CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION

Gender definition is an important aspect of any analysis of gender factor

especially in the context of development. Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to

refer to the grammatical categories of “masculine,” “feminine,” and “neuter”.1 Gender is

defined as ‘a grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns,

objectives, and in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics

such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with as selection of modifiers,

referents, or grammatical forms.’2

In recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-

based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap, gender discrimination and the politics

of gender, etc.3 In this sense, ‘the term gender basically being used as a biological

category as well as a social and cultural construct. It further notes that gender identity is

not fixed at birth, both physiological and social factors contribute to the early

establishment of a core identity, which is modified and expanded by social factors as the

child matures. Thus, gender identity develops by means of social reinforcement and

language.’4 It becomes pertinent to note Simone de Beauvior’s opinion that “One is not

born a women; one becomes a women.”

There are various writings on understanding of ‘gender’. An eminent scholar,

Stevi Jackson holds that ‘Gender thus encompasses the social division and cultural

distinction between women and men as well as characteristics commonly associated with

femininity and masculinity.’5 The said observation again combines the social and cultural

factors along with biological factors in defining and understanding gender.

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 Since the 1950s, the term gender has been used increasingly to distinguish a

social role or gender role in identifying a person as distinct from biological identity. One

may find in the writings of John Money that the term gender role is used to signify all

those things that a person says or does to disclose himself or herself as having the status

of boy or man, girl or women, respectively. 6 The changes in defining gender traversed

from that of ‘women’ to ‘gender’ in the broadest sense of its applications in

contemporary development discourse. Another author, Linda Gordon stated that ‘I use

gender to describe a power system in which women are subordinated through relations

that are contradictory, ambiguous, and conflictual – a subordination maintained against

resistance, in which women have by no means always defined themselves as other, in

which women face and take choices and action despite constriction.’ 7 Another significant

observation was made by an eminent scholar Ann Oakley who observed that the term

‘Gender’ is a matter of culture, it refers to the social classification of men and women

into ‘masculinity’ and ‘feminine’. 8 The World Survey 1999 on the ‘Role of Women in

Development’ defined gender ‘as the social meanings given to biological sex differences.

It is an ideological and cultural construct, but is also reproduced within the realm of

material practices; in turn it influences the outcomes of such practices. It affects the

distribution of resources, wealth, work, decision- making and political power, and

enjoyment of rights and entitlements within the family as well as public life. Despite

variations across cultures and over time, gender relations throughout the world entail

asymmetry of power between men and women as a pervasive trait. Thus, gender is a

social stratifier, and in this sense it is similar to other stratifiers such as race, class,

ethnicity, sexuality, and age. It helps us understand the social construction of gender

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identities and the unequal structure of power that underlies the relationship between the

sexes.’9 An indepth analysis of the gender discrimination along with the

underdevelopment issue makes one find that ‘Gender is not static but dynamic. Gender is

variable, it changes from time to time, culture to culture, even family to family.’ 10 This

statement identifies several features within the definition of gender that include ideology,

cultural construct, resources, rights, decision making power, identity, entitlements along

with gender social groupings with other divides like race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age,

etc.

It thus establishes the fact that the definition of gender while supporting the

understanding of gender itself, also highlights some of the following determinants of

gender having relevance in the overall understanding of gender and development linkage.

A. CULTURE AND GENDER

The analysis of culture is relevant in the understanding of gender. ‘Culture’ is

defined as the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behaviour. Culture

consists of languages, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools,

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techniques, work of art, rituals, ceremonies and other related components. Any

understanding of culture will indicate ‘Culture’ as a set of norms of human activity and

reflecting different understanding or criteria of understanding and evaluating human

activity. The cultural diversities in practices had a significant impact on the gender role

within a given society in general. For understanding the impact of culture on gender and

development issue it may be relevant to state here the views expressed by Stuart Hall that

‘culture as the loved practices’ or ‘practical ideologies which enable a society, group or

class to experience, define, interpret and make sense of its conditions of existence.

