Immigration should not be seen as an «easy» short-term way of avoiding the politically difficult reform of Europe’s fundamental longterm economic problems: low official retirement ages, excessive early retirement, very long degree courses, low workforce participation of women and immigrants, high levels of unproductive bureaucracy, and rigid labour laws which inhibit conventional labour recruitment.

This collection of case studies is a testament to the women and men around the world who have stood up to reject the imposition of norms and values in the name of religion as well as to expose and challenge the privileged position given to religion in public policies. In 2008 AWID launched a call for proposals to document the strategies of women’s rights activists confronting religious fundamentalisms. The final 18 case studies presented here are drawn from a wide range of religious and geographical contexts, and cover various fields of activism.

This book is about the devotional subcultures which women have always created. Its authors draw their evidence and inspiration from the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian traditions of Asia, in particular.

The conception of intercultural dialogue is in a certain sense a contribution to conflict transformation, as many conflicts have a cultural dimension or are touching cultural problems. Therefore I will first outline in this paper what I understand by intercultural dialogue and present my idea of it. Secondly I will show in which way intercultural dialogue can contribute to conflict transformation and thirdly 1 will say what could be a feminist perspective in approaching this question.

This report summarises the findings of a qualitative study of Muslim women’s experiences of studying in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) across the UK.

This paper examines the politics of knowledge production as it relates to Muslim women in western literary traditions and contemporary feminist writing, with a view to understanding the political, ideological, and economic mediations that have historically framed these representations. The meta-narrative of the Muslim woman has shifted from the bold queens of medieval literature to colonial images of the seraglio’s veiled, secluded, and oppressed women. Contemporary feminist writing and popular culture have reproduced the colonial motifs of Muslim women, and these have regained currency in the aftermath of 9/11.

This article analyzes black female student athletes’ participation in an elite collegiate athletic program and shows how the program maximizes black female participants’ athletic and academic potential through surveillance, control, and discipline. The program instills in black female athletes a model of womanhood whereby they come to expect and achieve academic and athletic success, but does so at the expense of their autonomy and freedom from surveillance. Ultimately, this analysis shows the promise and peril of panopticonics as educational technology.

Conservative authorities, discriminatory laws, chauvinist male peers and tradition-minded kinsfolk watchfully regulate their aspirations, activities and conduct. Employers limit their access to income and independence. In the majority of cases, poverty shackles the development and use of women’s potential. High rates of illiteracy and the world’s lowest rates of female labour participation are compounded to “create serious challenges”.