Womens Studies International Forum最新文献

{"title":"Silenced voices, enduring struggles: An Islamic feminist analysis of afghan female academics under Taliban rule","authors":"Shahira Shahir ,&nbsp;Xiaoni Ren ,&nbsp;Shaista Noor","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103193","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Taliban's systemic exclusion of Afghan female academics represents both a loss of individual agency and a broader intellectual crisis. This study examines their lived experiences through the lens of Islamic feminism, which challenges cultural and political distortions of Islamic teachings used to justify gender-based oppression. Employing a qualitative research design, it draws on in-depth interviews with twelve Afghan female academics to explore the psychological, economic, social, and professional consequences of Taliban policies. Thematic analysis identifies four key themes: psychological distress, economic exclusion and career erasure, social isolation and loss of autonomy, and systemic gender-based oppression. The findings demonstrate that Taliban policies not only strip women of autonomy but also cultivate fear, despair, and socio-economic marginalisation, reinforcing entrenched patriarchy. We argue that Islamic feminism offers a contextually grounded framework for resistance, advocating for women's rights to education, employment, and public participation within an Islamic paradigm. By examining the intersection of Taliban governance, systemic gender inequality, and the state of higher education (HE), this study contextualises the resilience and struggles of female academics. Urgent international advocacy, policy reforms, and alternative education initiatives are needed to counteract these regressive policies and support Afghan women in reclaiming their place in academia and society.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103193"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144860302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is Instagram emerging as a site for self-objectification of women? A systematic literature review","authors":"Sanju Kumawat,&nbsp;Chhavi Garg","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103191","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103191","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social media has become an integral part of almost everyone's lives, blurring the lines between its users to some extent on the basis of age, place of residence and occupation. Gender inequality as a barrier too to some extent has also been overcome through the use of social media, particularly in terms of accessibility and use of technology among women. Hence, it becomes pertinent to understand how women are using social media as it allows them to read or watch content as well as enable them to produce content. The present study conducted a systematic review of literature using the keywords, Instagram, women and self-objectification following PRISMA guidelines. Instagram was studied as it has emerged as the most popular image based social networking sites, while women and self-objectification were chosen as mass media so far has presented stereotypical images of women. This review of existing literature shows that using Instagram can lead to body dissatisfaction, body surveillance, drive for thinness, low self-esteem and life satisfaction, and increased level of anxiety and depression in women. Hence, programs on media literacy need to be initiated to increase awareness of latent effects of media among users of media, particularly of social networking sites. More nuanced studies on self-objectification by women who use social media should be conducted in every part of the world, especially in the Global South.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103191"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144852264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introductory essay: Race, gender and queering/querying sport and movement cultures","authors":"Aarti Ratna ,&nbsp;Janelle Joseph ,&nbsp;Kyoung-yim Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103180","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103180","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Queer theorizations offer an evocative lens to trouble taken-for-granted readings of different cultural contexts, including those of sport and movement cultures. Yet, a distinct focus on the moving body is missing from both women's studies and race and ethnic studies, ignoring the utility of this cultural context for exploring complex inequalities at the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and nation. Acknowledging the paucity of literature that focuses on women of color and queerness in socio-cultural studies of sport, in this Special Issue opening essay we provide an original critique of this literature and directions for future study. Specifically, we engage in queer, transnational, feminist, anti-racist, and decolonial knowledge systems, to better position pressing debates about race, gender, and sexuality. We argue that through queer disruption, new critical insights about sport and movement cultures can be gleaned, which trouble predominant, white, and western framings of being “in the closet”, apparent inclusion, and neoliberal multiculturalism. By turning our critical lens inwards to query queer theorizations, we also offer an alternative approach that makes visible queer translations and centers race and non-normativity in cultural and material analyses of sport and movement cultures, locally and transnationally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144911867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationship between emotion regulation and aggression mediated by criminal thinking in women convicted of violent offenses","authors":"Emek Yuce Zeyrek-Rios ,&nbsp;Esra Çetinöz ,&nbsp;İrem Erten ,&nbsp;Ayça Gürsoy ,&nbsp;M Burak Gönültaş","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The pathways to violence in women—especially in non-Western contexts—remain underexplored. This study examines the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties, criminal thinking, and aggression among 114 incarcerated Turkish women convicted of violent offenses (i.e., assault, murder/manslaughter, bodily harm, etc.). The mean age of the sample is 35.67 (SD = 9.66). Half of the sample (50 %, N = 58) has a maximum educational level of primary school qualification, and 30 % are unemployed. Drawing on the General Aggression Model and criminal thinking framework, the participants were administered the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), and the Criminal Thinking Scale (CTS). Results revealed significant positive associations between emotion