From fields to factory: Rural transformation and Ethnic minority women’s empowerment in the periphery of globalisation. A Qualitative case study in the northern Vietnam uplands

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how globalisation driven rural transformation changes occupationalactivities and opportunities and how this in turn, shapes aspirations and empowermentamong Dao women, an ethnic minority community in Ban Luoc village, in the northernVietnam Uplands. In order to investigate this, a qualitative cases study approach was appliedthrough a field visit in Ban Luoc for 14 days, where data was gathered throughsemi-structured interviews, observations and participatory methods. To theorise the researchissue, a theoretical framework on rural transformation was used in order to examine howstructural changes in occupational activities occur. These theoretical insights werecomplemented by a framework on empowerment through Kabeer (1999) and capacity toaspire through Appadurai (2004) to analyse how these changes shape Dao women’ saspiration and empowerment.The findings showed a clear shift from subsistence farming to wage labour in industrialzones, as the dominant occupational activity among Dao women. Rural transformation cantherefore be seen in the village through this shift, combined with enhanced connectivitythrough improved infrastructure, emergence of boarding schools and internet access. Thisshift has created new aspirations among Dao women, concerning financial independence andconsumption. This shift has further enabled opportunities in the form of later marriage,financial independence, increased access to education, while structural constraints continueto limit Dao women's empowerment. This research draws conclusions on how broader globalprocesses shape Dao women's empowerment through rural transformation and social mediathrough the spread of new ideals and lifestyles. It raises questions about the complex relationbetween empowerment within limiting structures, and between agency and adaptation.