Alieh Abbasi; mahmoudreza rahbarghazi; Amir Masoud Shahramnia
Abstract
IntroductionThe present study aimed at analyzing and deeply understanding the process of identity formation among women using postmodern feminist approaches based on the grounded theory method in the city of Yasuj. In this study, an attempt will be made to explore the causes, strategies, and consequences ...
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IntroductionThe present study aimed at analyzing and deeply understanding the process of identity formation among women using postmodern feminist approaches based on the grounded theory method in the city of Yasuj. In this study, an attempt will be made to explore the causes, strategies, and consequences of a phenomenon called "the formation of women's identity within traditional contexts."Research MethodThe qualitative research design was employed for this study. In this study, a qualitative research methodology was based on the classic version of the grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin (2015). Data collection was through semi-structured interviews with 27 women living in the city of Yasuj. Data analysis to develop contextual concepts from the interview data was done through open, axial, and selective coding. The accuracy of the data was determined by the participant review and comparison with related theoretical sources. Lastly, the focused codes and the core code were found through the data analysis regarding the formation of identity in women.Conclusion The findings of research illustrate that in the level of causal conditions, women's identity formation is rooted in hegemonic patriarchy, gender othering, and religious authoritative discourse. For Foucault (1978), such discourses of power and social surveillance hold tremendous significance as agents in shaping women's identities. It is through the process of social reproduction that such discourses have managed to instill patriarchal roles and norms onto women, which have implications for curbing choices in career and educational pathways. Lacan further moves to show that women, in interaction with structures of symbolization, remain incomplete in identity—a constant state—that through a system defining them as the "Other," their sense of self is molded and they remain wanting. In contextual conditions, the normative discursive system and symbolic religious order support Apollonian gender roles through family and religion. Butler (2011) claims that the gender identity of women is reproduced by the norms being performed. Such performances get shaped within the framework of gendered embodiment and hegemonic dress code where women's bodies serve as sites of social and cultural surveillance in society. It is in this system where they also experience a family structure based on gender, which makes them fit into the latter roles enjoyed in the family. Among intervening processes, institutional gender discrimination and normative deterrence act as barriers to realize the modern identities by women. Within intra-family power relations as well as patriarchal capitalism, the same is considered distinguishing toward preservation of traditional roles and economic constraints on the woman. This would also lead to bodily control, whereby social and economic institutions monitor the bodies and identities of women and further limit their access to independence and autonomy.The data show that women in Yasuj developed two main strategies in response to the studied phenomenon: acceptance or resistance. In the acceptance strategy, influenced by traditional and hegemonic discourses, women accept imposed gender roles, likely due to internalizing social and religious norms reinforced by institutions like family and religion. According to Foucault (1978) and Butler (2011), this acceptance unintentionally reproduces power structures, as women legitimize social control over their bodies and identities. Women may feel pressured to pursue education or employment while also facing traditional family responsibilities imposed by society. Resistance, on the other hand, involves women, as conscious agents aware of oppressive discourses, striving to reframe their identities and challenge imposed sex-based roles. This can manifest through opposing forced marriages, seeking economic and educational independence, or building independent identities via social media. From a postmodernist viewpoint, such resistance directly challenges patriarchal power mechanisms and works to alter dominant discourses and reshape women's identities. Acts of defiance, like rejecting dress codes or refusing educational and employment limitations, symbolically allow women to critique existing structures and create new narratives.Finally, the results expose that the identity formations among women can be viewed as resulting in three kinds of outcomes: negative, mixed, and positive. In negative outcomes, power discourse and social surveillance are used as tools for the purposes of controlling women. According to Foucault (1978), power over bodies and identities of women is wielded through apparatuses of social institutions. Institutions like family and religion force women to adhere to gender roles and control their activities through monitoring mechanisms. The autonomy lost within this structure is a direct consequence of social surveillance and cultural pressures. According to Butler (2011), the female body becomes a playground