Women and Culture (Oxfam Focus on Gender Series)
Publisher: Oxfam; Oxfam Professional
Published: November 1, 1995
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 64
ISBN-13: 9780855983109
Subjects: Cultural studies; Social welfare & social services; Women's studies; Gender Studies; Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare; Politics / Current Events; Sociology
Description: Throughout the world, cultural norms determine a view of women as subordinate to men, and provide a rationale for denial of women's economic and political rights. This collection of essays in the Focus on Gender series explores the issues of cultural traditions and beliefs, and their relation to gender and development.

Topics discussed in this book include identity, meaning, and culture; the struggle of feminists from the South to gain legitimacy in Northern-dominated development debates; working to challenge restrictive gender roles in Zimbabwe; gender violence as a development issue; the use of rape as a weapon of war in former Yugoslavia; and the use of popular culture and the media to promote gender equity.

Many of the writers recount their personal experiences of cultural constraints on women's freedom of action, and how these can be overcome.