Gendered Power Relations

Citation:

Hernando, Almudena, Gustavo Politis, Alfredo González Ruibal, and Elizabeth Beserra Coelho. 2011. “Gender, Power, and Mobility among the Awá-Guajá (Maranhão, Brazil).” Journal of Anthropological Research 67 (2): 189–211.

Authors: Almudena Hernando, Gustavo Politis, Alfredo González Ruibal, Elizabeth Beserra Coelho

Abstract:

The Awá (also known as Guajá) are hunter-gatherers whose way of life prior to their first contact with Brazilian society has been altered after relocation to a reservation. Basically, their mobility is reduced and they have been forced to start cultivation. Although these changes are beginning to affect women's social role, the traditional power relationships can still be inferred from the present conditions. The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) to argue that, in otherwise "egalitarian" societies, the differences in physical mobility involved in the complementary tasks carried out by men and women may account for gender inequality on the symbolic domain, given that mobility is a key factor in the construction of personhood in contexts of "relational, "non-individualized identity; and (2) to check the validity of that assumption in the light of fieldwork data about gender relationships among the Awá-Guajá.

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Indigenous Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Brazil

Year: 2011

Citation:

Rocheleau, Dianne. 2007. “Listening to the Landscapes of Mama Tingo: From the ‘Woman Question’ in Sustainable Development to Feminist Political Ecology in Zambrana-Chacuey, Dominican Republic.” In A Companion to Feminist Geography, edited by Lise Nelson and Joni Seager, 419–33. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Author: Dianne Rocheleau

Abstract:

Topics: Class, Development, Environment, Feminisms, Feminist Political Ecology, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries Countries: Dominican Republic

Year: 2007

Citation:

Kouvo, Sari. 2020. “A Challenging Agenda for Troubled Times: The Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy.” Retfærd 4: 65-88.

Author: Sari Kouvo

Abstract:

In 2014, the Swedish Government declared that it was a feminist government. Foreign Minister Margot Wallström also took the opportunity to announce that Sweden would become the first country in the world to adopt a feminist foreign policy. The feminist banner was raised at a time when Europe, including Sweden, was grappling with what has come to be called the migration crisis and a rise in violent extremism across ideological, political and religious boundaries, and when the world seemed to be shifting further into conflict mode. This is also a time when notions of feminism and gender equality are as furiously promoted as they are contested. The aim of this article is first, to situate the Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy in the broader context of Swedish equality politics and foreign policy. Second, to discuss how the term feminism used in the policy and what the overall contents of the policy are. Third, to problematize the policy through two examples focusing on the one hand on the challenge of a braver politics and on the other hand on the in-built tension between Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy and the Swedish trade and defence interests and in particular Swedish arms trade. The article focuses on developments during the first government term, 2014–2018, but it will also touch upon the developments during the second government term, 2019–2022. The article shows that the Policy has made a difference. It has raised awareness and built knowledge of women’s rights and equality within the Ministry and helped ensure that these issues are systematically integrated into much of foreign policy. The fact that the Policy has continued after the elections and is now being taken forward for another government term has helped institutionalise the policy and may also have increased international interest. 

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Rights, Women's Rights, Weapons /Arms Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2020

Citation:

Kilgour, Maureen A.. 2020. “Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy and the SDGs: Working with Business to Address Gender Inequality.” In ​Struggles and Successes in the Pursuit of Sustainable Development,​ edited by Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudic, and Patricia M. Flynn. New York: Routledge.

Author: Maureen A. Kilgour

Abstract:

Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are critical elements in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). State governments, businesses and civil society have all been asked to work toward the achievement of the SDGs. Given the complexity of the current global governance regime and the overlapping interests among the various actors, collaboration and innovation are required to move toward the achievement of these goals. The Canadian government (Canada) has historically been a strong advocate for international action on gender inequality. This engagement was formalized in 2017, when the Canadian government committed to a “feminist” foreign policy. The goal of this chapter is to discuss the early successes and challenges in the implementation of a “feminist” approach to the attainment of the SDGs with a focus on Canada’s relationship with business. It examines areas of interaction between Canada’s feminist policy in support of the SDGs and business and identifies both strengths and weaknesses. A review of Canada’s SDG initiatives in support of gender equality provides insights into the ways in which governments intersect with business on sustainability issues and highlights areas of interrogation for responsible management education, especially in the area of gender equality. 

