Women and Children in Development

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Women and Children in Development
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Development

• What is development?
• Snarr and Snarr (2002, p. 179)
• social, economic, and political structures and
  processes than enable all members of a society to
  share in opportunities for education, employment,
  civic participation, and social and cultural
  fulfillment as human beings, in the context of a
  fair distribution of the societys resources
  among all its citizenry

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Development

• What is economic dualism?
• Snarr and Snarr (2005, p. 182)
• Development that encourages capital-intensive
  heavy industry and large farming enterprises BUT
  causes loss of light industry which is
  labor-intensive (jobs) and pushes subsistence
  farmers into marginal lands
• A response alternative development
• Programs investing in tools, skills for small
  farmers, crafters, etc.

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Women in Development

• Why do we study women, in particular, with regard
  to development?
• Why do we study children, in particular, with
  regard to development?

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Women in Development

• Womens Special Knowledge Stock (Snarr and Snarr,
  2005, p. 183)
• Life-span health maintenance
• Food production, storage, processing
• Maintenance/use of water, fuel resources
• Household maintenance/construction
• Interhousehold barter systems
• Kin networks and ceremonies (family events and
  crises)

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Women in Development

• Gender Mainstreaming
• Bring women into the regular economic,
  political, and social life enjoyed by men
  (Weatherby et al, 2005, p. 83)
• A process of assessing the implications for women
  and men of any planned action, including
  legislation, policies, or program in all areas
  and at all levels (UN)

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Women in Development

• What has been the worlds response?
• Who are the actors?
• What activities have they undertaken?
• Have they had success?

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Women in Development

• UNDPs six practice areas for mainstreaming
  (Weatherby et al, 2005, p. 83-84)
• Full participation of women in democratic
  governance
• Poverty reduction
• Crisis prevention and recovery
• Energy and Environment programs
• Information and communication technologies
• Health HIV/AIDS

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Women in Development

• Grameen Bank Village Bank
• Muhammad Yunus
• Lending principles
• Seek out poorest of borrowers and require no
  collateral
• Must join bank in self-formed groups of five
• Group members provide support and advice
• Peer discipline if one member fails to repay,
  all members risk having credit suspended

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Women in Development

• Today (2002)
• In 39,000 villages in Bangladesh
• Lends to 2.4 million borrowers, 94 women
• Reached its first 1 billion in cumulative loans
  in 1995 . . . Then 2b in 1997
• Repayment rate hovers between 96-100
• 94 of the bank is owned by its borrowers
• In a typical year, 5 of Grameen Bank borrowers
  rise above poverty level. Within 5 years, 70
• Duplicated in other developing countries.

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Children in Development

• Children at risk
• Child labor
• Child prostitution
• Child soldiers
• Malnutrition
• Child mortality

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Children in Development

• Childrens rights as a category of human rights
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• US has not ratified . . .
• States rights
• Capital punishment
• Abortion
• Economic/social rights

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Children in Development

• What do you think of the concept of international
  obligations for childrens rights?