Culture is the implicit knowledge of the world by which people negotiate appropriate

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ways of acting in specific contexts.’ 12 In addition to this factor, another scholar Nancy

Tuna underlines the fact that ‘in our culture women are associated with the emotions and

the body, whereas men are associated with reason and the mind. 13 A significant highlight

of the customary cultural practices was underlined by the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen

that, ‘Poverty alone does not cause women to die in greater numbers than men. When

there is a scarcity, custom frequently decrees who gets to eat the little there is, and who

gets taken to the doctor. And custom is always crucial in determining who gets to

perform wage labour outside the home, an important determinant of general status in the

family and community.’ 14

Thus, it may be found that, ‘each definition or form of

cultural identity is the highly-situated product of continuous construction, often

strategically chosen and manipulated and related to political and social conditions rather

than to ‘authentic’ cultural needs.’15 In this context, gender is a cultural construct that

varies from one culture to another in order to define the conscriptions of women in taking

part in the process of development. Some of the components linked with culture is briefly

presented below :

(a) Patriarchy

One of the significant determinants of gender role is the institution of patriarchy

which founded the society on discriminatory norms based on the values propounded by

the founders of patriarchy. Patriarchy is defined as a hypothetical social system based on

the absolute authority of the father or an elderly male over the family group. 16 Most of

the religions as well as monarchical edicts contained provisions of governance where

women as a whole were not taken into consideration mostly on matters of development.

In this context, Michael Mann has rightly observed that ‘patriarchal values and practices

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permeate many aspects of the culture of contemporary nation-states’.17 In a patriarchal

society normally one finds male domination over all the issues at the societal level,

family level as well as individual level making women discriminated against, oppressed,

repressed and humiliated. Moreover, one has to note the observation of Errol Miller that,

‘conceptualization of gender and its relations to patriarchy cannot be understood in

isolation from race and class [rather it] should be understood in terms of genealogy,

gender and generation combined.’18 This observation adds to the factors such as race and

class within the broader issue of patriarchy while indicating the existence of cultural

diversities in the world over.

Most of the Third World countries continue to be governed by the norms of

patriarchal society. Moreover, ‘in a patriarchal society the dimension of gender

stratification was largely segregated from the dimension of ‘public’ stratification.’19 The

works of Giyatri Chakraborty Spivak and Partho Chatterjee have highlighted the

colonialism and patriarchy in understanding the Third World feminism. An eminent

scholar Partho Chatterjee highlighted the very contradictions existing within the social

scriptures where the ‘assertion of masculinity’ in the society resembles women with

‘Gold’ and ‘Deity’, in reality the ‘women who stands as a sign of man’s bondage in the

world is the women of flesh and blood, women in the immediacy of everyday life, with a

fearsome sexuality that lures, ensnares, and imprisons the true self of man. It binds him to

pursuit of worldly interests that can only destroy him.’ 20 This contradiction within the

understanding of patriarchy is being examined in the context of South Asia. The picture

of South Asia also still provides such features as well as their influence on state policies

especially in terms of gender and development linkages.

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 (b) Hierarchy

Patriarchal norms provided such a system that internalized hierarchy in a society.

In any discourse on gender and development linkages hierarchy issue is very relevant.

Accordingly, in a hierarchical system a common phenomenon in any society is that male

members of the family has always given preference in education, health and other social

security issue areas as the bread earner and or family head. Infact, the rules which are

normally set as values are essentially the approved ways of living and serve as the base

for norms of socialization and a particular type of behaviour and believe of the members

of the society. ‘There are some cultural rules that are not attached to any particular role or

set of roles called ‘values’, are in a sense summaries of approved ways of living, and act

as a base from which particular norms spring and values produce agreements, or

‘consensus’, between people about appropriate behaviour and beliefs.’ 21

The differences projected within the cultural matrix of gender had been aptly

highlighted by Kamala Bhasin as follows:

man/women freedom/bondage

subject/object active/passive

culture, society/nature public/private

human/animal general, universal/particular

reason/emotion politics, law, morality/personal

logic/intuition familial, biological

selfhood, being/otherness presence/absence

non-being light/dark

independence/dependence good/evil

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 autonomy/interconnection, nurture Adam/Eve 22

(c) Social Construct

Accepting gender as a social construct becomes necessary to briefly highlight the

impact of patriarchal society on the process of evaluation of feminity vis-à-vis

masculinity. Projecting the specific gender roles within the society some of the

Sociologists advocating Structural Consensus have often been used the term ‘culture’ to

describe the rules that govern thought and behaviour in a society. A deep look into the

report prepared by the National Commission for Women, India on ‘Towards Equality-

The Unfinished Agenda- Status of Women in India-2001’ provides the understanding of

gender as a social construct by way of highlighting that ‘the disabilities and constrains on

women, which stem from socio-cultural institutions, indicates that the majority of women

are still very far from enjoying the rights and opportunities guaranteed to them by the

Constitution. Society has not yet succeeded in framing the required norms or institutions

to enable women to full the multiple roles that they are expected to play in India today.

On the other hand the increasing incidence of practices like dowry indicates a further

lowering of status of women.’ 23

The above scenario indicated that the traditional role of women carry the built in

danger of maintaining their subordinate position under the patriarchal and hierarchical

society which led to the fact that gender development linkage for long time was given a

secondary priority. This is more so in the view of gender as a social construct whereby

‘nature/culture-female/male is culturally specific’ as because ‘nature and culture are not

value-free, unmediated categories; they are cultural constructs in exactly the same way as

the categories women and men.’24 In this context, one may find it relevant to note the

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analysis provided by H.Afshar that, ‘the subjugation of women can be understood in

terms of the economic basis. Their emancipation will only be possible when they are

included in socially productive work and there has been a corresponding general rise of

economy and culture. The failure of women to achieve equal status despite their

participation in the process of production, however, indicates that a materialistic analysis

of the problem is not sufficient to explain the inequality between the sexes, and suggests

that an ideological dimension must be added to the gender specificity of the oppression of

women.’25 It is also pertinent here to take note of the observation of Martha Nussbaum

which highlighted the facts that ‘Women in much of the world lack support for

fundamental functions of a human life. They are less well nourished than men, less

healthy, more vulnerable to physical violence and sexual abuse. They are much less

likely than men to be literate, and still less likely to have pre-professional or technical

education. 26 She also adds that ‘In many nations women are not full equals under the law;

they do not have the same property rights as men, the same rights to make a contract, the

same rights of association, mobility and religious liberty.’ 27 The reality shows that female

are deprived of any opportunities for the enhancement of their capabilities due to gender

based division existing in most of the societies as well as due to their traditional

dependent status. The consequences is that women in general are faced with lack of any

social protection and security network of food, health, education, employment alongside

their negligible decision making role.

The above three major components of the understanding of ‘gender’ has been

taken up by the feminist writers in different phases of feminist movements. This attitude

of difference and exclusion towards women was first voiced by the early feminists who

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had a positive attitude towards a ‘changed society’, which is well reflected in the writings

of Mary Wollstonecraft. In ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ she had expressed

her views by stating that, ‘Independence I have long considered as the grand blessing of

life, the basis of every virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my

wants, though I were to love on a barren health.’ 28 John Stuart Mill another exponent of

this view condemned the traditional oppression of women in ‘The Subjection of Women’,

where he even voiced for women suffrage.

In the backdrop of the post World War II, this very attitude of feminism shifted its

paradigm with the changing scenario. The feminist movement gained momentum as more

and more women came out of their domestic chores, into the market economy to support

their families in the war ravaged countries. As observed by Sarah Gamble while stating

that ‘what is vital therefore is the emergence of a movement of working-class women,

since their experience spans both production and reproduction, class exploitation and sex

oppression.’29 One may find that the feminist theories of 1960s and 1970s are being

created more out of the appropriation of sociological theories of ‘patriarchy’, ‘hierarchy’.

This phase witnessed a complex articulation of broadly categorized Liberal, Marxist,

Socialist and Radical feminism. The feminists also tried to identify ‘Natural equality and

freedom of human beings and advocated the creation of a social structure that would

recognize the uniqueness of the individuals and provide them with equality of

opportunity’.30

These expositions changed by the 1980s and 1990s when the theoretical

interpretations shifted from its earlier positions as it is more based on the philosophy of

culture and literary interpretations. The every day experience led the feminists to think of

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development issues from a different perspective so as to establish their rightful status in

the society, self-respect and to count on the female labour in the process of the nation

building. Thus, the continuous struggle to take on board the differences and inequalities

between women and men in the Third World countries became more focused and posed

the challenges for ‘development’.

B. DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER

As an important determinant of understanding of gender and development it is

appropriate to briefly put the following features.

‘Development’ a multi-dimensional phenomenon has been defined in the

backdrop of the changing civil society, as encompassing the structures and the pillars of

the societal development not only in terms of economic perspective but in respect of the

overall human development. Development is a wholesome approach where the dominant

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paradigms believe in equal rights and equal share within the society. An important

observation on development patterns was provided by Mehbub-ul-Haq, who noted that

development patterns are to be designed so as to “build development around people

rather than people around development”.32 One may note that Human development is

about ‘building human capabilities—the range of things that people can do, and what

they can be. Individual freedoms and rights matter a great deal, but people are restricted

in what they can do with that freedom if they are poor, ill, illiterate, discriminated

against, threatened by violent conflict or denied a political voice.’ 33

The meaning of development broadened under changing socio-economic,

political, environmental, etc. circumstances. The gradual transformation in the outlook

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that evolved during the 1970s and 1980s through the implementation of “bottom up”

approaches towards development mainly initiated by the concept of human development

through the increase of choices and thereby freedoms. The post Cold War changes also

broadened the very understanding of development. The human development approach as

espoused by Mehbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen, stated about the changing nature of the

development dialogue to focus on human needs and capabilities. This view was first

reflected in The Human Development Report 1990 that, ‘People are the real wealth of a

nation. The basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for

people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. The term human development here

denotes both the process of widening people’s choices and the level of their achieved

well being. It also helps to distinguish clearly between two sides of human development.

One is the formation of human capabilities, such as improved health or knowledge. The

other is the use that people make of their acquired capabilities, for work or leisure.’ 34 The

Human development in turn incorporates all aspects of individual well-being from their

health status to their economic and political freedoms. According to The United Nations

Human Development Report 1996, “human development is the end- economic growth a

means”.

In the present context of globalisation the perception of development has

undergone changes where the developing countries contribute to the productivity of

resources that has increased enormously the quality of organisation and level of

knowledge inputs. As put forth by the United Nations Human Development Report 2001

‘Developing countries should not forever be held hostage to the research agendas set by

global market demand. If any form of development is empowering in the 21st century, it

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is development that unleashes human creativity and creates technological capacity. Many

developing countries are already taking up the challenge to make this happen. Global

initiatives that recognize this will not only provide solutions to immediate crises but also

build means to cope with future ones. The ultimate significance of the network age is that

it can empower people by enabling them to use and contribute to the world’s collective

knowledge. And the great challenge of the new century is to ensure that the entire human

race is so empowered—not just a lucky few.’35

In the backdrop of globalization the gender development issues became most

relevant with the view to establish gender mainstreaming as well as gender

empowerment. Any exercise in finding gender and development linkages highlights that,

‘gender analysis is an effort to understand differences of both sexes regarding conditions

of life, needs, participation, access to and control over resources and access to and

participation in development as well as decision making and regarding the different roles

attributed to women and men. Gender analysis highlights the unequal distribution of

advantages and disadvantages for women and men in a society or within a topic. It

reveals the underlying causes of structural gender inequality. Doing gender analysis could

thus, include the use of data disaggregated by sex or exploring the different concerns and

interests of women and men in relation to an issue. Gender analysis considers the

differential consequences (of the policy, strategy, etc.) for women and men and identifies

measures that could contribute to more equal gender relations.’36 The issue that emerges

in terms of gender and development linkages ranged from the gender auditing to gender

equality and mainstreaming gender participation. The observations made by the UN

Secretary General Kofi Annan “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a

12
precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable

development and building good governance”, provides necessary grounds for

understanding gender development linkage issue as one of the challenges before Third

World.

