Ever since the formation of the United Nations Commission on the Status for Women in 1946, it had been proposing a U. N. Women’s Conference with little success. Gradually with pressure from the American Women‟s Movement, the U.N. General Assembly declared 1975 as the International Women’s Year and 1975-1985 as the International Decade for Women. This declaration led to a growing awareness of women‟s issues and an acceptance of their demands as legitimate issues for policy making, both at the national and international level.
The major themes of the International Women’s Year and Conference were-- Equality, Development and Peace. Equality, however, had been a dominant issue for the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and it came primarily from the feminist movement of the Western industrialized nations.
Peace was increasingly considered to be a women issue by the countries of the Eastern block.
Development, on the other hand, was a recent issue put forward mainly by the newly independent “Third World” nations as a key to improving women’s lives.
During the Decade, the important but previously invisible role of women in the social and economic development of the poorer countries was highlighted. The declaration of the International Decade for Women (1975-85) signified the new visibility of Women in Development (WID) in international forums.
During the past few years, the term "women in development" has become common currency both inside and outside academic settings. But while "women in development" or "WID", is understood to mean the integration of women into global processes of economic, political and social growth and change, there often is confusion about the meaning of two more recent acronyms, "WAD" and "GAD".
This topic will begin with an examination of meanings and assumptions embedded in "WID," "WAD" and "GAD" and then will look at the extent to which differing views of the relationship between gender and development have influenced research, policymaking and international agency thinking since the mid- 1960s.
By 1970 women has been accepted as a distinct category by UN.
Associated with it, theories of development began to look at women not from economic growth issue.
By 1970 development theories on women have focused on empowerment and political participation as key women development issue.
Theorizing women development theories is an attempt to trace out different feminist theories.
Overall feminist argue there exist injustices and discriminatory practices againt women
Feminist therefore aims not only only to address injustices and discrimination but offer a critique of male dominated institutions.
In understanding these problems there are three reasons why women subjugated.
one group address that women as exempted from development planning and implementation
second group argue patriarchy and capitalist mode of production lead to subjection of women
new international division of labour affect women and men differently.
These reason roughly coalesce with three important concepts in the topic-WID,WAD-GAD
Inshort feminist development theories are stipulated as WID upheld by liberal feminist.GAD upheld by radical feminist and GAD as being upheld by Marxist feminist.
Liberal feminist and WID
Liberal feminist upheld WID
Appealed for integration of women in development planning
WID sees women problems are due to exclustion of women from development programmes
Integration of women in development programmes are a solution to grief of women
Correcting the modernization theory of development is necessary
Modernization theory of development see underdevelopment and poverty are stages in development process resulting from lack of social,economic and political condtiotns for development to take place
Women’s subordination within modernist paradigm was judged as backwardness and primitiveness of development programme
They argue that modernization lead to egalitarianism and female liberation
Modernization approach identified women solely in respect of role as wives and mothers and prescribed a welfare approach
WID helped by Esther Boserup’s work Women’s Role in Economic Development she challenged welfarist approach of modernization
Modenisation kept away men from production based on family labour and gave them access to economic resources
Western notions of appropriate female roles undermined woems traditional role in agricultural production which also made men to monopolise new technologies in modern day life
Boserups argues that modernization increases womens social and economic marginality bcs modernization drew away men from production based on family labour and gave access to economic resources
Depending Boserups views WID criticized women role as mothers and wives
WID so argued that women is subordinated in the economic framework and they are excluded from market
So women need to be integrated into development framework
So governments should establish women affairs cells and ministries hired from WID experts
Radical feminist and WAD
Radical feminist upheld WAD
Introduce in late 1970s and was anti-note to weaknesses in WID
WAD argued that WID calss for integration of women into a patriarchal world
WAD so calls for women only projects
It was bcs male centred states cannot alter gender inequalities
They were influenced by dependency theory in latin America
They saw men as enemy and sought to attack men dominated institutions
They put sexiulaity,reproduction and patriarchy at the centre of political discussion and argued personal is political
It sees women as important economic actors
Their work inside and outside household is important in society
Marxist feminist and GAD
Marxist feminist upheld GAD
They argued women subordination is due to capitaslit mode of production,patriarchy and international labour of division
To them women reproduces labour force while men produce commodities in exchange for wage
Women are isolated form production and confined to home
Women are compelled to rely men for living which marginalizes women
And if women are out of home work they are expected to fulfill lot of domestic duties
So women end up working twice as hard as men and is paid less
These exploitative relations makes women a reserve army for cheap labour in the market
Capitalism search for cheap labour and this makes patricarchy and capitalism coalesce together
Women subordination is also due to international division of labour according to neo-marxist
In the international divison of labour,MNCs in search of cheaper labour are transferring jobs to third world and is done predominantly by men
Women experiences subordination ccording to their race,class,colonial history,culture,
This framework makes distinction b/w women’s biological interest and material condition
It argues women has gender interest and it is subdivided into two-practical and strategic needs
1.pratical need-water,education,health
2.strategic-changing status of women,increase women participation in decion making
I think WAD was upheld by neo marxian...can you explain about WAD
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