to exert one's power, eliminating all regular decision-making processes for women in career perspectives as well as personal lives. But this is achieved through internalization, wherein women unconsciously internalize such social norms that have been influenced by power discourses and thus simply accept their restrictive roles. Through the theory of subjectivity developed by Lacan, these norms are internalized in identity/women and become part of their nature, whence they start acting as if these limitations were natural and unchangeable.In the mixed outcomes, the discourse of resistance and acceptance comes forth as one of the central issues in describing a process in which women find themselves at the juncture of accepting traditional norms while resisting them. Butler (2011) frames this struggle symbolically as a struggle about possession of women's bodies, whereby their bodies become a site of reproduction and opposition to these norms. Herein lies a duality of roles: women are situated in a dual space between family and society. The former expects them to continue with traditional family roles, while the latter presses them to assume more modern roles in the public sphere. It is this identity conflict that arises out of the patriarchal and post-colonial pressures which leads to deeper identity tensions. From Foucault's 1978 perspective, this can be understood as thus, a sort of pulling between the subject and the social order whereby the female subject is multiplied since she has internalized the social norms, and at the same time she is trying to emancipate herself from expected standards. This leads to an endless pull between the self and social order.Identity and embodiment reconstruction in positive outcomes from a place of change: women get their identity and independently make reconstructions against the confining discourses. While Butler (2011) and Foucault (1978) recognize that women's bodies are used as arenas to duplicate social norms, they equally emphasize these can also turn into spaces of resistance and redefinition of identities. It is this resistive force that further develops the cuerpo in reformulating their bodies and identities anew, free from such discourses. This process also leads to the development of resistance against dominant discourses. In this case, women support an additional view of independence and find new ways towards progress and autonomy by refusing and challenging social and traditional norms. This kind of resistance will lead to bodily autonomy and control whereby, through challenging and rebelling against the patriarchal structures of power, women regain their bodies and behaviors and achieve economic and personal independence as a way of showing resistance to social order and institutional control.
Reyhanesadat Gerami; Younes Nourbakhsh; Rasoul Sadeghi
Abstract
introductionMuslim immigration to Europe is not new. However, the necessity for labor in European countries led to a significant expansion in the Muslim diaspora in these civilizations, as well as the growth of Islamic communities. In this sense, the flood of Muslim immigration to Europe paved the ground ...
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introductionMuslim immigration to Europe is not new. However, the necessity for labor in European countries led to a significant expansion in the Muslim diaspora in these civilizations, as well as the growth of Islamic communities. In this sense, the flood of Muslim immigration to Europe paved the ground for the development of legal, social, and cultural challenges. In 2010, the Muslim population in Europe was estimated at 4,413,800. This figure is predicted to reach 58209000 million people by 2030. Currently, Muslims account for 6% of Europe's population. According to predictions, by 2030, Muslims will account for 8% of the European continent's population. (Noorbakhsh, 2019).Muslims in Europe, as a recognized minority, face numerous challenges in their everyday lives, with one of the most significant being the quest to maintain and define their Muslim identity in European contexts. Migration often takes them to environments vastly different from their countries of origin. Many Muslim minorities in the West come from predominantly Islamic societies and settle in secular, non-religious communities. This shift frequently causes them to reexamine and confront questions about their identity, which, before migration, may have seemed stable and unquestionable (Duderija & Rane).It is important to highlight that many challenging Islamic laws, such as the hijab, are observed more prominently by immigrant Muslim women than by men (Ali, 2006). In Western societies, these laws create challenges specific to Muslim women that do not typically affect men. Moreover, the distinction in gender roles becomes more evident for women, particularly through roles like motherhood and being a wife. These roles are culturally defined in ways that may differ significantly between Islamic and European societies, potentially leading to difficulties for Muslim immigrant women. Consequently, this study focuses on the issues related to the religious identity of Muslim immigrant women in Europe. The research specifically examines the challenges related to their religious identity, excluding other types of identity. Additionally, it explores the strategies employed by these women to deal with religious identity challenges.Finally, considering