(a) Approaches to development

Against the above scenario it is relevant to note that the struggle for the

improvement of the standard of living in the developing world brought a variety of

approaches to development within a country. These approaches focused on equity based

social development programmes with the purpose of the enhancement of human

capabilities. These approaches require proper analysis to find gender development

linkage in each of these programmes. The participation of women into the development

of the country brought new dimensions for development as a whole. In this context it

becomes necessary to present briefly the approaches of development. The Development

having relevance to gender development linkage issues are provided in detail in the later

chapters.

 The Human Development approach is the process of enlarging people’s

choices that are created by expanding human capabilities and functioning—

‘what people do and can do in their lives.’ It is important to note the statement

made by eminent economist Amartya Sen, that ‘the Human Development

Index (HDI), which the Human Development Report has made into something

of a flagship, has been rather successful in serving as an alternative measure

of development, supplementing Gross National Product (GNP). Based as it is

on three distinct components—indicators of longevity, education and income

per head—it is not exclusively focused on economic opulence (as GNP is).

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 Within the limits of these three components, the HDI has served to broaden

substantially the empirical attention that the assessment of development

processes receives.’37

 The Basic needs approach focused on people’s participation in development

whereby people need to participate in making the decisions that affect their

lives. ‘Participation interacts with the two main elements of basic needs

strategy. For example, education and good health will facilitate participation,

participation in turn will strengthen the claim for the material basic needs.

Basic needs [also examine the] quality of life issues attached to employment

as well as the rights of women to the development of their basic

capabilities.’38

 Right to Development was defined in the resolution No. 41/128 adopted by

the General Assembly, United Nations Human Rights on 4 December 1986.

According to the Resolution, ‘Right to development is an inalienable human

right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to

participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political

development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be

fully realized.’ The defining parameters of right based approaches as

identified by the UNHR are the principles of equity, non-discrimination,

transparency, accountability and participation. 39

 The Women in Development (WID) approach emerged during 1970s as

response to the realization that development initiatives promoted in the

immediate post World War II during 1950s and 1960s failed to integrate

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 women in the process of economic development through proper strategies,

legal and administrative changes in the existing economic system. The

pioneering work of Easter Boserup during the time emphasized on the fact

that ‘subsistence activities usually omitted in the statistics of production and

income are largely women’s work.’40

 The Women and Development (WAD) approach emerged during the 1980s as

a critique of Modernization Theory and the WID approach. The WAD

approaches was mostly based on the Dependency Theory and Marxist

Feminist outlook The WAD approach emphasized on role of women as an

important stakeholder in the process of development. Moreover, the WAD

approach accepts the private / public dichotomy in understanding the role of

women in the process of development.

 The Women, Environment and Development (WED) approach emerged

during the 1970s along with the WID and WAD approaches and emphasized

on the women’s role in the conservation and management of natural resources.

The WED approach highlighted the indigenous knowledge base of the women

in the conservation of environment.

 The Gender and Development (GAD) approach emerged during the 1990s as

a reaction to the meager results of WID and WAD approaches. The GAD

approach viewed women as an active agent of development and addressed the

issues interalia gender inequality and gender discrimination. The main thrust

of the GAD approach is ‘mainstreaming which is about adding a “women

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 component” or “gender equality component” into the existing process of

development.

 The Capability approach emerged as a significant approach to development

that could bring in education, health and economic empowerment of people.

The Human Development Report 1999 clearly showed that ‘At all levels of

development a few capabilities are essential for human development, without

which many choices in life would not be available. These capabilities are to

lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable and to have access to the

resources needed for a decent standard of living—and these are reflected in

the human development index. But many additional choices are valued by

people. These include political, social, economic and cultural freedom, a sense

of community, opportunities for being creative and productive, and self-

respect and human rights. Yet human development is more than just achieving

these capabilities; it is also the process of pursuing them in a way that is

equitable, participatory, productive and sustainable.’41

 The Sustainable development approach highlighted the sustainable use of

natural resource. The Human Development Report 2006 highlighted the core

issue of sustainable development by stating that, ‘At the core of the idea of

sustainability in resource use is the proposition that production systems should

be managed so that we live off our resources today, without eroding the asset

base to be inherited by future generations. This is vital for human

development. Implicit in this idea is the principle of cross generation

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 distributional equity—the belief that we have an obligation to future

generations.’42

Against the above one may find that the gender and development linkages address

issues of economic growth, social equality, gender empowerment, the role of women in

the conservation and management of natural resources and above all the role of

development in minimizing the ‘gender gap’. Secondly, it is also clear that the

understanding of development is a broad one which is according to Amartya Sen the

ultimate goal of economic development is not to increase the output of market-based

production but to achieve maximum exploitation of human capability that is latent to all

the people in the world not excluding women.

