Single Women, High-Risk Activism/Volunteering During Time of Crisis in Gender-Restrictive Contexts: Never-Married Egyptian Women During COVID

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4: Explaining Movement Participation: Threats, Grievances and Emotions

Abstract

Women in gender-repressive contexts are less likely than men to participate in high-risk and high-cost activism. I examine whether, in times of crisis such as during a global pandemic, marital status could affect women’s participation in high-risk protest activities and high-cost volunteer work in gender restrictive contexts. I argue that never-married women would be more likely than men or married women to engage in high-risk activism and high-cost volunteer work during times of crisis. During these times, never-married women lack access to the scarce available resources such as employment, medicine, and even food. These grievances could increase their protest participation. Their lower status as unmarried women increase the social pressure and expectation that they would participate in high-cost volunteer work. I use the case of never-married women in Egypt during COVID to test my argument. I utilize data from the Arab Barometer survey that was administered face-to-face in Egypt in January 2022. The results agree with my argument that never-married women are the most likely to protest during times of crisis in gender-repressive contexts. They are also the most likely to volunteer in these circumstances.

Author

• Marian Azab, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith