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Social Policies and Programmes for the Eradication of Poverty Among Poor Female-Headed Households

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Social Policies and Programmes for the Eradication of Poverty Among Poor Female-Headed Households Social Policies and Programmes for the Eradication of Poverty Among Poor Female-Headed Households in Saudi Society (Jeddah City) This thesis is submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Talha H. Fadaak School of Sociology and Social Policy September 2011 I Abstract Combating poverty in Saudi Arabia has become an important national target; this study researches poverty in Saudi Society and in particular, female poverty, focusing on poor female-headed households (FHHs) in Jeddah City. This is an exploratory study to highlight the social reality of the FHHs and their female heads, with a focus on the details of their everyday lives and their relationships with social support institutions, namely: the Social Security Department (SSD) and the Charitable Women‘s Associations. The main aim of this study is to explore the social reality of these families and how, during their struggles to obtain or maintain a standard of living, they interact with these social support institutions. The study investigated a main sample of 112 FHHs represented by their female heads who were selected purposefully according to a matrix designed to ensure adequate representation across the main sample according to marital status, age group and place of residence (south or north) in Jeddah City. They were also selected by their marital status according to five sub-groups: widows‘ families, divorced women‘s families, abandoned women‘s families, prisoners‘ wives‘ families and finally married women‘s families. A further sample was 18 informants (called ‗elites‘) who were selected purposefully from a range of experts, officials and decision makers from different governmental and non- governmental departments to explore and interpret issues raised during the women‘s interviews. The interviews with the female heads were based on questions designed to achieve four main goals: 1- to study and identify the social, cultural and demographic characteristics of poor FHHs in Jeddah City. 2- to study and present the poor FHHs‘ experiences and how they interacted with their social reality. 3- to study social policies in practice and highlight the relationship between the FHHs and the social support institutions. 4- to make recommendations for formulating an effective social policy for combating poverty among women and poor FHHs in Saudi society. The data and information was collected via different methods such as interviews, document searches, observations, field notes and digital recordings. The data was organized and analysed using a thematic approach to reduce the data, present it and provide conclusive statements. The main findings are organized in chapters 5, 6 and 7 and cover the study goals. The main findings are as follows: II The typical poor FHHs were mostly large families and the male head tended to be missing from family life, thus the family was headed by the female. The women had suffered divorce, widowhood, imprisonment of their husbands, abandonment, or their husbands suffered sickness, old age or unemployment. These female heads were mostly uneducated or had a low or basic level of education. The families typically had no regular earned income because the head of the family was not in employment. The majority of the FHHs were tenants and lived in small flats. A significant number of FHHs was deprived of both official support from the SSD and from the women‘s associations for various reasons. Some of the women were regarded legally and socially as minority groups because of their ethnicity, family backgrounds and/or nationality. These details provided an honest and clear picture of the lives of the poor FHHs and showed the inter-penetrated realms of these families and their heads that were: 1- public realms (society, culture, state, welfare systems and social support institutions); 2- private realms (women‘s worlds, specific stories and experiences that had led the women to head their families such as divorce, widowhood, abandonment or the imprisonment of the head of the family). The details of everyday life showed how the sub-categories and their female heads had a similar experience in some aspects of the public realm but they experienced quite different private realms. The study concludes with some important strategic, public and specialized recommendations aimed at improving and reforming the current welfare system and social policies and suggests integrated social policies to eradicate poverty in general and among FHHs in particular. III Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the people who have been very supportive throughout my journey in completing this thesis; without them, it would not have been possible for me to fulfil my research. My supervisor, Professor Ken Roberts, who has always been ready to give me steady encouragement, constructive feedback and honest opinions and guidance throughout the work. All the staff and postgraduate students at the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Liverpool, for their generous assistance. All the female heads of households connected with the SSD and the Charitable Women‘s Associations (FWS and KWS) and other charitable residences (CH) whose stories and experiences form the core of this research and who allowed me access to their lives and shared their sadness, happiness, dreams and also their food. All the staff of the social security department (SSD) at the main office in Riyadh and the main office at Jeddah and in particular, the General Manager of the SSD Jeddah office, Mr Abduallah Al–Tawee for all his assistance and his facilitation of the difficulties faced in a male work environment . All staff of the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) who helped me and provided me with data, information and case studies, especially Mr Muhammed Al-Okla, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Also Dr Abdullah Bin S. Muaigel, General Secretary of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) and the National Charity Fund (NCF). All the managers, staff and social work departments in all the three Charitable Women‘s Associations at Jeddah City, especially KWS and FWS. Also my special thanks to Lyla Gamal, the Director of Dar Al-Ramah (charitable housing) who IV provided me with useful discussions on female poverty in Saudi society and with some significant case studies. Special thanks to my colleague, Dr Mishan Al-Otaibi, the Dean of Distance Learning, University of Taibah, Saudi Arabia, who provided me with help and support during this study to clarify and understand a lot of things relevant to the conceptual work on poverty and research methodologies and who continued to read and revise my work and provided me with wonderful insights. My special thanks to Ms Alice Bennett, who read my work many times and provided me with a lot of support and comments regarding the language and writing style and also her encouragement to keep me going. Lastly, I offer my regard and blessing to all those who supported me in many ways during the completion of this research. V This research is dedicated to: My husband Salim. My parents Fatimah and Hussein. My daughter Amal. All the poor people of Saudi Arabia and in particular, poor women and female- headed households who suffer and struggle in silence and who asked me to deliver their voices to the decision makers to create the necessary and fair changes in their lives in line with social justice. They are strong women but they deserve immediate and rational solutions for improved and fair life conditions. The thinkers, scholars, philosophers and activists who inspire us to dream and fight for a better, fairer world. VI Author’s Declaration Degree for which thesis is being submitted: Doctor of Philosophy Titles of thesis: Social Policies and Programmes for the Eradication of Poverty Among Poor Female-headed Households in Saudi Society (Jeddah City) Date of submission: 30/09/2011 Name of Candidate: Talha H. Fadaak School: School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UK Name of Supervisor: Professor Ken Roberts VII Declaration I declare that this thesis entitled ―Social Policies and Programmes for the Eradication of Poverty Among Poor Female-headed Households in Saudi Society (Jeddah City)―, submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is original and has not previously been submitted for a degree or similar award at the University of Liverpool or any other institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, no material in this thesis has been previously published or written by any other person, expect where due reference is acknowledged. Signature: Talha H. Fadaak ……………………………….. Date: 30/09/2011 VIII Publication arising from this research Fadaak, T. (2010), Poverty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study of Poverty and Female-headed Households in Jeddah City. Social Policy & Administration, 44: 689–707. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2010.00738.x IX Table of Contents Abstract II Acknowledgments IV Dedication VI Declaration VIII Publication arising from this research IX Table of content X List of Tables XIII List of figures XV Abbreviations XVI Preface XVII Introduction 1 Chapter one : Theoretical background and literature review 8 Introduction……………………………………………………………………….. 8 1.1 Poverty: concepts and definitions..................................................................... 9 1.2 Poverty measurement........................................................................................ 11 1.3
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