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Introducing Feminist Theory
Feminism : a movement dedicated to womens political,social, economic equality
Feminism : "a political project to understand and,therefore, change women's inequality, exploitation, or
oppression". Feminist theory : goal is to explain why women are
subordinated No separation between knowledge and political practice
-> should help improve womens lives
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Introduction- Feminism or the Woman Question?
Sex - is biological and physiological Gender ( Credited to Ann Oakley, 1972 ) is distinct from sex. It is a social and cultural construction, and gender relations
describe the social meaning of male and female In other words, gender is a set of socially constructed
characteristics that define masculinity and femininity anddetermines status and role in society
Gender is a system of social hierarchy in which masculinecharacteristics are more valued than feminine ones whichsignifies unequal power relationships between women and men
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Introduction- Feminism or the Woman Question?
It is a movement dedicated to political, economic, socialeconomic equality; Feminists seek gender equality employment equity, pay equity,
equity in the various institutions of government, and equity in thefamily setting
Fight against Patriarchy and physical and sexual violenceperpetrated against women presented in the form of socialinstitutions variables (family code; physical integrity, civilliberties and ownership rights)
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Women and Development
The Impact of Colonialism:
It introduced Victorian and masculine ideology
It mistreated women or treated less equitably thantraditional institutions had.
In some Western African societies, women served aschiefs or held other important position. But, this was
altered under colonial rule. The post-colonial state continued this patriarchal and
masculine ideology
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Women and Development
The commercialization of agriculture reduced womenseconomic power as well. The land was transferred to men. Also, in commercial agriculture men were likely to be
hired than women.
Women excluded from aid, credit and technical training. Modernization and the spread of the culture of capitalismcontributed to widen a gap and disadvantaged women.
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Forms of Gender Inequality
Gender inequality and exploitation exist in many societiesand the problems are most severe in many parts of theThird world. This includes but not limited to:
Genital mutilation (female circumcision in part of Africa) The sale of child brides for dowries wife beatings in Zambia and Andes, etc.
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Forms of Gender Inequality
The clandestine trafficking industry feminization of HIV; honor killings, forced marriages and
dowry-related violence including domestic violence Economic deprivation that forces large number of women into
prostitution. In the case of rape, in some cultures women had to produce
witness.
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Forms of Gender Inequality
Divorce laws that favor husbands. Lack of access to commercial credits for small business. Restricted opportunities for women to get jobs or better
paid job, and blue collar jobs One common and widespread problem in LDCs has the
lower literacy rates
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Feminist Waves
The First Wave Late 19th Century to early 20th Century)- suffrage (Political
rights and civil rights including the right to educationThe Second Wave
A period of rebirth of the feminist movement that lasted from1960s until the 1980s- social and economic rights -
corresponded with the counter movement of the 1960The Third wave It began in the 1990s and lasts until this day. It is to tackle
some 'unfinished business' of the first two waves -
reproductive freedom, ending violence against women, andincorporate women into politics
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Feminist theories and strategies
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex , 1949 (theoretical)
Betty Friedan, The Feminine mystique , 1963 (populist)
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Feminist theories and strategies
Feminist perspectives include: Liberal Feminists Socialist Feminists
Cultural Feminists Neo-Marxist Feminists Radical Feminists Black/Third World Feminists
Post-modern Feminists Muslim Feminists, etc
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Gender in the International Political Economy
Gendered division of labour disadvantages women Dates back to 17th century Public-private division
Women are home-based, or work in garment,service or agricultural fields
Double burden of household labour
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Policy and Practice
NGOs and social movements have facilitated gender equality UN and Gender Development Index
Theory informed by belief in emancipatory effect of knowledge Gender mainstreaming: how will a policy impact gender
equality?
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The UN Global Campaign to empower Women
1946 The Commission on the Status of Women 1975 International Womens Year 1975 Mexico Womens Conference
1976 85 UN Decade for Women 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women 1980 Copenhagen Womens Conference
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The UN Global Campaign to empower Women
1985 Nairobi Womens Conference 1993 Vienna Human Rights Conference 1993 UN General Assembly Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence Against Women 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population andDevelopment
1995 Beijing Womens Conference
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The UN Global Campaign to empower Women
The Introduction of the Gender Empowerment measures asan integral part of Human Development Index)
Gender Equality as one of key goal of (MDGs) (UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for
Women) and Biennial Report on Progress of the WorldsWomen
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The impact of globalization on Women
Liberalization and Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs)-Negative
Globalization (Positive and negative side) Democratization and the increasing role of women in
Politics(The case of developing nations)
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MDGs Goal 3
The gender gap is more evident in secondary school enrolment
Many factors have contributed to progress, including increasedprimary school enrolment and completion for girls and fallingpoverty rates.
Girls outnumber boys in higher education, except in the poorer
regions there are more young women than men enrolled in tertiary
education. Girls from poor and rural households face higher barriers to
education
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Employment
Paid employment for women continues to expand slowly and
remains meagre in many regions Women remain more vulnerable on the job front, assuming the
largest share of unpaid work The global financial crisis is creating new hurdles to womens
employment Although men were hit hardest by the financial shock, women
may be more profoundly affected over the long term Womens political representation is slowly growing, with Latin
America and the Caribbean leading the way among developingregions MDGs 2009 (see the link
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