fights for gender justice? In what ways are women’s lives shaped by policies and legislation? This panel brings together three case studies examining these questions. The first paper on the role of women leaders as agents of change, looks at the question of political violence against women in Malawi. The second explores the way women organise in Ghana’s informal quarrying sector. The third paper examines the role of digital spaces in changing women’s access to justice against violence in Pakistan.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Monday 28 June, 2021, -Paper short abstract:
This paper investigates women leaders’ role in challenging political violence against women and girls (PVAWG) in Malawi during the 2019 elections. We identified three main categories of women leaders for analysis.
Paper long abstract:
Since May 2019 disputed elections; public demonstrations characterized Malawi`s political terrain in which political violence against women and girls (VAWG) thrived. For instance, on 15 October 2019, a total of 17 women and girls in Lilongwe West were subjected to different forms of sexual violence at the hands of police officers according to findings of Malawi Human Right Commission. The role of women gate keepers and game changers is vital in ending political violence against women. We identify three main categories. First, the political level, where women leaders in their political roles or positions have failed or taken action to tackle pre, during and post electoral violence. Second, the civil society women`s rights activists and the last category are those who acted in their legal mandate such as the Ombudsman and Malawi Human Rights Commissioners. The paper argues that although legislation may have created an enabling environment for gender equality and elimination of VAWG, the tension between advocating for oneself or vested interest while serving others and structural barriers influenced their strategies and positions on tackling political violence against women.
Paper short abstract:
This article explores the precarious working conditions of solo self-employed quarry workers operating in Ghana. This exploratory study found a high precariousness level affected well-being, health, social life and family formation demanding an introduction of basic universal insurance and social security coverage.
Paper long abstract:
Organisational restructuring has contributed to the rise in self-employment in Ghana. Though the conditions under which solo self-employed workers operate are sometimes worse than that of non-standard workers, studies on precariousness have been limited to non-standard workers. This article explores the precarious working conditions of solo self-employed quarry workers operating in Ghana. This exploratory study— based on in-depth interviews of 33 solo self-employed quarry workers, regulators, trade union and medical officers in Ghana— investigates work organisation and conditions of workers in the sector in Ghana. Data was analysed with thematic content analysis. The study found a high level of precariousness associated with income, hours of work, working environment, social security and healthcare, organising and institutional supports for solo self-employed quarry workers. The poor quality of job inhibited their ability to expand their enterprises and agency to offer employment opportunities to others had affected their well-being, health, social life and family formation. An introduction of basic universal insurance and social security coverage by the state would not only safeguard from any work-related risk but also enhance their quality of life and provide them with dignity.
Paper short abstract:
Digital technology opens civic space for women to reach out for justice against violence. Through use of mobile phone, women are enabled decision making against victimhood, report to law enforcement and access justice for no-more impunity to perpetrator amidst disproportionate social power-relations, earlier unprecedented in Punjab, Pakistan.
Paper long abstract:
From the notion of providing connectivity, digital technology has rendered itself to altering the civic-space available to women for accessing justice against violence. In less developed societies with disproportionate social powers, as in Pakistan, breaking-free from victimhood cannot begin unless women report. Evidence, earlier unprecedented in Punjab, shows how through use of mobile phones, victimized-women have been able to take decision to culminate victimhood, connect and reach-out to law-enforcement to report against the perpetrator. Such goes beyond connectivity to opening new space where victimized-women feel empowered to take the very first step towards justice and life-safety. The present study while deviating from earlier research work examines the role of digital technology in disembarking women from victimhood, using Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey, 2018, Punjab-Pakistan. Logistic regression is employed to a sample of 873 victimized-women. Findings present a significant positive relationship between use of mobile phones and women’s access to justice. Results further show that in patriarchal setup, where on one hand woman tends to follow a man’s perception of ‘treating a woman’ with decision to her self-safety being overruled by the violence justifying attitude of the male; woman through using mobile phone gets the very space required to reach out to justice and institutional mechanism for redressal. Besides, even if she knows the perpetrator and her own house is the assault-place where she gets further intimidated by harassment and discrimination, digital technology goes out to empowering her while closing space for perpetrator’s impunity, with direct policy implications reverberating through SDG-16&17.