Abotorab talebi; Somayeh Rahmani
Abstract
This article analyses the experience of Kurdish women's silence based on their understanding and interpretation of gender and their position in the fields of work, family and education. The aim is to show the social and semantic complexities of the phenomenon of Kurdish women‘ silence. This study ...
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This article analyses the experience of Kurdish women's silence based on their understanding and interpretation of gender and their position in the fields of work, family and education. The aim is to show the social and semantic complexities of the phenomenon of Kurdish women‘ silence. This study was conducted using theoretical sampling and individual interviews with 20 Kurdish women, as well as focus interviews in a group of six, in the framework of interpretive-constructivist approach and the thematic analysis technique. The results have been framed under the two main themes of hegemonic silence and strategic silence, and also sub-themes. They show that women give different meanings to their silence by their silence in different situations while use different strategies. The consequences of each of these types of silence can include those silences that re-establish or disrupt the hegemonic meanings of gender and domination. This study shows that the experience of silence lies in a range of subjugation on the one hand, and subjectivity and agency on the other. Moreover, the boundary between victim and agent cannot be considered as a clear and inflexible boundary.
Hatam Hosseini; Belal Bagi
Abstract
Widespread changes in women’s roles in society, in turn, leads to their increasing participation in the social arena, therefore, by increasing women’s autonomy in different aspects of life, they are more likely to reach to higher positions and status than they were in earlier decades. This situation ...
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Widespread changes in women’s roles in society, in turn, leads to their increasing participation in the social arena, therefore, by increasing women’s autonomy in different aspects of life, they are more likely to reach to higher positions and status than they were in earlier decades. This situation provides the context for changes in fertility ideals (fertility behavior, desires, and ideals) of women. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of different indices of women’s autonomy on fertility behavior, desires, and ideals of Kurdish women in the city of Mahabad. Data was collected through a survey which was conducted in April 2012 on 700 households, and then analyzed using SPSS software.Results show that women have relative autonomy in all indices related to women’s autonomy. According to this study, at the time the survey was carried out, more than 61 percent of women stated that they were content with the number of offspring they had, and had no desire for further children. Among those who wanted to continue their childbearing, nearly 70 percent stated that, in the current situation, two children were ideal for a family. Results of Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) showed that the fertility ideals and desires of women are affected respectively, by direct and indirect indices regarding women’s autonomy. Furthermore, although women’s fertility behavior is affected by three indices of women’s autonomy, nevertheless, using contraceptive devices along with other variables, play an important role in explaining women’s fertility behavior. According to the results of this study, it is not expected that population policies aimed at encouraging fertility, would lead to a fertility increase in all social strata.
