The Relationship between Women's Empowerment and Marital Tolerance (Case Study of Married Women in Tehran)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran. Sh.mehdizadeh@alzahra.ac.ir. (Corresponding Author)

2 MA Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran. nh.abedi65@gmail.com

Abstract

The longevity and health of the family system require tolerant behaviour on the part of the spouses. Numerous factors affect tolerance in married life. Considering that women are more empowered than in the past and the knowledge gap in recognizing the relationship between empowerment and peace and tolerance in married life, this study has assessed the relationship between women's empowerment and marital tolerance. Using the survey method, a sample of 384 married women living in three districts 2, 8 and 19 of Tehran were selected and studied in a cluster. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the independent variable (women's empowerment) and the dependent variable (marital tolerance). Also, the existence of the communication skills variable as one of the intermediate variables has a significant relationship with the dependent and independent variables. This means that the more empowered women are, the more communication skills they have and as a result, they can be more tolerant in married life. Tolerance in married life is also affected by the social and economic status of the family. On the other hand, marital tolerance means accepting the differences in the couple's relationship with women's age and duration of marriage has an inverse and significant relationship and is more in early marriage.
 
‌
 Marital Tolerance, Women's Empowerment, Communication Skills, Marital Life, Power Equality.  
‌
‌Introduction
The family, as the most important social institution based on mutual relations, has a high position in Iranian-Islamic culture. Basically, the family begins with building a bond between two people based on differences. Marriage is based on the fact that men and women complement each other. Tolerance is one of the factors that is emphasized in marital relationships. Tolerance means accepting and being able to tolerate differences to reach a mutual understanding (Anderson, 2013: 277). Due to the entry of women into various areas of social, cultural and political life, we are witnessing changes in women's lives that have had an impact on marital life and their relationships. Today, women are more intellectually, academically and economically empowered than ever before. According to the World Bank researchers, the ability, capacity and ability of individuals or groups to make effective choices and then change and transform these choices into actions and desired results (Alsop: 2006: 10). This study is based on the study of tolerance in women's relationships with their husbands according to their ability. Empowering women by increasing bargaining power and communication skills through access to various resources has an impact on relationships within the family (Klasen,2018:280). Tolerance in marital relationships leads to a better quality relationship. In recent times and urban society, women have enjoyed empowerment in various dimensions, one of the manifestations of which can be seen in the relationship with husbands. Due to the importance of the family, and the need to maintain the relationship between spouses based on tolerance, which is an ability, this study seeks to explore the relationship between women's empowerment and marital tolerance.
 
Methodology
This research has been cross-sectional. Among the districts of Tehran, three districts were randomly selected District 2 from the upper floor, District 8 from the middle floor and District 19 from the lower floor. The sample of research sample was randomly selected within each category. According to calculations, the sample size is equal to 384 people. To distribute the sample properly among the regions, the proportion was taken according to the number of married women from each region. In this study, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. After collecting information, the data were analyzed in SPSS software and tested in a sample of 40 people. Cronbach's alpha indicates the coherence and reliability of the research tools used in this research. On the other hand, affecting the dependent variable can explain the level of changes in marital tolerance. In general, considering the results and the relationship between women's empowerment and marital tolerance.
 
Findings
In the present study, women's empowerment is at a high level, which has been measured by four economic, social, cultural and psychological capacities. Findings indicate that with increasing women's empowerment, the amount of marital tolerance also increases. In fact, the main hypothesis of the study was accepted that it shows a positive relationship between women's empowerment and marital tolerance with a correlation intensity of 0.337 and a significance level of ( sig ≤0.05). . The test of hypotheses related to the relationship between variables and interface variables was also confirmed. Meanwhile, the relationship between communication skills and women's empowerment with a correlation coefficient of 0.368 has a stronger correlation intensity than the other variable, equality in power. The intensity of the relationship between women's family status and tolerance is significant. In the regression test, the value of the correlation coefficient between competency indices and intermediate and contextual variables with marital tolerance was 0.799. The value of the adjusted coefficient indicates that 62% of the total changes in marital tolerance are explained by the remaining variables in the model. In other words, the independent and intermediate and contextual variables predict 62% of the variance of the marital tolerance variable.
 
Result
In the present study, women's empowerment is at a high level, which has been measured by four economic, social, cultural and psychological capacities. Capacities that are individual in nature and that women strive to strengthen are reported to be higher than capacities that are more pronounced concerning society. Among them, we can mention the cultural and psychological capacity that promotes mental strength and the ability to endure problems, as well as gaining knowledge and information. Economic and social capacities are at a lower level than the previous two capacities, which may indicate a lack of equal opportunities for women to obtain jobs and social status. In the study of tolerance, some indicators, including mutual respect, mutual understanding and agreement on issues, are at a moderate level compared to other indicators. According to Habermas and Bourdieu's theories about the effect that empowerment and social and economic status of individuals have on the quality of relationships, this study also showed that empowerment and social and economic status affect the quality of marital relationships. According to Alsop, women's empowerment and attainment of any capacity depends on the origin of the people and the class in which people live. In examining the interface variables, only communication skills explained the changes in marital tolerance. Human empowerment develops and enhances communication skills. Also, the relationship between women's social and economic status and marital tolerance can be considered as solutions to strengthen the factors affecting the quality of marital relationships. With the empowerment of women and the strengthening of communication skills in them, as this study showed, more tolerant relationships (meaning understanding differences) have been established than in the previous generation. And this can indicate the importance of the quality of the relationship for the new generation, not essentially escaping marriage and starting a family. Premarital social skills training can lead to higher quality and lasting marriage for both sexes.
 

Keywords

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