Sharon A. Bong – författare

This book brings together a group of innovative scholars examining the contemporary issue of effecting gender and sexuality justice in the context of Asia, consonant with engendering a just, equitable and sustainable development for all. These grassroots initiatives are woven through three complementary sections of the book: gender justice in Asia, sexuality justice in Asia, and finding resolutions through conflict. The book foregrounds strategies that aim to call out and challenge existing gender and sexuality injustices with regard to women and the LGBTIQA+ community by: assessing the efficacy of gender mainstreaming policies through micro-credit schemes for women in East Java, Indonesia; proliferating the signifiers of the hijab (veil) by postmodern Malay-Muslim women or ‘Hijabistas’ within the consumerist culture of Malaysia; making visible the injustices of the Syariah legal system for non-Muslim women, and ground-breaking legislation that could potentially recognise same-sex marriages in Thailand; privileging the narratives of gay women diplomats within the highly masculinised field of diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region; foregrounding the narratives of Filipino gay men, intimate partner violence among young Indonesian Christian young people, masculine-identifying lesbians in Singapore, young LGBT people in rural Vietnam, and a Chinese-Muslim Malaysian female-to-male transgender person; and proposing new ways of becoming an inclusive church through the radical act of befriending persons living with HIV and AIDS in Southeast Asia. This book celebrates diverse and inclusive voices and strategies of gender and sexual agents of change in envisioning and bringing to fruition a just and transformative society for all. It is of interest to students and scholars researching gender and sexuality in areas of development studies, international relations, socio-legal studies, and literary studies.

This book comprises the proceedings of the TEQIP III Sponsored 2nd International Conference on “Gender Equity: Challenges and Opportunities” (2nd ICOGECAO 2020 -Virtual Mode), held at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India, from 25 to 27 November 2020. ICOGECAO provided a platform for researchers from multiple countries to present their views about the challenges associated with gender equity. Gender equity is one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5) set up by the United Nations in 2015, to promote and empower all genders equally. The proceedings strongly support the ideas of gender neutrality and blow out the mind-set of limiting gender studies to only women rights. They offer a collection of articles that break the stereotypes and myths often wrongly associated with gender. The ideas in the presented papers highlight gender-based discriminations, ask important questions and share facts that encompass beyond the so-called boundary lines. The authors contributed on various topics including but not limited to violence, crime, discrimination, and abuse against women and LGBTQ+ community. The basic motive of the presented book is to incorporate ideas and contribute to the sensitization and education about the important yet often neglected issues of gender equality. Thus, this book proves to be an essential resource for educators and researchers working in the field of gender studies. The work presents challenges caused due to COVID-19, social media, popular culture and work–life balance and explores empowerment through law, skills, technology and media. Some interesting case studies highlighted gender discrimination in science, sports and law. A variety of papers on literary texts were examined from a gender lens. The proceeding is divided into five subsections: 1. law, 2. literature, 3. management, 4. sociology and 5. social studies. The proceeding provides a wider perceptive and visuals about the scenarios which needs attention. The ideas presented will be helpful for achieving the sustainable development goal of gender equity to a greater extent.