Feminisms, Empowerment and Development: Changing Women's Lives

Description

The economic and political empowerment of women continues to be a central focus for development agencies worldwide; access to medical care, education and employment, as well as womenOCOs reproductive rights, remain key factors effecting womenOCOs autonomy. Feminisms, Empowerment and Development explores what women are doing to change their own personal circumstances, and it provides an in-depth analysis of collective action and institutionalized mechanisms aimed at changing structural relations." Front cover Feminisms and Development About the Editors Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Negotiating Empowerment Understanding change in women’s lives Tracks and traces: women’s empowerment in development Motorways and pathways Contexts of choice Exercising voice Expanding horizons of possibility Confronting stereotypes and changing norms Relationships matter Negotiating empowerment Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 1 Legal Reform, Women’s Empowerment and Social Change: The Case of Egypt Constructing marriage in modern Egyptian family laws Lived experiences of marriage The new family courts: implementation challenges Reform approaches and strategies: lessons learned Conclusion: towards just family laws Acknowledgement Notes References 2 Quotas: A Pathway of Political Empowerment? The struggle for suffrage and the democratic deficit Table 2.1 Women in the executive Quotas in Latin America Table 2.2 Quotas and electoral systems in Latin America Quotas: a pathway to equality? Conclusion Acknowledgement References 3 Advancing Women’s Empowerment or Rolling Back the Gains? Peace Building in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone Women’s empowerment in a post-conflict context:two different entry points Operationalizing women’s empowerment in post-conflict Sierra Leone The practice of women’s empowerment in post-war Sierra Leone Women’s lives in post-war Sierra Leone Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 4 Education: Pathway to Empowerment for Ghanaian Women? The national context: gender, education and formal sector employment in Ghana Methodology Statistics and life experiences across regions and generations Table 4.1 Educational levels of respondents The relationship between education and employment Table 4.2 The importance of education for employment Table 4.3 Generational differences in terms of employment Table 4.4 Generational differences in kinds of salaried employee positions Table 4.5 Employer and income Conclusion Acknowledgement References 5 Paid Work as a Pathway of Empowerment: Pakistan’s Lady Health Worker Programme Work and empowerment Enterprise and change Personal survival and crisis management Paid work as a catalyst of positive change Note References 6 Steady Money, State Support and Respect Can Equal Women’s Empowerment in Egypt Why women are a priority for social protection Critiques of conditional cash transfers Design features that enable cash to honour and empower: the Ain-el-Sira experiment A reality check on women’s lives in Egypt Conclusion Note References 7 Changing Representations of Women in Ghanaian Popular Music Popular music and sexuality: women as objects or subjects? Changing the representations of women in popular music Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 8 Subversively Accommodating: Feminist Bureaucrats and Gender Mainstreaming The debate Insider activism Negotiating change Conclusion Acknowledgements Note References 9 Reciprocity, Distancing and Opportunistic Overtures: Women’s Organizations Negotiating Legitimacy and Space in Bangladesh Case study organizations Methods Packaging: ‘naming and framing’ the issues for mobilization Alliance building with civil society: reciprocity, legitimacy and hierarchy Relations with political parties: costs of engagement versus non-engagement Engagement with the state: opportunism or pragmatism? Personal networks: access and sustainability issues Conclusions Acknowledgement References 10 Empowerment as Resistance: Conceptualizing Palestinian Women’s Empowerment From instrumentalism to resistance: defining empowerment in Palestine Meanings of women’s empowerment in the Palestinian context Empowerment on three levels Alternative perspectives on empowerment Conclusion Acknowledgement References 11 Crossroads of Empowerment: The Organization of Women Domestic Workers in Brazil Negotiating the ‘traffic’: intersections and inequalities Differences that make a difference Between women: the ‘sexual re-division of work’? Women in movement: fortifying domestic workers’ empowerment The conquest of public policies Pathways of collective empowerment Acknowledgement References 12 Women’s Dars and the Limitations of Desire: The Pakistan Case Dars as religious practice Strategic mediations of space and desire Conclusion Notes References 13 The Power of Relationships: Money, Love and Solidarity in a Landless Women’s Organization in Rural Bangladesh Women’s empowerment and development organizations A brief history of Saptagram The decline of Saptagram Table 13.1 Characteristics of new and old members Table 13.2 Impacts of Saptagram membership Savings and livelihoods: ‘able to stand on my own feet’ Consciousness and capabilities: ‘That’s how I got the courage’ Solidarity and social relationships: ‘The tree of Saptagram’ Holding on to the organization: staff perspectives Conclusions Acknowledgement Notes References 14 Women Watching Television: Surfing between Fantasy and Reality Dominant narratives Power dynamics and negotiations while viewing Viewers’ interpretations New spaces Acknowledgement Notes References 15 Family, Households and Women’s Empowerment through the Generations in Bahia, Brazil: Continuities or Change? Family-household organization and female trans-generational solidarity Plataforma in the twenty-first century: women and families Women’s empowerment? Three generations of women and their pathways to empowerment Change or continuity? Final considerations Acknowledgement Notes References About the Contributors Index Back cover