Topics: Development, Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 2020

Citation:

Rao, Sheila, and Rebecca Tiessen. 2020. “Whose Feminism(s)? Overseas Partner Organizations’ Perceptions of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.” International Journal 75 (3): 349–66.

Authors: Sheila Rao, Rebecca Tiessen

Abstract:

Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, introduced in 2017, is an ambitious and forward-thinking policy focussed on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The emphasis on a feminist vision, however, raises questions about how feminism is defined and interpreted by Canada’s partners in the Global South. In this article, we examine the interpretations of feminism(s) and a feminist foreign policy from the perspective of NGO staff members in East and Southern Africa. The research involved interviews with 45 Global South partner country NGO staff members in three countries (Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi). We consider the partner organization reflections on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy using a transnational feminist lens. Our findings provide insights into future considerations for Canada’s feminist foreign policy priorities, consultations, and programme design. 

Keywords: feminist foreign assistance policy, partnerships, gender equality, Canadian Aid

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Americas, North America Countries: Canada, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Littig, Beate. 2001. Feminist Perspectives on Environment and Society. London: Routledge.

Author: Beate Littig

Annotation:

Summary:
“Feminist perspectives, or gender issues, are rarely dealt with explicitly in environmental sociology (Die Grünen 1987; Schultz and Weller 1995; Schultz 1998). The specific effects of certain environmental measures on women, or the study of specific female practices, form, at most, only apart of more general studies; for instance, representative surveys that try to compare the level of environmental consciousness between men and women. Nor is feminist theory much concerned with questions of environmental sociology - at any rate, the effects of equal rights policies or welfare regimes or of reproductive work on the environment are hardly ever discussed. Nevertheless, in specific feminist fields of study - for example, feminist analysis of housing and traffic planning - environmental effects play an important part. Falling between environmental sociology and feminist theory one may find the so called ecofeminism. This is concerned with the destructive relationship between society and the environment based on a radically feminist analysis of patriarchy, which challenges both environmental sociology and feminist theory. This hook offers a critical overview of the sociological and feminist discussions dealing with the interrelationships of environment and society. Based on this critique I will propose a new feminist approach to investigate environmental problems which I call gender-sensitive socio-ecological research, combining both gender studies and environmental studies” (Littig 2001, 2).

Topics: Environment, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy

Year: 2001

Citation:

Edwards, Alice. 2010. “Transitioning Gender: Feminist Engagement with International Refugee Law and Policy 1950-2010.” Refugee Survey Quarterly 29 (2): 21–45. 

Author: Alice Edwards

Abstract:

This article traces the history of feminist engagement with international refugee law and policy through five periods from 1950 to the present. While gender is not explicit in the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, it has developed as a useful lens through which one can construct arguments for protection and rights. Nonetheless, the emphasis on gender in women's asylum claims and in policies and programmes on humanitarian assistance often minimizes the political, racial, and religious causes of persecution that affect women and the agency of women in making decisions based on these causes. The conflation of women-children-sexual violence-vulnerability has further led to instrumental yet unhelpful assumptions being made about refugee women. Efforts to bring women onto an equal footing with men through “gender mainstreaming” and “age, gender and diversity mainstreaming” though have not been without problems. In particular, the potential ousting of an emphasis on equality to a more generic focus on gender must be cautioned against. While recognizing the substantial progress made to date, the article argues for more and continuous engagement with feminism as a powerful methodology and political strategy as more work remains to achieve equality for refugee women.