all the points discussed, the present study aims to specifically address the following questions regarding the religious identity challenges faced by Muslim immigrant women in Europe:What types of challenges related to their religious identity do Muslim women experience in European societies?How do Muslim women cope with these challenges? Or, more precisely, what strategies do they employ to confront these challenges?Numerous studies, adopting a holistic approach and conducted as meta-studies, have examined the condition of Muslim immigrants in Western societies. Topics such as experiences of discrimination—particularly workplace discrimination—encounters with Islamophobia, and the impacts of these experiences and challenges on the mental and physical health of Muslim immigrants have been key areas of focus in these meta-studies. Despite the significance of existing meta-studies, it appears that previous studies have paid less attention to the religious identity challenges faced by Muslim immigrant women. This gap highlights the need for comprehensive and holistic studies that specifically address the experiences of Muslim immigrant women concerning religious identity challenges and the strategies they employ to navigate them. In response to this need, the researcher in the present study has aimed to provide a broad and inclusive analysis. This study seeks to examine the religious identity challenges faced by Muslim immigrant women in Europe and the strategies they adopt to deal with these challenges.MethodologyThis study sought to assess research conducted over the past 14 years (2010–2023) on Muslim immigrant women in European countries through a qualitative meta-analysis approach. To identify relevant studies, keywords such as "Muslim women," "Muslim immigrants," "identity," "Europe," "the West," "identity challenges," "religious identity," and their combinations were used to search scientific databases, including Taylor and Francis, Springer, JSTOR, Elsevier, Sage, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar.Initially, all studies—including articles, treatises, dissertations, and books—on the topic of identity issues experienced by Muslim women in Europe were considered. The search began with the selection of 76 publications based on their titles within the time period chosen. Following a review of their abstracts to ensure their relevance to the core research issue, 38 papers were picked for the following phase. Finally, a thorough review of the content, including theoretical frameworks, methods, and findings, resulted in the selection of 24 qualitative studies for the meta-study.Thematic analysis was employed to evaluate the findings of the prior studies in order to conduct qualitative meta-analysis. Therefore, the findings of twenty-four selected qualitative studies were open-coded in accordance with the research's two main goals (identity challenges faced by Muslim women and strategies applied by them). The codes were then categorized again in the second stage, resulting in the formation of categories. The categories aligned with the primary research issues. In fact, a number of categories formed, one for the identification challenges experienced by Muslim women and another for the strategies applied by immigrant Muslim women to overcome these challenges. In the third stage, the collected categories were recategorized, and the primary themes were identified.FindingsThe results of the meta-synthesis highlight six important challenges to immigrant Muslim women's religious identity. These challenges include negative perceptions and mistreatment by host society, the imposition of a specific lifestyle on Muslim women, immigrant Muslim women's uneven path to advancement, surveillance and prejudice from their own community, tensions and differences between Islamic and European lifestyles, and the experience of double marginalization.Regarding the strategies adopted by immigrant Muslim women to deal with religious identity challenges, four main strategies were identified: personalizing their religious identity, adopting the discourse of "pure Islam," participating in and affiliating with Islamic centers, and embracing multidimensional and flexible identities.Conclusion and RecommendationsThis study demonstrates that Muslim migrant women in Europe experience mutual pressures from both the host society and their own community to define their identity. They attempt to cope with these challenges and achieve balance in their daily lives through applying a variety of strategies. The findings shed insight on the complexities of identity formation among Muslim women in Europe, emphasizing the necessity for increased attention to this topic.Finally, the study suggests that future research should look at the problem of double marginalization and how it affects Muslim migrant women and subsequent generations. Furthermore, it emphasizes concentrating on Muslim migrants' active agency and influence on host societies, since this can help to more effective policymaking for peaceful coexistence.
Hamed Shiri; Yaghoub Ahmadi; Bahar Shariati; Leila Khodavirdi
Abstract
Work and Home: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences and Narratives of Employed Women on Domestic WorkIntroduction In contemporary societies, gender roles and societal expectations of women have undergone significant changes. One of the most notable transformations is the widespread entry ...
