The Female Warrior: A Case Study Of Crowdfunding And Women’s Empowerment In Malaysia

The Velara Warriors is a project recently launched by two young Malaysian women to create a line of female action figures that challenges gender stereotypes in children’s entertainment. While mainstream films feature a growing number of strong female characters, toy franchises are less likely to manufacture and sell corresponding female fighting figures. The two women turned to Kickstarter, one of leading crowdfunding platforms, to raise capital from a wide network of supporters. While funding barriers faced by women have been widely addressed in literature, women entrepreneurs are more likely be funded on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, demonstrating a potential to promote gender equality. Adopting a case study approach, this paper uses a gender framework suggested by Naila Kabeer as its starting point to discuss the crowdfunding phenomenon in relation to women’s empowerment. Findings suggest a positive connection between crowdfunding, women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. The article concludes with suggestions for future research avenues

Negotiating Travel Constraints via Technology: A Study of Malay Muslim Women through a Hierarchical Constraint Model Perspective

As a moderate Muslim nation, the mobility of Malay Muslim women in Malaysia is not legally restricted by the state. However, their movements are constrained by factors such as their roles, responsibilities, and the need to preserve values related to their religious and custom requirements. These constraints are shaped by patriarchal gender norms where women are expected to be obedient to a system of institutionalized male power. Our paper seeks to understand the constraints subjected to Malay Muslim women in travelling for leisure and study how they negotiate those constraints using technology. Based on ten qualitative, in-depth interviews conducted with Malay Muslim women aged between 22 to 37 years old, the findings showed that women are gaining the support, trust and freedom to travel via technology. Using the Hierarchical Constraint Model, the findings indicate that culture is significant wherein several constraints faced by MMW differ from those faced by Western or other Asian women. The new insights generated from this paper are unique as they reflect on the unexplored segment of Asian women where Malay Muslim women are becoming the testament of transformation. The finding indicates their departure from the gendered patriarchy norms as technology becomes their tool to negotiate constraints while facilitating the growth of female travel market. A significant association between travel constraints and negotiation illustrates that women are empowered by using technology to trave

Understanding the Push and Pull Motivational Factors Of Technology Usage for Traveling among Women Students in USM, Penang

Students - young, gutsy and tech savvy are becoming an important segment of the travel industry. A report by UNWTO and WYSE shows that the global youth and student travel industry will reach 300 million international youth trips per year. The data also underlines the increasingly important role of women travellers in student travel segment. Their technology proficiency enables them to fulfil a seamless travel experiences besides maintaining a ‘symbolic proximity’ with family and friends while establishing a sense of ‘presence while absent’. This paper seeks to understand the underlying motivations of women students at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang to use technology for traveling. Using in depth interviews from 10 women student travelers aged between 20-35 years old, the aspects of their backgrounds and motivations were analysed. The findings indicate three distinct push and pull factors that impacts their motivation. The finding reinforces the increasing demand for travel among women students and the fact that technology has fundamentally reshaped the way travel is planned. This call for tourism stakeholders to make significant shift towards innovative initiatives that will be able to enhance the potential of the youth and student niche market

Urban Fishermen in Gaya Island, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah: The Challenges

Fishing is one of the earliest economic activities in the community, other than hunting and farming. Therefore, the practices of the fishing community that makes a living at sea has often been a subject of interest for social researchers, particularly anthropologists, whether in Asia or in the West. In Malaysia, at least, artisanal fishing activities are still viewed as rural activities. However, the rapid development of a geographical location, especially a city which is located at the seafront, has made fishing activities a source of income for urban dwellers, as seen in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The development of Kota Kinabalu city has indirectly resulted in various effects and poses a challenge to the community in Gaya Island, particularly the fishermen. What are the challenges faced by the fishermen who live on this island? How do they deal with the developments taking place on the island and the surrounding areas? This paper which is based on an ethnographic study that used in-depth interviews and participant observation will analyse the challenges and experiences of the fishermen in Gaya Island Village in ensuring the survival of their fishing activities. The findings showed that these fishermen are faced with ‘congestion space’ for fishing because they have to share the same resources with the other stake holder son this island such as those involved in tourism as well as Sabah Parks

Between Patient-Hood And Trust: Interlocking Doctor-Patient Relationship Among Mental Health Care Users In Kedah And Pulau Pinang

The article aims at exploring the trust establishment among patients with depression during their journey to psychiatric patient-hood. This study was undertaken in government hospital involving 29 psychiatric outpatient users in Kedah and Pulau Pinang respectively. Phenomenology study and gender lens employed to scrutinize on the patients’ lived experiences in mental health care, at the same time magnifying the gender differences in perceiving the service. Semi-structured in-depth interview and non-participant observation were the tools used in data collection. The data then explicated with the aid of a qualitative data analysis tool, Atlas.ti., version 7.5. Through the findings, the study identified “Trust” appears critical in the accounts of the patients in shaping the doctor-patient relationship; with at least five interlocking sub-themes describing the health professional’s characteristic while giving the service. The sub-themes include doctor’s integrity, concern, competencies, empathy, and autonomy enabler. There are no gender differences detected in most of the sub-themes, except for doctor’s competency, and integrity. Barriers in language and communicating with patients cultural believe potentially moving away from the patients’ interest elsewhere for help seeking or diminishing the client’s compliance. The findings are consistent with previous studies whereby language and lacking in a cultural competence garner gender stereotype in treatment giving. Thus, trust in this context becomes the enabling or disabling factor for the patient to stay on in the treatment

