Poverty

Citation:

Kulkarni, Seema. 2016. “Gender and Water in India: A Review.” In Indian Water Policy at the Crossroads: Resources, Technology and Reforms, edited by Vishal Narain and Annasamy Narayanamoorthy, 73–91. Global Issues in Water Policy 16. Springer Science & Business Media B.V. 

Author: Seema Kulkarni

Abstract:

This chapter provides an overview of key issues in the area of gender and water. It gives an overview of different debates around women and environment and shows how these have shaped the discourse and practice around gender and water. The chapter then goes on to discuss the reforms in the water sector at the global level and how this has impacted the discussions around gender and water. A comprehensive review of literature is done in the context of India which covers the various writings and actions in the area of gender and water. The review specifically looks at gender and equity issues in the areas of rivers, dams and displacement, water for production and domestic water. The chapter argues for going beyond the politics of representation and developing new agendas and creative forms of engagement with people’s movements- more specifically women’s movements, farmers movements and unions working on the question of growing informalisation of the economy, greater accumulation of capital, increasing injustices and disparities in everyday living- to see the linkages between land, water, rivers, natural resources and livelihoods.

The chapter argues for going beyond the politics of representation and developing new agendas and creative forms of engagement with people’s movements- more specifically women’s movements, farmers movements and unions working on the question of growing informalisation of the economy, greater accumulation of capital, increasing injustices and disparities in everyday living- to see the linkages between land, water, rivers, natural resources and livelihoods. (Abstract from Springer Link)

Keywords: Domestic water, Water for Production, dams and displacement, ecofeminism, Gender

Topics: Civil Society, Displacement & Migration, Forced Migration, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Households, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, Livelihoods, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2016

Citation:

Méndez Gutiérrez, Luz, and Amanda Carrera Guerra. 2015. Clamor for Justice: Sexual Violence, Armed Conflict, and Violent Land Dispossession. Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial - ECAP.

Authors: Luz Méndez Gutiérrez, Amanda Carrera Guerra

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Civil Society, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gender Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Globalization, Health, Indigenous, Rights, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Guatemala

Year: 2015

Relevant Links: Spanish version available here

Citation:

Benería, Lourdes, and Shelley Feldman. 1992. Unequal Burden: Economic Crises, Persistent Poverty, and Women's Work. Boulder: Westview.

Authors: Lourdes Benería, Shelley Feldman

Keywords: structural adjustment programs, developing countries, poor women, female employment

Annotation:

"The debt crisis and global economic changes of the 1980s caused Third World nations to restructure economic policies, community resources, the labor market, and intra-household divisions of labor. These changes swelled the ranks of the unemployed, the poor, and the malnourished. Women, in particular, were affected negatively by processes of structural adjustment because they represent a disproportionate share of the world's poor, are increasingly represented among low-wage workers, and are forced to balance wage work with subsistence and domestic production in meeting household needs. Using country-based studies, this text offers new perspectives on the consequences of economic crisis in terms of changing state practices and household and family organization, patterns of resource allocation, and women's work." 

WorldCat

Topics: Development, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women

Year: 1992

Citation:

Lehmijoki, Ulla and Tapio Palokangas. 2006. “Political Instability, Gender Discrimination, and Population Growth in Development Countries.” Journal of Population Economics 19 (2): 431-46.

Authors: Ulla Lehmijoki, Tapio Palokangas

Abstract:

This paper introduces gender discrimination and population growth into a model of political economy. The government keeps up the military for the sake of political instability in the country. It is shown that if the risk of internal conflicts is high, then the government needs a bigger military and a larger supply of young men for it. The government is then willing to boost population growth by keeping women outside the production (e.g. neglecting their education or restricting their movement). Some empirical evidence on the interdependence of political instability, population growth, and gender discrimination is provided. 

Keywords: population growth, discrimination, political instability

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Male Combatants, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Gender, Women, Men, Girls, Boys, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Households, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Political Economies, Religion, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa, Asia, Middle East

Year: 2006

Citation:

Hayes, Bernadette C. and Ian McAllister. 2012. “Gender and Consociational Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland.” International Political Science Review 34 (2): 123-139.

