Aspects Of Culture And Ideology In Relation To The Position Of Women In Rural Malaysia

Care Relations in Southeast Asia: The Family and Beyond, offers a better understanding of changes and continutity in intergenerational care relations and transactions within and beyond the family network across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam with policy recommendations for the current and future challenges.

Matriliny and Modernity (1996) explores the situation both past and present of women living in the matrilineal society of Negeri Sembilan in a rapidly modernising Malaysia. Written from a feminist anthropological viewpoint, it considers how far both the colonial and post-colonial remakings of matrilineal cultural practices within modernity have left women with what many western feminists would call a degree of social agency if not autonomy. Maila Stivens looks critically at the appropriateness of such judgements, at the same time reflecting on the ways that western knowledge production and the continuing importance of images of exotic matriarchies in the western imagination have shaped debates about such societies. As well as appealing to those with an interest in issues of gender-and-development, Asian Studies and women’s situation in modernising societies, the book’s explanation of the past and present of relatively more egalitarian gender arrangements also contributes to wider debates about causes of sexual inequality and the possibilities for gender equality.

Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Development demytsifies the theory of gender and development and shows how it plays an important role in everyday life. It explores the evolution of gender and development theory, introduces competing theoretical frameworks, and examines new and emerging debates. The focus is on the implications of theory for policy and practice, and the need to theorize gender and development to create a more egalitarian society. This book is intended for classroom and workshop use in the fields ofdevelopment studies, development theory, gender and development, and women's studies. Its clear and straightforward prose will be appreciated by undergraduate and seasoned professional, alike. Classroom exercises, study questions, activities, and case studies are included. It is designed for use in both formal and nonformal educational settings.

Women, State, and Ideology examines the underlying ideologies that make female subordination a universal experience. It analyzes government policies directed at women in African and Asian countries. It argues, too, that ideologies which oppress women are removed only by prolonged struggle—and then only after fundamental political and social changes have been made. The authors evaluate different policies aimed at women in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Iran, Malaysia, China, India, Israel, and Vietnam. Despite different political, social, and economic conditions, there exists a general assumption that women should be responsible for domestic duties. Drawing on new research, the authors indicate that these different national contexts require separate emphases and tactics. One common factor is clear, however—that despite many setbacks, a growing consciousness exists among women, as well as increased opposition to oppressive measures.

An introduction to the politics and society of post-colonial Nigeria, highlighting the key themes of ethnicity, democracy, and development.