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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Constructing a Professional Identity: Factors Supporting Choice and Empowerment among Bedouin Women Who Have Achieved Successful Professional Lives

Al-Maseb, Hend Batel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1395830398

Abstract Details

2002, Master of Social Work, Ohio State University, Social Work.
Only a small number of Bedouin women in Kuwait have succeeded in achieving independence professionally and personally in a society with strong normative cultural prescriptions and proscriptions about women making independent decisions about their lives and about women entering occupations traditionally reserved for males. These women appear to be successful professionals, with a university (i.e., coeducational) education and financial independence. At the same time, they seem to have retained the respect of their families and tribes. How did these women succeed in defying the highly circumscribed definition of women's "place" in this very patriarchal Bedouin society? What personal, familial, biographical, or contextual factors contributed to their success? Are there common themes woven through the lives of these women? The purpose of this research is to identify those factors that contribute to a Bedouin woman's success in moving beyond patriarchal restrictions that prevent most other Bedouin women from realizing personal, educational, and professional aspirations, specifically aspirations to what their society considers “male professions.” We want to find out how this small group of successful women account for the fact that they have not lost the respect of their communities, despite going against prohibitions about appropriate roles and behavior for women, prohibitions that for many women have resulted in strong community sanctions. And we want to discover if there are any commonalities and themes among these women that might empower other young Bedouin women who seek to go beyond these proscriptions. Results are expected to contribute to Social Work literature on empowerment, especially on the empowerment of women.
Mary Ellen Kondrat (Advisor)
James Lantz (Committee Member)
61 p.
Social Work

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Al-Maseb, H. B. (2002). Constructing a Professional Identity: Factors Supporting Choice and Empowerment among Bedouin Women Who Have Achieved Successful Professional Lives [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1395830398

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Al-Maseb, Hend. Constructing a Professional Identity: Factors Supporting Choice and Empowerment among Bedouin Women Who Have Achieved Successful Professional Lives. 2002. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1395830398.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Al-Maseb, Hend. "Constructing a Professional Identity: Factors Supporting Choice and Empowerment among Bedouin Women Who Have Achieved Successful Professional Lives." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1395830398

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1395830398
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© 2002, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.