C. GLOBALIZATION AND GENDER DEVELOPMENT

As an important determinant in the issue of gender and development linkages

globalization impacted heavily upon the development approaches which underwent

immense transformation in the era of economic and cultural globalization, which in its

own turn left serious imprint on gender issues also. ‘Globalisation’ as defined by the

United Nations Development Report 1999 as ‘a dominant force in the 20th century’s last

decade, is shaping a new era of interaction among nations, economies and people. It is

increasing the contacts between people across national boundaries—in economy, in

technology, in culture and in governance. But it is also fragmenting production processes,

labour markets, political entities and societies. While globalization has positive,

innovative, dynamic aspects—it also has negative, disruptive, marginalizing aspects.’43

The Human Development Report 2005 also observed that though, ‘millions have

benefited from globalization. Yet the human development advances fall short of those

anticipated in Human Development Report 1990—and far short of what was possible.’44

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This is mainly because women appear to have been disproportionately affected by the

impact of globalization particularly in the Third World countries. Women continue to

bear the brunt of social discrimination and become most vulnerable in the world economy

under globalization and increasing international competition, the transition to a market

economy and other economic reforms, and technological changes and their impact on the

organization of work, etc. Women have been severely affected by the situation of

diminishing opportunities for employment, deterioration of the quality and conditions of

work, and reduction of resources for social protection in many parts of the world in the

wake of these changes already mentioned. Infact, ‘Women continue to labour under

stereotypes in the workplace, and find themselves as a result clustered on the lower rugs

of the career ladder and in sectors outside the purview of existing labour legislation.

There has been a tendency also for women’s work to be undervalued, with statistics

failing entirely to reflect the amount of work women perform for no wages at all.’ 45 In

this context, the gender inequality is seen not only in terms of economic production, but

also in respect to market participation and access to resources. In the backdrop of

globalization the issues of development have come up in a manner that in general brought

increased cases of vulnerability of the women while creating a gap i.e. gender gap.

It may be pertinent to quote briefly some of the international reports prepared

during the globalization period.

 The Human Development Report 1999 clearly stated that ‘Globalization

expands the opportunities for unprecedented human advance for some but

shrinks those opportunities for others and erodes human security. It is

integrating economy, culture and governance but fragmenting societies.

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 Driven by commercial market forces, globalization in this era seeks to

promote economic efficiency, generate growth and yield profits. But it misses

out on the goals of equity, poverty eradication and enhanced human

security.’46

 The United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

(UNESCO) Report of 2002, highlighted the facts that the years of

globalisation witness ‘Six billion human beings live on the planet Earth, and

more than half of them are women and girls. They constitute two-thirds of the

world’s 876 million illiterates and 70% of the poor. Women and girls perform

two-thirds of the work in the world; they are paid one-tenth of all world

income. In all regions of the globe and in every segment of society, in both

developed and developing countries, women and girls are denied the

opportunities to enjoy their human rights, which in turn deprives all men,

women and children – societies as a whole – of valuable human resources.’ 47

 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Report 2003 clearly identified the issue

of gender discrimination by stating that ‘[The] questions of equity and rights

are recognized as infringing on women’s ability to participate and contribute

to development; as a drain on community and societal resources; as entailing

economic costs to the country; and as posing serious obstacles to human

resource development, economic efficiency, and growth. Many studies also

indicate that development programmes with insufficient gender sensitivity can

actually increase the magnitude of some of these problems.’ 48

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 The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a

