Female Tourism Entrepreneurs in Zanzibar: An Enactment Perspective

Abstract

Although gender has become an established research topic in tourism studies over the last decades, the role of religion in relation to women participating in tourism has been less explored. Moreover, gender has been mainly discussed from a Western perspective, while other viewpoints have received little attention. By focusing on women participating in the tourism industry in Zanzibar we make a contribution to both voids in tourism studies. This article provides an account of how Zanzibari women working in tourism are confronted with particular constraints brought about by the Islamization of Swahili culture. Moreover, it is argued that whereas women find themselves bound up by particular Islamic norms and values, they are able through the enactment of their environments to challenge, negotiate, and resist these. In so doing they create the freedom to make their own choices, which, as will be shown, reach beyond their labor position. The research findings are discussed in terms of the concept of enactment as proposed by Weick in 1995 and explore the ability of women to participate in the construction of their own environment. The article concludes by arguing that women enact their environments in diverse ways, and how these environments are understood by them as either constraining or enabling them in taking over agency over their lives.

Assessing the role of women in tourism related sectors in the Caribbean

“…Serious questions still remain about the complex and interlocking factors that result in the continued disempowerment of women in tourism and which have defied any sustainable transformation. Maliva et al (2018) and Foley et al (2018) in a special issue on gender and tourism have provided counter-narratives to hegemonic representations of the Third World woman in tourism as "victim": in Zanzibar, Papua New Guinea and other similarly low income countries, tourism is contributing to empower women. Other similar previous studies (Movono &Dahles, 2017 andTucker, 2007) had reinforced this concept in different country contexts, such as the Fiji highlands and Turkey respectively.…”

Dynamic livelihoods, gender and poverty in marine protected areas: Case study from Zanzibar, Tanzania

“…de la Torre-Castro and Lindström 2010 ; Cinner 2014 ; Santos 2015 ). In terms of tourism, cultural and social factors such as taboos concerning working with alcohol or wearing specific uniforms may inhibit some from working in the sector—including clashes with gender norms and expectations (Maliva et al 2018 ). Furthermore, which activities are culturally deemed as suitable for people of different genders can lead to adherence to traditional activities (de la Torre-Castro et al 2017 ), and a wider societal shift would be necessary to change this.…”