How to find a topic for your article about women issues?
Written by: Atieh Malekzahedi
Based on my personal experience, I will share a few tips for choosing a research topic in the field of women. The first three would be applicable to any research and the last three only apply to research on women’s issues:
- Interest: What topic are you into in the women issues? Mother? Problems of working women? Street harassment? Your area of interest can help you choose the right subject.
- Accessibility: It is true that interest is important, but you also have to answer the question, do you have access to this topic? For example, if you want to read about homeless women, can you find these women and enter the field of research? Are you mentally ready to talk to a homeless woman?
- Seeking foreign sources: Read foreign articles, not just about women, in any subject you want to research. These articles give you a lot of ideas. In the process of searching, you may find a new idea and leave the previous topic.
- Do not restrict yourself to the Instagram: It is true that different pages on Instagram deal with women’s issues, but you, as a researcher, should not be limited to the cyberspace. For various reasons, these pages only cover some of the issues of women. The problems of illiterate women, working women and so on should be pursued in real space, not cyberspace.
- Pay attention to divestedwomen: There is an inverse relationship between access to sources of wealth and power and social deprivation. That is, the less wealth a person has and the lower his or her social status, the more likely is to experience discrimination and deprivation. For this reason, rural women, illiterate women, women with disabilities have more serious discrimination and problems than urban women, educated women, women without disabilities.
- Connect with NGOs: There are NGOs that work for female-headed households, addicted women, and so on. Connecting with these institutions will help you better understand women’s issues.