Bøger i ASAA Women in Asia Series serien

Same-sex relations, transvestism and cross-gender behaviour have long been noted amongst a wide range of Indonesian peoples. This book explores dominant theories of gender and sexuality in relation to gender diversity in Indonesia. It discusses in particular intersexed groups, such as 'calalai','calabai' and 'bissu'.

This book provides a detailed examination of judicial decision-making in Japanese cases involving sexual violence.

Presenting findings on new domains of employment for women in China's burgeoning market economy of the 1990s and the 21st century, this volume offers insights into changing definitions of "women's work" in contemporary China and questions women's perceived "disadvantage" in the market economy.

This book uses an interdisciplinary approach to chart how various forms of violence - domestic, military, legal and political - are not separate instances of violence, but rather embedded in structural inequalities brought about by colonialism, occupation and state violence.

This book provides a comparative analysis of the social, economic, industrial and migration dynamics that structure women¿s paid work and unpaid care work experience in the Asia-Pacific region. Each country-focused chapter examines the formal and informal ways in which work and care are managed, the changing institutional landscape, gender relations and fertility concerns, employer and trade union responses, the challenges policy makers face and the consequences of their decisions for working women. Overall, the book contributes to debates about the barriers to women¿s participation in the workforce, the valuation of unpaid care, the gender wage gap, and gender relations in developing Asia.

This book provides an overview of the Japanese sex industry in the years of Japan's postwar economic boom. It argues that the origins of gender inequality in contemporary Japan resulted from the policies put in place during this period.

Bangladesh is not one of the countries with the greatest emissions of carbon, but it is nevertheless one of the countries most critically affected, with a significant risk of damage to lives and livelihoods due to climate change. This book assesses the impact of climate change in Bangladesh. It outlines the impact of climate change on livelihood strategies and health, focusing particularly on the impact on gender relations, showing how cultural customs and practices often work against women's important role in helping communities cope with the effects of climate change. The book argues for, and puts forward policy proposals for, encouraging women¿s active contribution.

Microcredit has been seen in recent decades as having great potential for aiding development in poor developing countries, with Bangladesh being one of the countries which has pioneered microcredit and implemented it most widely. This book, based on extensive original research, explores how microcredit works in practice, and assesses its effectiveness. It discusses how microcredit, usually channelled through women, is often passed to the men of the family, a practice disapproved of by some, but regarded as acceptable by borrowers who have a communal approach to debt, rather than viewing debt as something held by single individuals.

Based on in-depth ethnographic work, this book presents a study of Filipinas trafficked to South Korea, focusing on women who entered South Korea as migrant entertainers and subsequently became deployed in exploitative work environments around US military bases there. It contributes to the extension of our knowledge about human trafficking in the Asian region through an exploration of the experiences of more than 100 women who took part in the study.

Bringing together international scholars from various disciplines, this book focuses on the gendering of the modern Japanese nation-state from the late nineteenth century to the present, through contemporary concepts of citizenship, ethnicity, sexuality, work and everyday life. The development of the modern nation-state happened simultaneously with the development of a masculine/feminine binary opposition, and references to gender relations are deeply embedded in concepts of nationalism. This book makes an important contribution to studies on formation of modern nation-states and will interest students and scholars of Japanese history, gender studies and political science.

The Korean womenΓÇÖs movement, which is seen in both Western and non-Western countries as being exemplary in terms of womenΓÇÖs activism, experienced a dramatic change in its direction and strategy in the early 1990s. At the heart of the new approach was an increasing focus on sexual violence, which has had a huge impact on bringing womenΓÇÖs issues onto the public agenda in Korea. This book examines feminist practice in Korea by analyzing the experiences of the countryΓÇÖs first sexual assault center, the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center. Based on extensive original research, including interviews with activists and extensive participant observation, it explores why feminist activists in South Korea chose to organize around the issue of sexual violence, the strategies it used to do so, what impact the movement has made and what challenges it still faces to achieve its objectives.

This book provides a comparative analysis of the social, economic, industrial and migration dynamics that structure women¿s paid work and unpaid care work experience in the Asia-Pacific region. Each country-focused chapter examines the formal and informal ways in which work and care are managed, the changing institutional landscape, gender relations and fertility concerns, employer and trade union responses, the challenges policy makers face and the consequences of their decisions for working women. Overall, the book contributes to debates about the barriers to women¿s participation in the workforce, the valuation of unpaid care, the gender wage gap, and gender relations in developing Asia.

Microcredit has been seen in recent decades as having great potential for aiding development in poor developing countries, with Bangladesh being one of the countries which has pioneered microcredit and implemented it most widely. This book, based on extensive original research, explores how microcredit works in practice, and assesses its effectiveness. It discusses how microcredit, usually channelled through women, is often passed to the men of the family, a practice disapproved of by some, but regarded as acceptable by borrowers who have a communal approach to debt, rather than viewing debt as something held by single individuals. The book demonstrates how the rules around microcredit are often seem as irksome by the borrowers, how lenders often charge high rates of interest and work primarily to preserve their institutions, thereby going against the spirit of the microcredit movement, and how borrowers often end up on a downward spiral, deeper and deeper in debt. Overall, the book argues that although microcredit does much good, it also has many drawbacks.