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Work and Home: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences and Narratives of Employed Women on Domestic WorkIntroduction In contemporary societies, gender roles and societal expectations of women have undergone significant changes. One of the most notable transformations is the widespread entry of women into the labor market and the increase in their employment opportunities. Employed women, in addition to their professional responsibilities, still face traditional expectations of homemaking and family care. This issue gained prominence as a social problem with the publication of the book "The Second Shift" (Hochschild & Machung, 1989) which became a central topic in the sociology of family and gender. The Second Shift refers to the duties and responsibilities women face at home after completing their daily formal work. Research indicates that while the hours women spend on domestic work have decreased in recent years and men’s participation in household tasks - particularly childcare - has increased, women still perform more housework than men in most households, even in those where women earn equal or higher incomes than their spouses (Greenstein, 2000; Tichenor, 2005; Gupta, 2007; Schneider, 2011). In Iran, women have gradually transitioned out of their traditional role as homemakers and entered the labor market. While this transition may improve women’s economic status and quality of life through new opportunities, it also comes with additional responsibilities and challenges. Iranian women tend to carry more responsibility in managing household and family affairs compared to men. Even in families where both spouses are employed, women still dedicate more time to housework (Tabatabai & Mehri, 2019; Maqsudi & Bostan, 2004). The simultaneous performance of professional roles alongside traditional roles as mothers, wives, and homemakers creates challenges in achieving work-life balance and imposes psychological and physical pressures on women. Given these issues, this article aims to qualitatively examine the lived experiences of employed women in managing domestic work responsibilities and their related challenges in the city of Marivan (Kurdistan).Methodology This study adopts a qualitative approach with an interpretive phenomenological framework. The primary technique for data collection was in-depth interviews, combined with the researchers’ prior lived experience and observations. Sampling and sample size determination were carried out using common qualitative methodologies, employing both purposive (prior) sampling and theoretical (progressive) sampling techniques (Flick, 2009). The adequacy of the sample size was based on the principle of theoretical saturation, resulting in the selection of 15 employed women from the public and private sectors in Marivan. Data analysis was performed through interpretive phenomenology using thematic analysis techniques.Findings The findings of the study reveal that "housekeeping as an inescapable responsibility for women" remains a persistent social and cultural norm in society. Cultural pressures and the intergenerational transmission of domestic roles have prevented women, despite their participation in the workforce, from detaching from traditional housekeeping roles. Consequently, employed women inevitably experience a "dual identity" (employee–homemaker), placing them in a continuous cycle of conflicting responsibilities. Even women who have achieved financial independence or live in families with less traditional perspectives still feel that a home requires "feminine warmth" and "female management." The duality of work and home profoundly impacts women's time and energy, leading to significant emotional and psychological strains such as stress, feelings of inadequacy, and even resentment toward certain household duties. The study also highlights the role of cultural and social structures in reinforcing gendered roles. Patriarchal traditions in society continue to define housekeeping as a "natural duty of women." From childhood, men are taught that household tasks are the responsibility of women, leading many men to perceive participation in domestic chores as "beneath their dignity." These roles are reproduced within families and the broader culture, persisting widely even among newer generations. While employed women remain bound to domestic duties under the influence of patriarchal discourse, working outside the home represents a deliberate and autonomous act of resistance for many of them. Employment offers more than financial resources—it becomes a way to challenge structures that confine them to traditional domestic roles. Employment grants women economic independence, empowers them in family decision-making, and enables them to challenge their position as the "sole homemaker." Finally, the "emergence of progressive and egalitarian families" reflects a growing trend that challenges traditional perspectives and fosters a movement toward gender equality. This transformation promises cultures where cooperation and partnership replace traditional gendered divisions of labor, paving the way for more equitable societies. Discussion and Conclusion Achieving improvements in the conditions and status of employed women primarily requires creating a balance between work and life while advancing towards gender equality. This necessitates fundamental changes in cultural, social, and economic structures through gradual steps toward fostering a participatory and egalitarian culture. These changes must extend from micro levels (family and individual) to macro levels (policy-making and public cultural awareness). In the cultural domain, it is imperative to reassess traditional attitudes toward gender roles. Raising public awareness about the benefits of men’s participation in household responsibilities and promoting modern family models through mass media can be an effective step in this direction. In the social domain, there is a need to redefine familial roles and foster active collaboration and participation among family members. Consequently, providing educational opportunities for families, especially for men, regarding the importance of sharing household responsibilities can lead to positive changes. In the economic domain, policies must be designed to provide greater support to working women. Additionally, recognizing the economic value of domestic work and offering benefits and support for homemakers as part of the social workforce can elevate their status in society. The transition towards a participatory and egalitarian culture requires continuous and gradual efforts. Incremental steps such as implementing educational programs, reforming laws and policies, and identifying and encouraging successful models of egalitarian families can gradually undermine patriarchal structures and replace them with a culture of gender justice. These transformations can lead to societies where women and men have equal opportunities for growth, advancement, and a higher quality of life. Achieving such a goal will bring widespread benefits not only to women but to all members of society, as gender equality serves as a foundation for sustainable development and social justice.References Greenstein, T. N. (2000). Economic dependence, gender, and the division of labor in the home: A replication and extension. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62 (2), 322–335.Gupta S. A. (2007). Autonomy, Dependence, or Display? The Relationship between Married Women’s Earnings and Housework. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(2):399–417Hochschild, A. R., & Machung, A. (1989). The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY: Avon BooksMaqsudi, S., & Bostan, Z. (2004). A study of the challenges arising from the simultaneous roles of homemaking and social obligations among employed women in Kerman. *Women's Studies*, 2(5), 130-156 (In Persian)Schneider. D. (2011). Market Earnings and Household Work: New Tests of Gender Performance Theory. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73(4):845–60Tabatabaei, M.G. & Mehri, N. (2019). Gender Inequality in Unpaid Domestic Housework and Childcare Activities and Its Consequences on Childbearing Decisions: Evidence from Iran. Journal of International Women's Studies, 20(2), 26-42Tichenor, V. J. (2005). Earning more and getting less: Why successful wives can’t buy equality. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Sara Mohammadi; Eslam Fakher; Ali Mehrabi; Khadijeh Safikhani Nasimzadeh
Abstract
IntroductionToday, the development of the Internet is associated with the electronic lifestyle. Knowing the style and lifestyle of people is essential in providing appropriate services to their various departments. Therefore, it seems that according to the technological developments and the use of new ...
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IntroductionToday, the development of the Internet is associated with the electronic lifestyle. Knowing the style and lifestyle of people is essential in providing appropriate services to their various departments. Therefore, it seems that according to the technological developments and the use of new technologies, people's electronic lifestyle is a tool for marketing and designing services based on information and communication technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of electronic life-style on the acceptance of advertisements and intention to buy online among women in Ahvaz city. Therefore, in terms of its nature and purpose, this study is an applied research, and in terms of the method of data collection or research design, it is a quantitative and descriptive-correlational research. MethodologyThe statistical population of the study includes all the women citizens of Ahvaz who have experience of online shopping, due to the difficulty and lack of access to all of them using the available non-random sampling method and according to the Cochran's sampling formula, 384 people were selected as the sample. Data collection was in the section of theoretical foundations and research background of the library method (review of books, international scientific articles and valid scientific databases and taking notes) and standard questionnaires with validity and reliability were used to measure research variables. Thus, The data on electronic life-style were collected using the standardized Yu questionnaire (2011), for acceptance of advertisements, Liu et al, questionnaire (2019), and Kim et al, questionnaire (2007) have been used to measure intention to buy online. The items are scored on a 5‑point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very low) to 5 (very much) based on one’s own opinions and feelings. To confirm the face and content validity, the questionnaires were reviewed and approved by 6 Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management specialists of faculty member of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. To assay the reliability of the questionnaires, we used Cronbach’s alpha method. The amount of reliance ratio was calculated for the variables Electronic life-style, Acceptance