Books in the ASAA Women in Asia Series series

Explores the relationship between gender, religion and political action in Indonesia, examining the patterns of gender orders that have prevailed, and demonstrating the different forms of social power this has afforded to women. This book also addresses the relationship between Islam and women in Indonesia.

Examines how the cultural context influences the way in which young Indonesian women approach courtship, and issues of sexuality and reproductive health. This book demonstrates that Islam is neither alone in trying to control female sexuality, nor entirely successful in doing so.

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.

"Prostitution is strongly embedded in local cultural practices in Cambodia. Based on extensive original research, this book explores the nature of prostitution in Cambodia, providing explanations of why the phenomenon is so widely tolerated"--

"Explores changing patterns of domestic violence in Asia. Based on extensive original research in the Maldives, it argues that forces of globalisation, consumerism, Islamism and democratisation are changing the nature of domestic relations, with shifting ideas surrounding gender and Islam being particularly significant"--

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.

'Sex, love and feminism' are three aspects of the rapidly changing gender relations that shape young people's lives in the Asia Pacific region. This book discusses young people's attitudes to controversial gender issues such as role reversal, sharing housework, abortion rights, same sex sexual relations, nudity and pornography in this region.

Examines gender, state and social power in Indonesia, focusing in particular on state regulation of divorce from 1965 to 2005 and its impact on women. Drawing on a wide selection of primary sources, including court records, legal codes, newspaper reports, fiction, interviews and case studies, this book provides a historical account of this period.

Examines women in Japan and focuses on their transitions to adulthood, their conceptions of adulthood, and relations with Japanese society. This book considers various aspects of the transition to adulthood including employment, marriage, divorce, childbirth and custody. It shows how the role of young women changed over the course of the 1990s.

Examines Islam and women's everyday life, focusing in particular on the highly controversial issue of polygamy. This book discusses the competing interpretations of the Qur'anic verses that are at the centre of Muslim controversies over polygamy. It provides an empirically-based account of women's lived experiences in polygamous marriages.

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.

Investigates the features and effects of feminism in contemporary Japan, in non-government women's groups, government-run women's centres and the individual activities of feminists. This book argues that the work of individual activists and women's organisations in Japan promotes real change to gender roles and expectations among Japanese women.

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'.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Examines gender in post-revolutionary Vietnam, focusing on gender relations in the family and state since the onset of economic reform in 1986. This book demonstrates that despite the formal institution of public gender equality in Vietnam, in practice women do not hold a great deal of power, continuing to defer to men in the family and community.