regulation difficulties and all subtypes of aggression, yielding correlation coefficients ranging from 0.25 to 0.62. Furthermore, while offenders scored lower than university students on emotion dysregulation and aggression, they scored higher compared to age-matched community samples—highlighting the importance of contextual comparison. Mediation analysis demonstrated that criminal thinking partially mediated the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and aggression, suggesting that cognitive distortions amplify the effect of affective dysregulation on violent behaviour. These findings underscore the interplay between affective dysregulation and cognitive distortions in female violence and suggest that gender-responsive, trauma-informed interventions must integrate cognitive restructuring alongside emotional regulation skills to effectively reduce female violent offending. The current study advances our understanding of female violence by integrating emotional, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives within a non-Western context.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103179"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An existential exploration of Dalit subjectivity in Bama's short fiction “Annachi” and “Chilli Powder”","authors":"Keerthana S","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study interrogates two short fictions by Bama to look at how the narrative reflects the idea of Dalit Humanism as a conceptual framework that straddles the notion of existentialism and “earthy humanness”. While the first objective of the study is to trace and decipher the nuances surrounding the construct of “Dalit humanism”, the second objective exclusively deals with “earthy humanness” and its associated set of ethics and rebellion. The final section of the article intends to read the relationality of social inequality, caste stratification, and availability of resources as determining components in Dalit conjugal relationships. Close reading Bama's “Annachi” and “Chilli Powder”, the article also elaborates upon the need to take cognisance of the empathetic humanism that is inclusive in its approach. While the available discourses on Bama's works have excessively dealt with the aspects of caste and gender, the present study incorporates the often-neglected phenomenological dimension, which hints not just at the caste-gender nexus but also projects the paradigms of “rebel” literature. In questioning the verticality of wealth, the arbitrary nature of respect/dignity and subverting the traditional quotients of caste hierarchy, the study employs an intersectional framework offered by Sartre's philosophy of “existentialism is a humanism” and Roja Singh's “earthy humanness” of Dalit women. Even as the study traces the evolution of the discourses on patriarchy in Dalit lives, it illustrates how Bama's conceptualisation of “Dalit Womanism” is uniquely egalitarian and realistic in its function. In determining their identity through divergent contextual moorings in the social mainstream, the study concludes that the Dalits reterritorialise their self-dignity in radically disavowing their construct as the jettisoned other and reorient their personality with the renewed values of dignity, empathy and militancy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103183"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144767186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late diagnosis of autistic women in Spain: A participatory study","authors":"Laura Gargallo-Nieto ,&nbsp;Ainhoa Rodríguez-Zafra ,&nbsp;María Clemente-Sánchez ,&nbsp;Irene Garcia-Molina","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103177","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103177","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evidence suggests that the exponential increase in late autism diagnoses among women may be due to a lack of diagnostic tools tailored to their specific presentation, as well as to societal stigmas and biases from an early age. This study aims to give voice to a group of women to explore the reasons behind receiving an autism diagnosis in adulthood, their motivations for seeking it, and the physical, psychological, and emotional consequences of the process. The study included 30 autistic women aged 18 to 56, from Spain, with diagnostic ages ranging from 18 to 55. They participated in a semi-structured interview through different response modalities based on their preferences (e.g., in-person). This is a participatory study, with autistic individuals actively involved in all stages of the research process. Based on proportional data and a reflexive thematic analysis approach, three themes were constructed, corresponding to different stages of the process: pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, and post-diagnosis. These themes highlight the struggle to find answers and the journey toward self-validation. First-person narratives are essential to raising awareness and improving the diagnostic landscape in Spain. There is a need to develop resources for sensitive support both during and after the diagnostic journey, as well as to provide training in autism and gender perspectives for professionals, ensuring more accurate and accessible diagnoses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144750358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Breaking barriers for females in IT freelancing: An analysis of challenges in Sri Lanka","authors":"Dinithi Liyanage,&nbsp;Adithya Vidanapathirana,&nbsp;Pulasthi Attanayake,&nbsp;Devinda Mudannayake,&nbsp;Kalpana Ambepitiya","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103173","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103173","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The underrepresentation of female IT freelancers on online platforms in Sri Lanka, contrasted with the increasing acceptance of freelancing among women in developed countries, underscores a significant gap within the global gig economy. This study employs a qualitative research approach, utilizing telephone interviews with female IT professionals. Through the interviews with freelancers, insights gathered show the study proposition regarding the interplay of key variables affecting their motivation, highlighting four independent variables: disinclination, childcare and family responsibilities, gender pay gap and job security and income stability. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, with expert confirmation of the reliability of the variables identified. The research discusses the negative impacts these factors have on motivation, and in addition, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted more women to consider freelancing for self-preservation. Ultimately, the study advocates for an equitable working environment to bolster the demand for female IT freelancers and aims to raise awareness regarding the challenges faced by Sri Lankan women in this field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103173"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women's household decision-making autonomy in low economic settlements in Bangladesh: Evidence from a cross-sectional study, 2022?","authors":"Saifa Raz ,&nbsp;M. Shafiqur Rahman ,&nbsp;Bachera Aktar ,&nbsp;Sabina Faiz Rashid","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103181","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103181","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Women's autonomy in decision-making is a crucial indicator of empowerment, with significant implications for their well-being and social status. Several research conducted on women's household decision-making autonomy among women of better socio-economic conditions; however, limited research has been conducted among women living in low-economic settlements. This study seeks to estimate the prevalence of and factors influencing women's decision-making autonomy among women living in low-economic settlements such as urban slums.</div></div><div><h3>Methodology</h3><div>This research is based on data extracted from the Integrated Health-Wellbeing Survey 2022, a cross-sectional study conducted among marginalized groups residing in three selected slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected from 1248 women through a face-to-face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. Both bivariate with chi-square test of independence and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association between socio-demographic variables and decision-making autonomy.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>The findings reveal that about three-quarters of women of informal settlements reported having autonomy in mobility, grocery shopping, and healthcare decisions, while only half reported having money management and child education autonomy. Older women, those heading households, those involved in income-generating activities, and women owning mobile phones demonstrated significantly greater autonomy compared to their counterparts (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). Despite evidence from other contexts linking education to autonomy, slum women's decision-making was driven by economic participation rather than formal education.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The findings underscore the importance of income-generating opportunities in empowering women and highlight the need for a multi-faceted approach, focusing on economic empowerment and social support to enhance women's autonomy in low-economic settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women recidivism in North Macedonia (2017–2024)","authors":"Elena Maksimova,&nbsp;Olga Koshevaliska","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103178","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103178","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Female recidivism presents a growing challenge for the criminal justice system in North Macedonia and is shaped by socio-economic, psychological, and systemic factors. This article investigates women repeat offenders through the lens of Arnaudovski's (2007) theory and with the help of a mixed-methods approach, combining statistical analysis with qualitative data from case studies and interviews. Marital status, parental responsibilities, employment, type of prior offense, substance abuse, and sentencing are used to understand the recidivism rate among Macedonian female offenders, together with offense categories, motives behind initial crimes, and histories of trauma and victimization. Findings reveal that economic hardship, lack of support systems, unresolved trauma, and inadequate gender-sensitive rehabilitation increase the risk of reoffending. Stigma and systemic barriers hinder reintegration. Comprehensive, gender-responsive policies, including mental health services, childcare support, and targeted reintegration programs, can reduce female recidivism and promote successful societal reintegration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103178"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing women entrepreneurship through resource orchestration and digital technologies","authors":"Pavani Prabha Tanaji,&nbsp;Swati Alok,&nbsp;Rishi Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103175","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103175","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Women entrepreneurs in developing countries like India often encounter socioeconomic barriers, such as limited accessibility and affordability, which confine their businesses within a closed system. According to the Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), digital penetration has significantly increased, specifically post-COVID, suggesting that technology-driven entrepreneurship could overcome these challenges. This study explores the “process dynamics” of how digital reliance impacts entrepreneurial success measured by sales growth, market expansion, and product offerings through the lens of resource orchestration theory. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 213 digital women entrepreneurs and analyzed using SEM with SmartPLS4 software. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs relying on basic technologies like mobile/web applications and advanced internet technologies like IoT and AR do not directly lead to entrepreneurial success. Instead, these technologies facilitate “resource acquisition” by providing access to business information, strategic advice, and other valuable assets. However, these acquired resources do not directly lead to entrepreneurial success. Further, basic technologies, being transactional, remain isolated tools if not strategically orchestrated, limiting their overall impact on business performance both directly and indirectly through experimentation. In contrast, advanced technologies like IoT, AR, etc., which are transformational, demonstrate both direct and indirect impacts on performance via business experimentation. This study emphasizes women entrepreneurs to integrate their digital tools and differentiate between the impact caused due to reliance on basic versus advanced technologies. It urges policymakers to shift focus from digital adoptions to digital effectiveness through capacity-building programs and promote resource orchestration often overlooked in entrepreneurship discussions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103175"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}