of advertisements, & Intention to buy online as 0.93, 0.81 & 0.88 respectively applying Cronbach’s alpha method. In addition, nonparametric tests were used to assess the correlations between variables as the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test indicated the abnormal distribution of variables scores. In all the statistical analyses, p value of 0.05 or less was considered significant.Data analysis was performed in SPSS software version 22 (IBM Corporation, USA) using the descriptive statistics (Mean, SD) and Spearman correlation coefficient and SmartPLS software (version 3), using the structural equation modeling.ResultsAccording to the findings, the mean (SD) electronic life styles was 3.40 (0.58), the mean (SD) acceptance of advertisements and intention to buy online scores was 3.3 (0.62), & 3.9 (0.89). The results show that the electronic life style of women in Ahvaz is above average, As a result, the acceptance of advertisements and then their intention to buy online is also relatively high. This means that the desire of women in Ahvaz to use technology in their lives and meet their needs is relatively high. Spearman correlation coefficient showed that there was a meaningful relationship between electronic lifestyle, advertising acceptance and intention to online shopping (p<0.001). Electronic lifestyle had a positive significant correlation with advertising acceptance (r= 0.475), and intention to online shopping (r= 0.62). Advertising acceptance had a significant positive correlation with intention to online shopping (r=0.453).After confirming the correlation, causal relationships of variables can be measured by modeling structural equation methods. In order to fit of measurement model, were used three indicators; reliability (Composite Reliability and Cronbach's alpha), Convergent Validity (AVE), and Divergent Validity. According to AVE (Average Variance Extracted) values (more than 0.50), and composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha values (more than 0.70), the fit of the model were confirmed. Also, the Fornell-Larcker test (1981) has been used for divergent validity. The Fornell-Larcker factor show that a load of each factor for each constructs on the main diameter (Square AVE) is greater than that a load of that factor for other structures. Thus, results was confirmed the divergent validity of the model. Also, to evaluate the fitting of the structural model (path analysis), have been used coefficients R2 and . The overall fit of the model is illustrated by the positive Goodness of Fit (GOF) Index. According to the positive Index and value of 0.445 for GOF, the suitable fit of the model was supported. The R2 coefficient expresses the degree of influence of the dependent variable from the independent variable.ConclusionThis study aimed to investigate women's electronic lifestyle and its impact on the acceptance of advertising and intention to purchase online among women in Ahvaz. According to the obtained results, the need-driven e-lifestyle was the dominant e-lifestyle of women in Ahvaz. Also, the results of the data analysis showed that the types of electronic life styles have a significant effect on the intention to buy online (except for sociable life style and the emergency-oriented life style). The obtained results indicate that women have a high interest and motivation to participate in electronic activities, search and pay attention to advertisements and online shopping behaviors, which has led to the formation and strengthening of their electronic lifestyle. Among electronic lifestyles, the novelty-driven and interest-driven e-life style has the greatest impact on women's online shopping intentions. This shows that most women's online shopping is based on their interest or desire for new and innovative phenomena. Also, the effect of electronic life style on the acceptance of advertisements, were confirmed significantly. In this way, the need-driven e-lifestyle had the greatest effect on the acceptance of advertisements. This means that in accepting advertisements, the most use of online shopping by women is based on their own or family needs. The effect of acceptance of advertisements on the intention to buy online were confirmed significantly. That is, advertising plays an important role in the formation of the intention to buy online. Advertisements, especially in virtual space and through media and social networks, attract customers and consumers and stimulate their buying behavior. Despite this, the mediating role of advertising acceptance in the effect of electronic lifestyle on intention to online shopping was positive but non-significant and was not confirmed. This result shows that the electronic lifestyle without intermediaries has enough strength and intensity to influence the intention to buy online.Therefore, it can be concluded that women who use new technologies and are accustomed to an electronic lifestyle are less likely to avoid accepting advertisements and, as a result, are more inclined to shop online. Creative advertisements that are tailored to the audience's electronic lifestyle can lead to a significant increase in conversion rates and sales.
behrouz sadeghi amroabadi; amir montazerhojat; sajjad bahmani; ahmad salahmansesh; Faezeh Amraii
Abstract
The contribution of cooperation in removing the deprivation of female heads of the household with a future research approachAbstract IntroductionTaking advantage of endogenous capacities such as cooperatives, which are able to increase the capacity of men and women heads of households, as an important ...
