Women Of The Third World : Planning From A Gender Perspective

The affected resources is not the only problem; the decision making over the fate of the land is another part of the difficulty for women. In most of the poorer countries, men have the control of the land and what becomes of it. They make the laws and usually women do not have a political voice in the decision. Laws in most of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia discriminate against women in regards to ownership of properties. Women cannot properly be the steward of the land and its resources that both men and women depend on to survive and continue their

This book is a crucial dose of reality for those of us that are spoiled by the comforts we have grown used too. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn explain in the book “Half the Sky” why empowering women in the developing world is ethically right and extremely vital.It is a gripping story of how customs and culture have historically oppressed women. The strength of the human rights movement and of actual change across all cultures is going to be asteadfast task of courageous women who give themselves permission to say no to so many years of unthinkable tyrannical cultural customs and fight for a new way of life. Many of us close our eyes

Women, whether in the western world or third world countries, are socialised in patriarchal societies where misogyny is often internalised. As a result women often make choices, which reflect their subordinate status to keep to the norm and stabilise themselves economically and socially. Women in countries in sub- Saharan Africa, South and East Asian areas, though in differing contexts face similar struggles of subservience and manipulation. Women accommodate, resist or adapt to the sexist oppressive system. Those who choose to bargain with the social constructs aim to enhance their situation, giving them more power and to some extent freedom from ideological societies that subjugate them.

This article addresses four main points. First, at the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the significance of women’s contribution was emphasized by the World Bank. However, according to the authors, the perception of women as goods was strengthened by the World Bank because of its emphasis on economic outcomes and its consequent failure to pay attention to the meaning of women’s empowerment and gender equality. Second, the World Bank, UN agencies and other institutions were observed to value only young women and girls, thus completely ignoring men’s role . Third, despite the existence of programs encouraging women empowerment such as microfinance and conditional cash transfers, women are forced to work for their livelihood coupled with the burden of housework. The authors also cast doubt on the notion that investing in young women and girls leads to the promotion of women’s empowerment and gender equality, or actually improves the economy as they are often unconsciously regarded as cheaper labor . Therefore, they underscored that while smart economics might

Empowerment will expand women’s human and social capabilities, their assets and authority over the assets. According to World Bank (2002) empowerment is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in. negotiate with, influence, control and hold accountable institutions that affect lives.

The Self-Help Groups are informal associations of people who choose to come together to find ways for the betterment of their living standard. The SHG’s in India help to build social capital among the poor section of society, especially women. The Self Help Group (SHG) is a small voluntary association to form a group. It is informal and homogenous in nature of not more than twenty members. It basically consists of maximum 20 members as any group having more than 20 members has to get registered under Indian legal system. It is informal to avoid bureaucracy, corruption, unnecessary administrative expenditure and profit motive. The SHG is a home grown model for poverty reduction which also works to empower and shape the lives of its

On the recommendation of Dr. Teshome, a professor of Women’s Studies and Anthropology, I opted to take a graduate level Anthropology course called Global Development. For this course, I read various development theories in the context of social, political and economic disparities in the world. We discussed the ramifications of certain development policies implemented in the global south. These theoretical texts along with real case studies captured my interest in policy formulation and the role of gender in development. I presented my final project on feminist critiques of some conventional

This research is interested in identifying the nexus between women’ land rights and food security within West African states (ECOWAS states). The majority of ECOWAS countries sustain their economies through agriculture. In 2012, agriculture accounted for 35% of the region’s Gross Domestic Product (DGP), contributing $6 billion to its foreign trade and represented 16.1% of products and services exported from ECOWAS region (Salifou 2012). Agriculture also created 60% all jobs in the ECOWAS region in 2012.

This essay aims to deal with a social institution that is often described as the realm outside the state, market and family- the civil society, and if it advances women empowerment. The idea of civil society as presented is this essay refers to units that are often associated with advancement of democracy, non-violence, participation, inclusiveness and equality. Loosely, civil society is also framed in this essay as a sector of voluntary organizations and non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations and other alternative social development agencies which operates at the local level. I take on cases from Zimbabwe and India as manifestations that even though a local

“…if women and girls are left out of planning for disaster response or risk reduction measures, the special talents, skills and knowledge of 50 percent of the population are not capitalized upon and the needs of the most affected are unlikely to be met” (UNDP, 2010; p). If humanitarian measures are undertaken without regard to the dynamics of gender in situations of pre-existing societal inequalities, needs will not be met effectively and the intention to do good will also subsequently lose all meaning (Oxfam, 2013).

on the Role of Women in Development, in the age of globalization, Governments’ policy choices

In most cases within the civil society realm, economic status also hinders women’s individual empowerment. Mudege and Kwangwari (2013) also asserts that women who holds economic power tends to have bigger say that those with less. It is clear that sometimes women join civil society organizations to pursue their own social class interests that may not

Women across the world struggle to make their voices heard so that today’s challenges can be an aspiration in equality for the future. To understand the struggle women are facing around the world, individuals look to feminists and conflict theories that empower and drive domination and oppression. Feminist theorists like West and Zimmerman, MacKinnon, and Smith defend women’s rights and call for an open and organized society that promotes equality for all genders, ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. Additionally, one of the conflict theorists, Dahrendorf, argues historical changes and inequality creates groups of conflict that attribute to women’s suppression within leadership roles in society. Overall, the struggle for

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Women’s empowerment is a noted concept in social change, which is much discussed, often elusive and sometimes abused. Yet in the context of development, women’s leadership and agency in social change have been levers for women’s empowerment within communities. Women have sought to fight entrenched interests for community benefits, and have garnered through their collective strength, a new identity. Women’s rights around the world are an important indicator to understand global well-being.