What are Gender and Equality

Problematics?

Agenda

Gender Equality

I Intro to

Equality & Inequality

IIViews on Gender

Equality in the past & today

IIIPolicies’

Rationale

IVFindings &

Future

Gender Equality

• Sen: Capabilities Approach; Frazer: Parity of participation.

• "A social order in which women and men share the same opportunities and the same constraints on full participation in both the economic and the domestic realm.” Bailyn (2006);

• Man and women are equal but not identical“Gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment.” International Planned Parenthood Federation.

I Intro to

Equality & Inequality

Gender Equality

• Key to Human and Social DevelopmentFreedom to run life one values (Sen);

increase life qualityTransform social & economic relations.

• Considered in terms of:Distribution (e.g.education, health)Participation (e.g. in labour force, in politics)Freedom/autonomy (access to legal rights)Decision making (households’ level)Recognition (value/voice in communities, in market)

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Inclusion, new opportunities, rights

Gender Inequalities

1. Social – education, welfare, household work division.

2. Political – participation and decision making.

3. Economic– exclusion from employment, disparity in wages, rights to land & property.

4. Cultural – harmful practices for females.

Socially constructed roles, Moser (1989)

Male: productive, constituency based politics.vs.Female: productive, reproductive (biological, labour power and social), community managing.

1-2 role/s vs. 3 roles.

“While it is estimated that women perform two-thirds of the world’s work, they only earn one tenth of the income, and own less than one per cent of the world’s property.” UNICEF, 2010

Reasons for gender inequalities

1. Structural marginalization; Social structures institutionalize gender differences and limit agency; Dimension of symbols, images (emotions); masculinity and femininity.

Notion of femininity forces women to relate to subject positions and negotiate the dominant discourse.

2. Power relations;

Male hegemony, through many ages power was exercised unconsciously; Scott’s (1985) “weapons of the the weak” (early Feminism). Men as being powerful shape social discourse;

Central role of reproduction role; Unequal power relations cause attribution of power to institutions; It relates to multiple identities; Knowledge as power (e.g. of rights); Intra-household distribution of power – ‘cooperative conflict’ Sen (1990); Gender power relations on global, national and local level, claimed, visible, hidden (all levels

defined by Gaventa (2006) are to be found).

Derive from Indivualist – Interactional – Institutionalist Gender understanding

Diversity & Intersectionality of Gender

Diversity

Class

Age

Ability

Ethnicity

Religion

Rural/Urban Origin

Cross-cutting factors of gender relations with other social relations;

Examples: 1. Gender and Disability, Gender and Race - increase implications on poverty and social exclusion – invisible intersectionality.2. Feminism comes from India before colonialism – no recognition, subordinated!

Women experiences of womanhood are different in cultures – gender relations are context specific.

Why is it that challenging genderinequalities is seen as tampering withtraditions of culture, and thus taboo,while challenging inequalities in terms ofwealth and class is not?(Mehta 1991 in DAC Source Book)

Cases underpinning gender theory

• All women share the same history of patriarchy and face problem of male-oriented hegemonic social structure.

IIViews on Gender

Equality in the past &

today

1. Islam – fluidity of gender relations and change over time, role of stereotype.

2. Eve’s legacy – Myth of Women, role of symbol in Judeo-Christian traditions.

3. Women human rights in the past and current approach.4. Main factors affecting gender inequality: feminization of labour

force and feminization of poverty.

Advent of Islam (622AD) vs. Islam Todayas a case of gender fluidity

Originally Islam brought: Human Equality; Women Rights; Justice

Direct impact on females’ conditions:1. Equality between man and women:

"For Muslim [submitted to God] men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise-- For them all has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward" Qur’an (33:35)."Truly I will never cause to be lost the work of any of you, Be you a male or female, you are members one of another" (3:195).

No Eve’s legacy (Qur’an 2:36, 7:20-24), both Adam and Eve were responsible for eating an apple.

2. Respect for daughters; stop burying alive female infants: " To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what Hewills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and bestows malechildren to whomever He wills" (42:49).

3. Regulated relation between man and women." And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect" (30:21)."The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil, they observe regular prayers, practise regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise" (9:71).

4. Women receives rights, examples: a) Property Rights:"From what is left by parents and those nearest related there is a share for men and a share for women, whether the property be small or large --a determinate share" (4:7).b) Political rights: nomination to political affairs, participate in public affairs (58:1-4; 60:10-12).c) Legal rights (full personality, sue for divorce). d) Social (education - 39:9, 58:11)

5. Special recognition for mothers:"A man asked the Prophet: 'Whom should I honor most?' The Prophet replied: 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mother!'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your father'" (Sunna: Bukhari and Muslim).

"And We have enjoined on man to be good to his parents: In travail upon travail did his mother bear him and in two years was his weaning. Show gratitude to Me and to your parents" (31:14).

6. Importance of mutual agreement in family decisions (Qur’an 2:233).

7. Respect from husband: “…but consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing wherein God has placed much good” (Qur’an 4:19)

8. Equal expectations:“And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what isreasonable. But the men have a degree over them [in maintenance andprotection]” (2:228) Patriarchy

What about current gender relations in Islam?

After 3rd generations of prophet Mohammed Qur’anic message started to blur what affected women because of:

• Historical social & political conditions started to prevail the discourse with disadvantage on a just society and gender equality;

• Many sects and male Qur’anic interpretations;

In patriarchal societies power of male patronage dominated original given rights to women .

Unlike stereotypes Women rights will be always embedded in original Islamic scriptures Quran and Sunna. This discourse can enhance power of Gender Identity but it is difficult to achieve in male hegemonic settings.

Power of knowledgeRole of dicourses So

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Judeo-Christian Eve’s legacy as a symbol & creation myth

Women is blamed for committing the first sin."The woman you put here with me --she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Genesis 2:4 3:24; "No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman...Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24).

In consequence women have no rights and must be subordinated to man.Old Testament: “The woman being man’s property”; “In the Mosaic Law divorce was a privilege of the husband only...” The Encyclopedia Biblica, 1902, p. 782, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.“ Genesis 2:4-3:24. "The birth of a daughter is a loss" (Ecclesiasticus 22:3). (More look at St. Tertullian 6; St. Augustine (acknowledged women’s sole reproductive role), Ecclesiasticus26:10-11)

New Testament "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. don't permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner" (I Timothy 2:11-14). ” If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." (I Corinthians 14:35)

Question to raise for reflection:How the Biblical myth/symbol of creation affected women in the past?

Conclusions Gender relations are fluid and change over time and within

groups in one culture or religion. The same as symbols. Gender relations are subordinated to cultural and ethnic

norms (Levy, 2009, p. 3); Stereotypes create subordination and discrimination; hinder

from understanding complexity of social identity and gender relations;

It opposes universalism and political project of GAD; Embedded rights and symbols of women and gender

equality/inequality in traditions not always mean their exercise.

Women Rights in the pastAncient Ages Modern Ages Modern TimesIn India women excluded from right to inheritance . (The Encyclopedia Britannica 1911, p.782)

Japanese Law allowed to sell and buy women till 1845. (Haqqi 2005).

Right to vote – 1893 – New Zealand

In Rome and Greece total dependency on husband/father/brother.(Allen, History of Civilization, p.444)

In China as ornaments in social meetings and objects of recreation. (Haqqi 2005).

First female Prime Minister – 1960 – Sri Lanka

In Persia regarded as piece of goodsand was sold as aslave (Haqqi, 2005)

In England, a property of a wife became possession of her husband. (Badawi, 1980); After 1887 married women achieved the right to own property. (English Common Law; Until 1850 – women were not considered as citizens.

In France suffragettes’ movement – in result women got independent personality in 1945.

Human Rights for Women Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The European Convetion, the American Convention on Human Rights, African Charter on Human Rights and People’s Rights, Beijing Action Plan, Convention of the Nationality of Married Women, The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, ratified by 185, not US) and more … Many Women’s Conferences – ‘breakthrough’ 1995 in Beijing.

Contemporary Human Rights Approach

“Systematic discrimination or inequality of condition…cannot be addressed via the rule-based sameness of treatment approach. Indeed, the use of this model virtually makes systematic disadvantage invisilble. By structuring equality around the male comparator, the assumption is made that equality exists…The question then becomes can [international human rights law] support and deliver substantive equality?” Mahoney (Cook, 1994) Dominated by women from the West,

subaltern had no voice – Spivak.

• Human rights approach discounts intrinsic differences (Cook, 1994);

• Coomaraswamy (in Cook 1994) presumed that human rights to be effective they have to become a respected part [or legitimized] of culture and traditions of a given society (local and historical context);

• In many regions the institution of law is associated with hatred because is seen as a central instrument used by colonizing powers to replace indigenous cultural, religious and social traditions with the mechanism of the modern West (Cook, 1994).

Solutions? • Cross-cultural dialogue to understand and address subordination of

women;• Human rights must take root in civil society, NGOs (Cook, 1994).

Lessons from Human Rights approach

Feminization of labour force - economic restructuring

• Capital’s demand for the economic participation: Tensions in home.

• Global chains of commodities and of care: Flexibilisation of labour; Often unprotected work conditions; Women trafficking.

• Structural Adjustment Programs: Agriculture concentration on export crops –

women workload got intensified; Weak employment creation for women; Bias against small scale businesses run by

women.

Exploitation of women’s formal and unwaged work (unpaid care economy) or liberation from economic marginalization and patriarchal constraints?

Feminization of poverty

Main factors affecting Gender Equality

• Female-headed-households (FHH) - ‘poorest of the poor’ uniform category that they are poor and require help - economic & gender connotation;

• Asset deprivation;

• FHH may be poor in economic terms but is not reflected in social-cultural and psychological terms;

• Can provide ‘enabling spaces’ in which women are better able to exert agency Chant (1997).

Pre-WID WID GAD60s 70s 80s 90s

• Trickle down

• Welfare approaches

• Women as vulnerable group

Reproductive roles

• Critics of economic growth theories

• Feminisation of Poverty/Labour force

•Women’s involvement in Productive sphere

• Equality approach

Reproductive roles

Productive Roles

•Emerging from the critique of WID in the mid of 1970s

•Challenge to unequal power relations

• Gender mainstreaming policy

Western liberal development economics

Global Economic crisis

Structural adjustment Market failure

•Gender aspect of SAPs

•Cut of public expenditure

•Women’s empowerment through participation

4 dimensions of gender roles

Development of Gender Policiesfrom WID to GAD

Beyond GADmid70s

Humanistic approach

Women In Development• In the early 1970s, emerged from the critics of economic growth theory women in aid agencies argued that development programmes ignored and excluded women.

e.g. Ester Boserup’s “Women’s Role in Economic Development”

challenge ‘trickle down’ theories of development

: modernisation was impacting differently on women and men.

concentrate on women’s lack of access to resources as the key to their subordination

argued,

: the resources should be targeted to women to lessen women’s domestic work and improve the productivity of women’s economic activities

: equity strategies by getting women into the public sphere and paid employment

• Aid agencies were pressured to taking a more complex view of women’s activities, both their family roles and economic activities. (Kate Young, 2002)

e.g. The United Nations 「 The Decade for Women 」

Women In Development

• Efficiency Approach (1980s)

the Global Economic crisis in the early 1980s led to emphasis on efficiency in development interventions. Emphasis on,

: Cut of social expenditure and state intervention for public goods and services: the shift of the costs from the paid economy to the unpaid economy, particularly by using women’s unpaid time. (Hannan, 2000)

: increased focus on participation in development

Feminisation of labour force: Women were seen as positive factors in development as an ‘underutilised resources’: the belief that women had unlimited resources of time and energy to invest development programmes. e.g. women and social capital : restricted women’s roles in productive sphere – gender division of labour e.g. The myth of ‘Nimble fingers’ in EAM

Women In Development• Critics of WID

The overburdening and over-exploitation of Women

: The planning of income-generating projects ignored women’s various roles in reproductive spheres as well as community managing roles.

: cut of state expenditure and the opening of market forces increased women’s domestic burdens and their reproductive responsibilities.

Exclusion of women in the process of development

: women were on the sideline of development rather than in the centre of the mainstream as crucial actors.

The increased focus on FHH failed to reflect the poverty of women in male-headed households.

By focusing solely on the need to meet PGN rather than on SGN, WID failed to change the structural and systematic causes of gender inequality.

Gender And Development• In the 1980s, the emergence of GAD as a critic of WID Seeks to return to issues of equity and equality from equality approach of the 1970s Focused

on the Unequal power relations between women and men which prevent women from benefiting from greater access to resources.

questioned the conventional liberal belief that undermine male-biased traditional attitude.

challenge to the ‘secrotisation of women’

‘Gender mainstreaming’ Analyses how development strategies reshaped the power relations using the concept of

gender and gender relations.

Stresses the need to meet SGN as well as PGN, and mobilise women based on PGN as a springboard to challenge the triple role of women.

Advocates empowerment of women in LDCs focusing on the bottom up approach

Gender Mainstreaming• WID to GAD

In WID policy, women’s sector which was influenced by macro economic development policy was marginalised from other development sectors.

e.g. Ministry of women’s affairs

In GAD policy, gender analysis applies to all aspects of development, rather than just to women or women’s issues.