The Korean women's movement, which is widely seen in both Western and non-Western countries as exemplary in terms of women's activism, experienced a dramatic change in its direction and strategy in the early 1990s. This book examines feminist practice in Korea, focusing on and analysing the experiences of the first Sexual Assault Centre in Korea.

Investigates the role of women and labour activism in Asia, demonstrating that women have been active in union and non union based campaigns in the region. Providing an account of the role of women in union activism in Asia, this book challenges the prevailing conception of women workers in Asia as passive and uninterested in industrial issues.

Bangladesh is by no means a high emitter of carbon, but it is nevertheless one of the countries most critically affected. There is a significant risk of damage to lives and livelihoods due to climate change in the form of cyclones, flooding and storm surges, and slow-onset impacts such as droughts, sea level rises and river basin erosion. Moreover, Bangladeshis are especially vulnerable as a high proportion of people live in extreme poverty. This book assesses the impact of climate change in Bangladesh, and presents the findings of a three-year, in-depth study undertaken at village level in different districts of the country. It examines national policies, contrasting them with what is actually happening at village level. It outlines the impact of climate change on livelihood strategies and health, and focuses particularly on the impact on gender relations, showing that although women have a significant role to play in helping communities cope with the effects of climate change, cultural customs and practices often work against this. The book argues for, and puts forward policy proposals for, recognising women''s active contribution and supporting gender equality as a critical strategy in global adaptation to climate challenges.

This book examines the life of women in the Indonesian province of Aceh, where Islamic law was introduced in 1999. It outlines how women have had to face the formalisation of conservative understandings of sharia law in regulations and new state institutions over the last decade or so, how they have responded to this, forming non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have shaped local discourse on women''s rights, equality and status in Islam, and how these NGOs have strategised, demanded reform, and enabled Acehnese women to take active roles in influencing the processes of democratisation and Islamisation that are shaping the province. The book shows that although the formal introduction of Islamic law in Aceh has placed restrictions on women''s freedom, paradoxically it has not prevented them from engaging in public life. It argues that the democratisation of Indonesia, which allowed Islamisation to occur, continues to act as an important factor shaping Islamisation''s current trajectory; that the introduction of Islamic law has motivated women''s NGOs and other elements of civil society to become more involved in wider discussions about the future of sharia in Aceh; and that Indonesia''s recent decentralisation policy and growing local Islamism have enabled the emergence of different religious and local adat practices, which do not necessarily correspond to overall national trends.

Based on in-depth ethnographic work, this book presents a study of Filipinas trafficked to South Korea, focusing on women who entered South Korea as migrant entertainers and subsequently became deployed in exploitative work environments around US military bases there. It contributes to the extension of our knowledge about human trafficking in the Asian region through an exploration of the experiences of more than 100 women who took part in the study. The book challenges many of the accepted understandings about "trafficking victims" and unravels the implications of these narrow understandings for the women themselves. It explores the ways women negotiate trafficking largely outside of the emerging formal anti-trafficking framework, and explains how new community formations and social networks emerge crafted by the women themselves to manage and overcome their vulnerabilities in migration.

This book is the first to explore understandings of gender and Islam in pesantren (traditional Islamic boarding schools) and Sufi orders in Indonesia. Pesantren are crucial centres of Muslim learning and culture within Indonesia and this book demonstrates how Muslim women rise to positions of power and authority in this patriarchal domain, challenging and negotiating "normative" Muslim patriarchy while establishing their own Muslim "authenticity." The book explores female leadership, power, feminisms and sexuality to reveal that pesantren and Sufi orders are not only centres of learning, but also social spaces in which the interplay of gender, politics, status, power and piety shape the course of life.

Addresses the structural and interpersonal violences to which Asian women are subject, including sexual and domestic violence, as well as within the broader community and the state.

This book explores gender, labour and class in Korea and Japan, both during the twentieth century and today. It shows how sexuality is inscribed in working-class identities, demonstrating that sexual and labor relations have been crucial factors in shaping the cultures of industrialization in both Japan and Korea.

With chapters written by Indonesian scholars and based upon extensive fieldwork experience in Indonesia, this is an important and fascinating examination of the meaning of work for women in modern Indonesia.

Takes an interdisciplinary perspective on the formation of the modern Japanese nation-state. This study traces the idea of women's and men's gendered contributions to the nation and the state through contemporary concepts of citizenship, ethnicity, sexuality, work and everyday life.

Addresses the structural and interpersonal violences to which Asian women are subject, including sexual and domestic violence as well as within the broader community and the state.