Our research investigates how local socio-cultural norms and contexts interact with the Sustainable Development Goals. Social policy, gender, religion, urbanisation, digital economy, and forced migration in Asia Pacific are some of our research topics.
Minako Sakai, Amelia Fauzia and Felix Tan聽are researching聽how emergent IT and social media foster Muslim women鈥檚 participation in economic activities, with a focus on Muslim women in Indonesia.聽 Islam and local culture聽affects聽the construction of gender relations and patriarchy, and accommodating unique socio-cultural contexts is a key for women鈥檚 empowerment and wellbeing. This is explored in聽. Our research shows聽that gradual changes in gender relations are also facilitating religious and cultural tolerance.
Minako Sakai, Juel聽Kutub聽and Farhat Hamid聽are studying聽how gender inclusivity in social development policies can be achieved through case studies of Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Nelia Hyndman-Rizk has published a monograph,聽,聽in which she聽explores聽the intersection between women鈥檚 rights and Lebanon鈥檚 confessional political and legal system.
Under this ongoing project, Minako Sakai, Ajie Saksono (UNSW PhD student) and Hadi Noori (UNSW PhD student) seek to examine emergent diverse forms of rural livelihoods to identify appropriate policies and emergent business partnerships to support equitable development and sustainable development. 聽This research project is in collaboration with Dr Falik Isbah at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia.