STILL A HOT TOPIC
The issue of gender mainstreaming is a very important issue which many development organizations have prioritized as a Policy objective within the organizations as well as conditions for disbursing funds to their beneficiaries. Multi-lateral development organizations like the World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) as well as major Bilateral donor agencies including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Department for International Development (DFID) have all made gender mainstreaming a priority in their programs. The value of this push by major donors for gender equity has raised awareness in many donor recipient countries which has in many cases been translated into national programs and the creation of separate Ministries and Departments responsible for pushing the gender equity agenda.
Such macro level progress is very important in the overall movement towards the realization of a fair society that does not victimize people on the basis of gender. However with all this progress, the meanings and operationalization of gender equity at community and household level is still a very hotly contested topic in many countries including here in the United States as the following debate illustrates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Dyzm8L6cU
It is clear in this discussion that the roles of men and women in a family/household are a contentious topic among many individuals. The role of breadwinner, the head of the household, key decision maker, care provider for children are all sensitive subjects which are somehow linked to the idea of who brings financial resources in the home.
Incorporating men and masculinities into the gender discourse is a very progressive strategy because men can be viewed both as protagonists as well as partners but they are definitely a constituency that cannot be ignored. I wish there was more discussion and negotiation about gender equity and the various meanings associated with it beyond the classroom walls and television studios because real change has to happen on the ground.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you Chiko that Gender mainstreaming at the core of development organisations and donor agencies sets the tone for governments who are heavily reliant on financial aid from them. The creation of arms and institutions to address gender related issues and ensuring that the gender component is articulated within different arms of government is important. The question is at what point does one say that they have effectively gender mainstreamed? I think for me gender mainstreaming is a process rather than an end goal. As the needs of men and women continue to shift, the demands on the system changes as well. This means that what works today may not work tomorrow. My take thus on gender mainstreaming is that donor agencies, development organisations, governments and any other branches eager to practice this should not see it as an end goal but as a process. Viewing gender mainstreaming as a process allows these institutions to constantly interrogate their goals and policies to ensure that they fit within those of gender mainstreaming.
ReplyDeleteOn a household level, I think they are cases where gender equality is beginning to take shape as we see women in some communities being allowed to own property, girls are allowed to go to school, forced marriages are declining in some communities, the fight against FGM is successful all these being cases that reflect how gender mainstreaming may be taking root as things are not as they were a decade ago.
Chiko and Traci, I think you both make very important comments of the reality of gender mainstreaming. Traci’s point about the heavy reliance from governments on these organizations for aid brings up the point of vulnerability. I thought about the potential for these organizations (especially ones concentrated on economic goals of development) to exploit this vulnerability under the guise of gender mainstreaming. While the concept of gender mainstreaming seems to be genuine enough, it seems like a perfect blanket for modernization theory.
ReplyDeleteIt made me wonder about other development theories and practices that we have learned about. Do these theories also have remnants of tenets of modernization theory like gender mainstreaming? Does the addition of gender equality to the conversation blind us to underlying motives? I should say that I am looking at these theories from a post structuralist point of view, and wondering who is doing the agenda setting. I know we have read examples throughout WAD, GAD, and gender mainstreaming about the origins of issues coming from the women of the community where these interventions are taking place. However, I feel like organizations like the World Bank could easily take up the cause of gender mainstreaming with a modernization heavy agenda. This is why I pause when reading about such “participatory” programs facilitated by the World Bank, and wonder how much is really still pre-determined. I do not mean to be cynical, but I think organizations are guilty of creating a palatable modernization pushing agenda under the guise of feminist theory.
On the question of including men and masculinity in gender and development related work, I have an example of two examples in Kenya. One of the examples is the organisation Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN) whose vision, mission and goals are as follows.
ReplyDeleteVision
“A violence free society where females and males are valued equally.”
Mission
“Transforming the Kenyan society to embrace gender equality.”
Goal
“To create a critical mass of Kenyan men and women who are able to influence community, organizations and the public to embrace gender equality as a norm”
Their logo has the theme " transforming masculinities to end gender based violence". This organisation for me encapsulates what I think is one of the better ways of involving men and masculinity in gender and development. While MEGEN are working to transfome masculinities to end gender based violence in Kenya, there is a movement called Men Against Women Empowerment (MAWE) which views women empowerment as undermining the authority of men. They quote the Bible saying that the man should be the head of the home and they see women empowerment as going against this principle. This movement although I do not know how strong it is and how deeply rooted it is within the Kenyan society, is a clear example of how masculinity can be used to target gender and development work. This for me is part of the challenge that gender activists have to deal with.