Performing Gender And Rural Tourism: An Analysis Of Homestay’s Operators In Penang Island

In the field of tourism, the issues of authenticity and post-modern experience has been advanced to the point where such experiences can be seen as authentic and meaningful to tourists even within the context of a largely commoditised and ‘staged’ experiential setting. The study of generic ‘performed events’ has been much debated within tourism from a variety of perspectives including: semiotics of tourism; marketing; sociology and anthropology. However, the study on the issue of performing gender stereotypical roles at a commoditized locations such as in the homestay programme is still limited. This study will look at how male and female operators in the homestay programme performed and negotiated their roles within the framed events of receiving tourists at their home. Using a qualitative approach, this study examines how homestay operators performing dual performances between the performance of “staged experiences” and performance of “everyday lives”. Theorizing about negotiation of performance is vital in the study of gender and tourism as it offers a perspective on value and meaning on the roles’ performed by these male and female operators. It is argued here that ‘tourist experience’ is a production of “staged” performance in order to create an ‘authentic’ experience

Strategi Kelangsungan Aktiviti Perikanan Nelayan Bandar Di Pulau Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Perikanan merupakan aktiviti ekonomi yang dijana dalam persekitaran fizikal dan sosial yang tidak menentu. Ketidaktentuan yang dihadapi nelayan memerlukan golongan ini mengatur strategi bagi berhadapan dengan halangan dan cabaran yang wujud ekoran ketidaktentuan persekitaran fizikal dan sosial tersebut. Kertas kerja ini membincangkan mengenai bentuk-bentuk strategi kelangsungan aktiviti nelayan bandar di Kampung Pulau Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Makalah ini turut menghuraikan rasional di sebalik setiap strategi yang diambil oleh nelayan terbabit. Kajian ini adalah berbentuk etnografi yang melibatkan kaedah temubual secara mendalam terhadap 54 orang nelayan dan juga pemerhatian turut serta. Dapatan kajian ini mendapati nelayan merekrut ahli keluarga mereka sebagai awak-awak, menjadikan perikanan sebagai perusahaan keluarga, mempelbagaikan aktiviti perikanan, menjana aktiviti ekonomi sampingan dan memasarkan hasil tangkapan secara terus demi kelangsungan aktiviti ekonomi masing-masing. Kajian ini menunjukkan strategi berbentuk jaringan sosioekonomi yang dilakukan di peringkat isi rumah ini menyebabkan nelayan mampu mengurangkan masalah ketidaktentuan persekitaran dan pendapatan yang dihadapi

Women, Gender, And Disaster: A Case Study Of Flood Victims In Kota Bharu, Kelantan

This paper aims to identify the gender issues in flood situation by investigating the experiences of women and men during flood disaster. It is also focusing on factors that contributes to and affects women’s vulnerability during flood. Literature on gender and disasters shows the importance of gender in disaster mitigation to increase women’s resilience to disaster. Therefore, this paper also seeks to understand, whether gender has been adequately addressed in the local disaster management plan and its consequences. Drawing on narrative accounts from three focus group discussions involving 23 respondents, the study investigates the impacts of floods event on women’s lives, livelihoods, and health. The research finding shows that there are still gender gap in flood disaster responses and in the existing disaster management plan. Aids were not equally distributed among victims, with too much emphasized for those who were staying at the flood-evacuation centre while marginalizing those who were staying at relative’s house or other places. Women with small children whose husbands were away have to independently survive, and single mothers were not given enough attention during the emergency times. Therefore, current responses and procedures to flood disaster management model have to be reviewed and gender dimension have to be integrated in order to significantly improve the preparedness and relief program during flood disaster. This study highlights the need of detailed analysis on how disaster or flood affects women and how Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) planning could be more gender-sensitive

Resilience and sustainability strategies of Malaysian homestay program during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019 has impacted all nations, societies, and industries globally due to the closure of international borders and strict travel restrictions. As one of the community-based tourism activities that have been viewed as a tool to stimulate rural community development, the Malaysian homestay program is no exception. This paper aims to explore the COVID-19 impacts, to examine how the homestay operators strived to be resilient and to understand the sustainability strategies adopted by them in reviving the industry post-COVID-19. By using a resilience-based framework, in-depth interviews with 10 homestay operators, one (1) state tourism official, and three (3) Homestay Chairman of the local homestay tourism association were conducted. Findings revealed that COVID-19 has affected the homestay operators’ livelihoods, where they experienced a total loss of incomes due to booking cancellations and the complete halt of tourist arrivals. Operators began to re-visit their business models and mapped out the ‘new norms of hospitality by leveraging technology and social media to promote their businesses online.’ All these innovative strategies need to be undertaken collectively and therefore leadership and the formation of strong human resources proved to be the best solutions. Diversifying and venturing into other businesses as second income generation provides a safety net in sustaining their livelihoods. It is suggested that the creation of new business models and pragmatic community tourism policies will essentially determine the homestay program’s chances of survival, particularly during crisis or disaster, by transforming it into a much more sustainable form