1) Women's Lifeworlds
How
do women from diverse socio-cultural horizons
perceive womanhood and society? What
solutions do they find to improve their
situation? How do they set about shaping
their own lives from these contexts? What are
their driving forces?
After
an important historic period when women's
movements all over the world demanded
equality, we are on the threshold of a new
stage. Now that it is the time to apply the
ideas formulated at a global level to the
local level, we are confronted with a
diversity of perceptions, practices,
constraints and openings. The need to
differentiate is felt: in the analysis (is
the problem the same everywhere?), in
defining the objectives (do women seek the
same changes everywhere?) and in the
strategies (do women wish to solve their
problems in different ways?).
The
first workshop in 1994 brought together
fifteen English-speaking women from all over
the world. To prepare for an exchange of
experiences and ideas the women described the
life histories of their mothers, grand
mothers, themselves and their children. The
life histories and an analysis of the
similarities and differences are published in
a book entitled: "Women's Ways of
Shaping their Realities".
The
second workshop ("Yin Yang") (1996),
was being prepared by women and men from
different cultural contexts and examined the
interaction between the global debate on the
socio-economic position of women and the
socio-cultural changes in practices and
mentality among both men and women.
Also
see under the same rubric in French on this
site.
2)
After four decades of women's movements... a new
challenge
Among
the social movements of the second part of
this century, the women's movement has
undoubtedly been an epoch-making one. Thanks
to relentless efforts of hundreds of
thousands of women, their voices are more and
more listened to and what they have to say
about the necessity of transforming their
societies is taken more and more seriously.
If
in the first instance it was urgent to
express what they do not like in societies
which are dominated by male values, by now
the challenge has evolved. The moment seems
to have come that they are asked: " yes
right, it is time we try to find a balance
between feminin and masculin approaches. But
apart from the justified defense of women's
rights, what do you propose to make our
societies function differently, in a more
feminin way? What exactly constitutes
the feminine art of doing things? How do they
conceive of power differently... in concrete
practice? Do they have other conceptions of
science? What do they propose with regard to
the economy? What is the relationship of
women to time, to money, to the resolution of
conflicts, to management? "
With
a view to find answers to these questions,
Network Cultures took on the task to examine
a large number of theoretical works,
articles, testimonies and accounts of
experience. The results ware expected by the
end of the year 2000.
Also
see under the same rubric in French on this
site.
3)
The culture of rural women in Maghreb countries
Also
see under the same rubric in French on this
site.
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