Keywords: International Refugee Law, female refugees, asylum, 'feminism'

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Humanitarian Assistance, International Law

Year: 2010

Citation:

Goetz, Anne Marie. 2021. “Feminist Principles in Global Affairs: Undiplomatic Practice”. In The Future of Global Affairs, edited by C. Ankersen, and W.P.S. Sidhu, 149-173. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Author: Anne Marie Goetz

Abstract:

Feminist analysis of international relations has been a significant disruptor, revealing that the defense of ‘national sovereignty’ has allowed states to protect patriarchal preferences, not only blocking women’s rights but contributing to some of the most destructive features of national and international decision-making such as conflict-propensity. Efforts to institutionalize gender equality domestically and internationally have been troubled by the need to work with patriarchal states to build capacities to challenge male dominance. The recent emergence of feminist foreign policy (FFP) shows it may be possible to institutionalize feminist principles in international relations in ways that challenge the use of ‘national sovereignty’ as an excuse for discrimination against women. But for FFP to deliver a significant course correction in international affairs, its practitioners must accept that ending diplomatic silence on abuses of women has costs. It can bring diplomatic isolation or trigger domestic protest since it may make transnational business arrangements, including arms deals, contingent on respect for women’s rights. 

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Patriarchy, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2021

Citation:

Rothermel, Ann-Kathrin. 2020. “Gender in the United Nations’ Agenda on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 22 (5): 720–41.

Author: Ann-Kathrin Rothermel

Abstract:

The United Nations (UN) policy agenda on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) promotes a “holistic” approach to counterterrorism, which includes elements traditionally found in security and development programs. Advocates of the agenda increasingly emphasize the importance of gender mainstreaming for counterterrorism goals. In this article, I scrutinize the merging of the goals of gender equality, security, and development into a global agenda for counterterrorism. A critical feminist discourse-analytical reading of gender representations in P/CVE shows how problematic imageries of women as victims, economic entrepreneurs, and peacemakers from both the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Women, Peace and Security agenda are reproduced in core UN documents advocating for a “holistic” P/CVE approach. By highlighting the tensions that are produced by efforts to merge the different gender discourses across the UN’s security and development institutions, the article underlines the relevance of considering the particular position of P/CVE at the security–development nexus for further gender-sensitive analysis and policies of counterterrorism.

Topics: Development, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Security, Terrorism, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS

Year: 2020

Citation:

Ali, Nada Mustafa. 2018. “Women, Gender, and Human Rights.” In Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Rights: History, Politics, Practice, edited by Rajini Srikanth and Elora Halim Chowdhury. Abingdon: Routledge.

Author: Nada Mustafa Ali

Abstract:

This chapter serves three functions. First, it informs readers and invites them to think critically about the relevance of international human rights treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to local struggles to achieve gender equality and women’s human rights settings. The chapter also engages a question I have been grappling with for over two decades: How do we research, write, study, and/or advocate on women’s human rights and gender equality, especially in Global South settings, without reproducing “single story” and “victim-savage-savior” narratives? Without othering women and communities facing human rights abuses, social exclusion, and gender inequality? How do we avoid the trap of ethnocentricism? While such questions are relevant to research and activism on a broad range of issues, including gender-based violence, rape in war, economic marginalization, and political exclusion, I will draw on discussions around female genital mutilation (FGC/M). Focusing on Sudan, I turn to the work of scholars and writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chandra T. Mohanty, and Makau Mutua; and on my research, pedagogy, and activism in engaging this and other questions. I argue that international treaties like CEDAW may constitute important starting points and frameworks that women’s organizations and activists in countries like Sudan may draw upon when advocating for women’s social, economic, and political rights. However, it is important to recognize the limitations inherent in such frameworks. It is crucial that our research and advocacy do not contribute to reinforcing negative stereotypes about women and communities. It is also important to learn from experiences elsewhere, and to avoid the pitfalls associated with transnational feminist organizing.

Topics: Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2018