Authors: Bernadette C. Hayes, Ian McAllister

Abstract:

Designing political arrangements is the most viable approach to resolving inter-communal divisions in post-conflict societies. Yet women are frequently ill-served by such peace settlements, since gender equality is often sacrificed in an effort to resolve conflicts over national identity. Northern Ireland is no exception to this trend. Although the 1998 Northern Ireland Agreement made specific provision for gender equality, it was primarily framed in terms of national identity. This article examines to what extent this focus on inter-communal ethnic division undermined support for the Agreement among women. Using data from the 2010 Northern Ireland Election Survey, we examine gender differences in attitudes towards the consociational institutions of government. The results show a significant gender gap in support for the institutional arrangements that were established by the Agreement. We propose and test three explanations to account for this gender gap. 

Keywords: post-conflict, consociationalism, Gender, national identity, power-sharing

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Civil Society, Democracy / Democratization, Domestic Violence, Economies, Poverty, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Men, Girls, Boys, Governance, Constitutions, Elections, Post-Conflict Governance, Justice, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Paramilitaries, Nationalism, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Weapons /Arms Regions: Europe, Western Europe Countries: Ireland

Year: 2012

Citation:

Béné, Christophe, and Sonja Merten. 2008. “Women and Fish-for-Sex: Transactional Sex, HIV/AIDS and Gender in African Fisheries.” World Development 36 (5): 875–99.

Authors: Christophe Béné, Sonja Merten

Abstract:

Keywords: artisanal fisheries, vulnerability, poverty, public health, Africa

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Gender, Women, Girls, Gendered Power Relations, Health, HIV/AIDS, Livelihoods, Sexual Livelihoods Regions: Africa

Year: 2008

Citation:

Hinton, Jennifer, Marcello M. Veiga, and Christian Beinhoff. 2003. “Women and Artisanal Mining: Gender Roles and the Road Ahead.” In The Socio-Economic Impacts of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Developing Countries, edited by G Hilson and A Balkema. Netherlands: Swets Publishers.

Authors: Jennifer Hinton, Marcello M Veiga, Christian Beinhoff

Annotation:

“In many locales, women function in multiple capacities. For instance, a women working as a panner may also obtain income as a sex trade worker and a cook.” (Hinton et. all, 2003, p. 2).

This article takes care to compare the situations of female miners in Africa, Asia and South/Latin America. In terms of percentage of artisanal miners who are female: Asia < South/Latin America < Africa

“In Guinea, although women undertake the same labour as men, inequities in pay (men are paid four times more for the same quantity of gold) often leads to a “troc”, or trade of sex for additional money or gold (USAID, 2000)” (p. 8).

“Although the chemical dangers, in particular, those associated with mercury and cyanide misuse, first come to mind, most occupational hazards are a consequence of poor physical conditions, such as ground failure, shaft collapses and machinery accidents” (p. 9).

Because of their involvement with the processing aspect of mining, women are at greater risk of chemical dangers and side effects.

“Chronic exposure to moderate levels of methylmercury results in symptoms including: visual constriction; numbness of the extremities; impairment of hearing; impairment of speech; and impairment of gait. In cases of acute intoxication, muscular atrophy, seizures and mental disturbance are prominent. Women of childbearing age and their children are particularly susceptible  as methylmercury readily crosses placental barriers and is considered to be a developmental toxicant (Grandjean, 1999). Depending on the frequency and degree of exposure, effects can range from sterility, and spontaneous abortion, to mild to severe neurological symptoms” (p. 11).

Importance of land rights and access to land in controlling, and thus benefiting from, commodities on that land.

“In a detailed study of gender and technology (Evert, 1998), it was found that interventions did not benefit women when: the ‘improvements’ were not more convenient and accessible than traditional sources or activities (e.g. clean water wells), modifications were directed towards commercial uses (e.g. development of forests for resale when fodder needs were not being met), and technologies were generally inappropriate (e.g. ‘improved’ stoves that did not consider the cultural value” (p. 23).