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The contribution of cooperation in removing the deprivation of female heads of the household with a future research approachAbstract IntroductionTaking advantage of endogenous capacities such as cooperatives, which are able to increase the capacity of men and women heads of households, as an important part of deprivation in Khuzestan province, through sharing efforts, has long been parallel and as a helper of the government. In the field of deprivation removal and poverty reduction, it has been the attention of planners and policy makers. Therefore, considering that currently, in line with the general policies of social security, there is a serious effort among the executive bodies in creating employment and eliminating unemployment and moving towards justice-centered and deprivation removal, it is necessary to use the potential capacities of the cooperative sector. In order to achieve fair economic growth, he used it appropriately. One of the approaches to achieve this goal is the development of cooperative companies in the path of deprivation. Taking advantage of endogenous capacities such as cooperatives, which are able to increase the capacity of men and women who are heads of households as an important part of deprivation in Khuzestan province through sharing efforts, has long been parallel and as a helper of the government. In the field of deprivation removal and poverty reduction, it has been the attention of planners and policy makers; As Birchall (1997) considers cooperatives as one of the most important non-governmental organizations, their success and benefits in poverty reduction programs are realized through members' self-help and their special privileges; Also, ILO emphasized the promotion of cooperatives and their role in reducing poverty. Based on this, the present research aims to identify the key drivers and existing uncertainties, and investigate the possible scenarios in the path of the transformation of cooperative companies for the elimination of women's deprivation in the coming years. Based on this, in line with the issues raised, the main question of this research is: What are the most important strategies for the development of cooperative companies in the path of depriving female heads of households in Khuzestan province?MethodologyIn this research, according to the research topic, a combined method was used. At first, based on library studies, the factors affecting the exclusion of female guardians from the path of cooperatives were collected, and then it was completed by asking experts. This study was carried out with the future research approach and scenario creation method using scenario wizard software. The interviewers and experts of the study were 40 economic, social and executive and university management experts as well as managers of women's cooperative companies in Khuzestan province in 1403. The interview with the experts continues until it reaches the degree of saturation and the conversations and factors are repeated. Then, after collecting the questionnaires, Mic Mac software was used to extract the main factors influencing the disenfranchisement of women with cooperatives. The results obtained from the analysis of the matrix and how the variables are distributed in the diagram (around the diameter) indicate that the factors have a large and scattered effect on each other and therefore the system is unstable. On the other hand, the matrix is based on statistical indicators with 2 The rotation load and 96% of filling have 100% desirability and optimization, which shows the high validity of the matrix and its answers Cooperation, educational and insurance infrastructures, ethnic culture, education level, macroeconomic situation) were placed as strategic variables in the first area of the scatter map. Then, in order to create a scenario, expert experts were asked for their opinions at this stage, and by summarizing them, 12 possible situations were defined for the above 5 key factors. The considered situations for each factor were similar to other factors and covered a range of unfavorable to favorable situations. After determining the key variables, different predictable states for the future of these key variables are determined. The considered situations for each factor were similar to other factors and covered a range of unfavorable to favorable situations.DiscussionThe results of this study, using a futures research method, provide a comprehensive picture of the potential future of cooperatives in eliminating the deprivation of women heads of households in Khuzestan Province. The scenarios derived from the opinions of experts show that the success of this strategy is closely related to several factors. Based on the existing scenarios, the desirable scenarios focus on the important role of comprehensive support for the cooperative sector at the macroeconomic level and emphasize the expansion of support infrastructure (education, insurance, tax and legal facilities), women's empowerment by increasing the level of education and access to technology, and improving macroeconomic conditions (economic growth increases, inflation decreases, and sanctions are lifted). In contrast, the critical scenario indicates the risks arising from ignoring these factors and the spread of cultural and economic barriers. The static scenario also points out that maintaining the status quo, without making fundamental changes in infrastructure and approaches, cannot lead to a significant improvement in the situation of women heads of households. Thus, advancing a proactive and forward-looking strategy, targeting key elements identified in the desired scenarios, is essential to achieving development goals at this stage. Overall, the present study shows that the development of cooperatives can play an important role in alleviating the deprivation of female heads of households, but this requires comprehensive planning and attention to multiple factors. Support from the government and relevant institutions for the cooperative sector, improving support infrastructure, empowering women through education and facilitating access to technology, and improving macroeconomic conditions are all key factors that should be considered in policymaking.Conclusion:The results of the study show that comprehensive support for the cooperative sector in the macroeconomic and the opinion of the authorities, strengthening and supporting cooperatives through infrastructure, supporting a development-oriented culture, increasing the efficiency of women's cooperatives, and improving the development of macroeconomic conditions are among the most important strategies for the cooperative sector in the path of eliminating the deprivation of female heads of households in Iran. These results are consistent with the studies of Thorp et al. (2005), Kwapong & Hanisch (2013), and Abbaskhah et al. (2021). In other words, consistent with previous theories and studies, this study shows that the most important features of the scenarios in this study are strengthening attention to the cooperative sector in the economy and the opinion of the authorities, increasing support through educational infrastructure and the presence of women, paying attention to cultural issues appropriate to development in the field of women's work, and improving the level of women's education.For future studies, it is suggested that, using statistical data and time series or panel econometric methods, the status of women's cooperatives and its relationship with welfare and economic indicators at the provincial level or in developing countries be examined.Key words: cooperation, poverty, Deprivation, women, Futurology
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