Report ‘Financial Crisis Highlights : Need for Adequate National Policy

Space, 2008’ suggested that in a globalised economy, national policy space

was constrained by both de jure and de facto elements. De jure constraints

mainly stemmed from commitments arising from multilateral, regional and

bilateral trade agreements. Legal constraints also existed in the

macroeconomic and financial area, through the conditionality attached to

support from international financial institutions. It was observed that such

conditionality, including the requirement of restrictive monetary and fiscal

policies and narrow limits for public bail-out operations, had often impacted

negatively on developing countries during previous crises.’ The report also

added that governments today in the major industrialized countries had no

difficulty in undertaking unprecedented financial and macroeconomic rescue

packages. De facto constraints of national policy space were linked to

country’s integration into the globalised economy, in particular financial

liberalization, which had increased instability of the financial system. The

Report also suggested that better rules and regulation in the area of

international finance will help to widen national policy space by generating

greater stability in international monetary and financial relations. It was

further suggested that better management of the global economy required

greater involvement of government. However, for that reason adequate policy

space is needed at the different levels of institutional capacity.

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 The impact of globalization percolates down to the household levels that provide

another aspect of gender development linkage. The views put forth by eminent economist

Gita Sen can be noted in the process of discussion. Gita Sen viewed the gender and

development linkages from the perspective of transformation of oppressive gender and

power relations in society are contained in the responses fashioned by women and their

households to the current crisis of daily survival. According to her, ‘The global economic

crisis is causing social restructuring as well and that the wrenching survival strategies

may lead to more egalitarian gender relations. Women in much of the world lack support

for fundamental functions of human life. They are less well nourished than men, less

healthy, more vulnerable to physical violence and sexual abuse. They are much less

likely than men to be literate, and still less likely to have pre-professional or technical

education.’49 It is also important to note the observations made by, Marianne H Marchand

and Anne Sission Runyan that ‘gender as a significant boundary marker and identity

producer, is a focal point both of and for restructuring. On the one hand restructuring

depends heavily on gendered discourse and gender ideology for its own construction

because they make it appear natural and inevitable. On the other hand, restructuring

entails re-workings of the boundaries between and meanings of femininity and

masculinity, which are intimately related to the shifting boundaries and meanings of

private and public, domestic and international, and local and global.’ 50

This in fact provides the required ground for governance in line with gender

development linkages. It is relevant to state here that governance is ‘the exercise of

economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all

levels. It comprises the mechanisms processes and institutions through which citizens and

21
groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and

mediate their differences’.51 Therefore, it can be stated that for carrying out governance

the emphasis is normally put on issues of institutions and strategies.

D. INSTITUTION AND GENDER

Institution is another determinent in the understanding of gender and development

linkages. As an inalieanable part of governance, institutions provide for the platform to

draw the structure and guidelines for behavior and interaction. Institutions are also

characterised by economic and social practices that may or may not involve

organisations. The issue is complicated by the fact that one may think of institutions that

govern organisations and the organisation as an institution.

According to Johan P. Olsen, Institutions can be defined broadly as relatively

stable collections of social practices consisting of easily recognised roles coupled with

underlying norms and a set of rules or conventions defining appropriate behavior for, and

governing relations among, occupants of these roles. ‘The key assumptions are: (a)

Different institutions are constituted by different ties and relationships; (b) Institutional

integration involves different mixes of instrumental concerns and consequentialism and

constitutive identities; (c) Institutional dynamics, i.e. how quickly institutions will arise,

adapt to environmental changes and reforms, and dissolve, are depending on the kinds of

ties on which the institutions are primarily based.’52 Robert.O.Keohane stated that these

norms and rules are “prescribe behavioral roles, constrain activity, and shape

expectations”. 53

The role of institution in the gender development linkage is one of mediating the

policies to permeate in the process of social construct. Though according to Ashish

Aggarwal, Institutions have been defined in various ways such as “rules of game in a

22
society”, “regularized patterns of behaviour between individuals and groups in society”,

“structures of power” and that, ‘institutions can be simply understood as rules and norms

framed by the people, helping them in deciding what actions are required, permitted, or

forbidden in society’54. He also stated that ‘Institutions promote stability of expectations

ex ante, and consistency in actions, ex post, from different actors.’55 It is mainly the

power relations that define the role of the institution in formulating the national strategies

to look into the issue of gender and development. The strategies evolved for the purpose

of framing and implementing gender and development linkages are found to be carried

out either successfully or without any success by the existing institutions ranging from

international to national levels.