PDF includes a slide show presentation entitled “Women and Artisanal and Small Scale Mining: A Review of Roles and Issues” given by the author at the University of British Columbia. 

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Health, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Americas, Central America, South America, Asia

Year: 2003

Citation:

Ekine, Sokari. 2008. “Women’s Responses to State Violence in the Niger Delta.” Feminist Africa 10: 67–83.

Author: Sokari Ekine

Abstract:

This paper will discuss the ways in which the women of the Niger Delta have responded to acts of violence by the Nigerian State and its allies, the multinational oil companies. I first briefly outline the background to the crises in the Niger Delta and then discuss the responses and resistance of the women.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy / Democratization, Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Femininity/ies, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Militarism, Multi-National Corporations, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Security, Human Security Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2008

Citation:

Barry, Joyce M. 2008. “‘A Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens’: Women’s Activism, Environmental Justice, and the Coal River Mountain Watch.” Environmental Justice 1 (1): 25–33.

Author: Joyce M Barry

Abstract:

This article examines the environmental justice efforts of the Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW) in Boone County, West Virginia. The CRMW is a grassroots group formed in 1998 to fight the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. The membership of this organization is largely comprised of white, working-class women whose homes and community have been adversely impacted by this extractive industry. The CRMW serves as a watch dog of the coal industry oligarchy in the state, resisting the social and environmental injustices created by King coal and its abetting state political system. This article posits that around the country poor and working-class women respond collectively to threats on their homes and communities. However, the scale and impact of this social trend has yet to be adequately assessed by feminist and environmental justice scholars. There is a large body of important, ecofeminist scholarship examining women's connection to the natural world, mostly framed by the spiritual component of such connections. However, this scholarship frequently fails to consider the role of class and its relation to gender and the environment. Also, these analyses too often center women's individual responses to challenged environments, rarely focusing on women's collective actions. Environmental justice scholarship has done a tremendous job emphasizing the importance of class, social justice, and vulnerable communities' connection to the environment. However, the canon of environmental justice scholarship infrequently assesses the activism and importance of women in these grassroots movements. This is unfortunate considering that women make up 90% of the membership in environmental justice groups around the country. Using the Coal River Mountain Watch as a case study this article ultimately seeks to redress these shortcomings in existing scholarship, and highlight the efforts of this environmental justice organization.

Topics: Civil Society, Class, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Environment, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Livelihoods Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2008

Citation:

Rosen, Ellen Israel. 2002. Making Sweatshops: The Globalization of the U.S. Apparel Industry. Oakland, California: University of California Press.

Author: Ellen Israel Rosen

Abstract:

The only comprehensive historical analysis of the globalization of the U.S. apparel industry, this book focuses on the reemergence of sweatshops in the United States and the growth of new ones abroad. Ellen Israel Rosen, who has spent more than a decade investigating the problems of America's domestic apparel workers, now probes the shifts in trade policy and global economics that have spawned momentous changes in the international apparel and textile trade. "Making Sweatshops "asks whether the process of globalization can be promoted in ways that blend industrialization and economic development in both poor and rich countries with concerns for social and economic justice-especially for the women who toil in the industry's low-wage sites around the world. Rosen looks closely at the role trade policy has played in globalization in this industry. She traces the history of current policies toward the textile and apparel trade to cold war politics and the reconstruction of the Pacific Rim economies after World War II. Her narrative takes us through the rise of protectionism and the subsequent dismantling of trade protection during the Reagan era to the passage of NAFTA and the continued push for trade accords through the WTO. Going beyond purely economic factors, this valuable study elaborates the full historical and political context in which the globalization of textiles and apparel has taken place. Rosen takes a critical look at the promises of prosperity, both in the U.S. and in developing countries, made by advocates for the global expansion of these industries. She offers evidence to suggest that this process may inevitably create new and more extreme forms of poverty.

Topics: Development, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Globalization, Justice, Livelihoods, Political Economies Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2002