Zabbaleen Women’s Perspectives on Suffering

Abstract

IntroductionEveryone suffers. However, the interpretation and expectation of suffering is shaped by many factors. In the last decade, social scientists have focused on social-cultural aspects of suffering and have found that religious and personal beliefs change the perception of suffering and therefore the interpretation of suffering (Fulford, 2017; Tzounis, Kerenidi, Daniil, Hatzoglou, Kotrotsiou & Gourgoulianis, 2016; Kéri, 2015;Koenig, 2012;Balboni, Vanderwerker, Block, Paulk, Lathan, Peteet & Prigerson, 2007;Tarakeshwar, Vanderwerker, Paulk,Pearce, Kasl & Prigerson, 2006; Wilkinson, 2001;Williams, Jerome, White & Fisher, 2006;Gordon, Feldman, Crose, Schoen, Griffing & Shankar, 2002). The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of religion and culture on the meaning of suffering in Zabbaleen women of Cairo, Egyptfrom a healthcare perspective in the context of having Hepatitis C. This community lives in a society that incorporates traditional Egyptian beliefs and strong Christian religion in a larger society of Islam. Background: Gender roles, cultural norms and beliefs of the Middle East place women in a vulnerable position resulting in isolation or disconnection from society and resources within the society resulting in inequality and disadvantages in healthcare. The women of the Zabbaleen community are a unique population of women in Cairo, Egypt who have multiple factors known to contribute to inequities in healthcare. American Research Journal of

I’m Just a Person: Self-Labeling Following Sexual Assault

“…This supports the notion that participants can be at varying levels of adapting to the sexual assault event. This process of trying and changing labels is not uncommon, as this phenomenon occurs with other major life events when adapting and forming a narrative of experiences (Kahn & Steeves, 1995; Knopp, 2017). The process may not be to define one’s self but to make sense of the experience.…”