“Mainstream gender into general development policies, programmes and projects in order to counteract the tendency for women’s concerns and gender issues to become marginalised … departments or units which were mandated with institutionalising gender issues in the organisation’s work.“

(Ruth, 2000)

Ministry ofEmployment

Social welfare

Transport

Health

Agriculture

“Women”

WID to GAD

Appraisals of GAD

Growing concerns on equity and equality of gender relations; There has been an awareness that gender inequality is a result of power relations

caused by structural and systematic inequality between women and men;

The effort to integrate women in the process of mainstream development

Being dominated by white Western women and biased notion by feminism that ignore struggles of non-Westerns.

Failure to deal with complexity and dynamics of power relations. Importance of inter-cultural understanding and recognizing the difference;

The institutional bureaucratic context simplify gender and development ideas and also transforms them (Cornwall et al.), in addition power differentials (WB & local researchers)

UN homogenization and universalism priority in the agenda constrained transformation (“one size fits all’ approach) , ignorance of context specificity - drives to myths;

Global meeting produce pressure for simplification – Cornwall (2000). Argument between feminist and conservative forces - Sen (2005). Need to find some

consensus.

IVFindings& Future

Beyond GAD

• Gender Myth

The risk and dangers of Gender Myth

• Gender and Men

The neglect of men and gender relations in policy rationales

• Gender and Diversity

A new approach recognizing difference and context specificity.

Gender Myth

• The creation of Gender Myth Response to Gender stereotypes Simplifying women as an agent of

development: as both heroines and victims

• The aim of Gender Myth Tactical moves to bring about gender policies to animate and motivate the actions of

development actors (Hirschmann, 1967) To provide justifications and/or to legitimise

social oppositions and tensions

• The acceptance of Gender Myth For bureaucracies to incorporate information

on their own terms, privileging that which fits in with their own views of the world…

(Goetz, 1994) Source: cover page, ‘An introduction togender, law and Society in Kenya’, 2001,Constitutional Debate No 11, Centre For Law AndResearch International (CLARION)

Gender Myth• Gender Myths (e.g.)

Myth of women’s special relationship with the environment Myth of women’s contribution to politics Myth of female solidarity and autonomous Myth of survival and social capital Myth of women as a peace-maker Myth of FHH as the poorest of the poor

• The negative effects on Gender Equality

While it gives a power to move, but it is also very far from the complexity of women’s and men’s lives. (Cornwall et al. 2007)

Simplification brings a neglect of others of their sex who have diverse identities (Jolly, 2004)

An ignorance of the possible relationships between women and men out of Myth.

Gender and Men

• Male and female stereotypes in gender policies

Victim in Gender Relations

Struggle with, fear, resist to Men’s Oppression to change inequitable gender relations

♀ ♂

The Oppressor

Sustaining male stream development

Obstacles to equitable development

Gender and Men• The neglect of men and Gender relations in the policy rationales

“Although there are many ways of being a man, some are valued more than others and men experience social pressure to conform to dominant ideas about being a man. They termed his ‘hegemonic masculinity’. [This concept] is most valuable in showing that it is not men per se but certain ways of being and behaving that are associated with dominance and power … Not all men benefit from and subscribe to dominant values. ‘Hegemonic masculinity’ can be just as oppressive for those men who refuse, or fail to conform. ” (Cornwall, 1997)

• Men in male stream development

Men as a victim in ‘hegemonic masculinity’

Men as an assistant for promoting gender equality

Gender and Diversity

• Diversity Sensitive Approach – a step to future:

More beyond generalization about women and ethnic minorities;

Understanding social dynamics within group and complexity;

Recognize difference;

Focuses on diversity of social identities e.g. gender & race (multiple dimensions);

Aim to meet various gender needs.

Thank you for your attention

References• Bailyn, 2006 Breaking the mold: Redesigning work for productive and satisfying lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell.• Caroline Sweetman (editor), “Gender in the 21st century” in Oxfam Focus on Gender, GB Oxfam 2000.• Cornwall, A., Harrison, E., and Whitehead, A., “Gender myths and feminist fables: the struggle for

interpretive power in gender and development” in Development and change, 38(1), pages 1-20.• DAC Source Book On Concepts And Approaches Linked To Gender Equality

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Oberleitner (editors), “Human Rights of Women, International Instruments and African Experiences”, Zed Books, 2002.

• Khasi’ Haqqi, “Lawful wives or unlawful girlfriends”, Al – Fidrous Ltd, 2005.• Rebecca J. Cook (editor), “Human Rights of Women, National and International Perspectives, University of

Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1994.• Levy, Caren, "Gender Justice in a Diversity Approach to Development? The Challenges for Development

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12.12.2010).

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