Some of the institutions like the United Nations played a very significant role in

bringing out the visions and requirements for looking into the gender and development

linkages. The Commission on Human Rights implemented the principle that men and

women should have equal rights. The 1960s saw the emergence, in many parts of the

world, of a new consciousness of the patterns of discrimination against women and a rise

in the number of organizations committed to combating the effect of such discrimination.

The adverse impact of some development policies on women also became apparent. One

of the landmark achievement was ‘The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women’ (CEDAW) adopted by the United Nations General

Assembly on December 18 1979 and entered into force as an international treaty on

September 3 1981. At the same time a number of organizations were established to look

into the issue of gender discrimination which hampers development on the whole.

23
 One such organization is the United Nations Development Fund for Women

(UNIFEM) established in 1976 to provide technical and financial assistance towards

fostering women’s empowerment and strongly advocated for the implementation of

provisions for gender equality. The UNIFEM as an organization focused on the

advancement of women’s human rights and emphasized on four strategic areas :

 Reducing feminization of poverty;

 Ending violence against women;

 Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women; and

 Achievement of gender equality in democratic governance in time of

peace as well as war.

One can observe that the conventions of the international institutions /

organizations are reflected at the regional and national level also. At the regional level the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summits deliberated upon

the gender development issues and the problem of gender based discrimination in the

region. At the national level also the institutions like the Government bodies, Legal

institutions and bodies, the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) framed several

policies and programmes for promoting gender and development linkages. Moreover, the

Institutions at the national and international level are the important constituent for

determining the factors of gender development of the countries like Bangladesh, India

and Nepal. Some of these institutions are law, human rights, right to information, right to

development – like Panchayats, local governing bodies. The local self-governance and

the infrastructural development thus, designed to enhance human capital and to address

the issues of social services and social security. The catering of structural facilities

24
together with institutions like Legislations, Judiciary all these spearheaded the attempts to

bring out reforms and to resist retrogressive change in the system. Moreover, the

promotion of human rights as a preventive and empowering strategy, training

programmes on human rights education for law enforcement and law-making bodies –

address the issue of gender development which highlighted the need for emphasizing on

the role of women in conservation, management and access to natural resources.

Thus, any understanding of gender based differences in terms of gender roles of

men and women found in any society is always essential for evaluating any policy

institutions in context of the overall natural resource management and their better policy

and decision making consequences.

E. STRATEGIES FOR GENDER DEVELOPMENT

It becomes important to discuss the available strategies at the international,

regional and national levels adopted for establishing gender development linkage as well

as for the overall governance in general. An important reference may be made of the

World Bank Policy Research Report of 2001 where a three part strategy for the

promotion of gender equality could be found. They include :

 Fostering economic development to strengthen incentives for more equal

resources and participation. Rising income and falling poverty levels tend to

reduce gender disparities in education, health, and nutrition. Higher productivity

and new job opportunities often reduce gender inequalities in employment. And

investments in basic water, energy and transportation infrastructure help reduce

gender disparities in workloads.

 Fostering reformation of institutions to establish equal rights and opportunities for

women and men. It has also been felt that reformation of legal and economic

25
 institutions are necessary to establish a foundation of equal rights and equal

opportunities for women because the law in many countries continues to give

unequal rights to women. Moreover, legal reforms are needed, particularly in

family law, protection against violence, land rights, employment, and political

rights to ensure access to resources.

 Fostering measures to redress persistent disparities in command over resource and

political voice because institutional reforms and economic development may not

be sufficient - or forthcoming to the effect. Thus, active measures are needed to

redress persistent gender disparities. 56

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) 2000, provided

strategies of decentalised governance and capacity building whereby the empowerment

exercise could be successfully undertaken. The strategies of gender and development

linkages could be found within the UN Millennium Development Goals.

 Goal 1 : Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

 Goal 2 : Achieve universal primary education

 Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

 Goal 4 : Reduce child mortality

 Goal 5 : Improve maternal health

 Goal 6 : Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease

 Goal 7 : Ensure environmental sustainability

 Goal 8 : Develop a global Partnership for development

26
F. GENDER SCENARIO IN SOUTH ASIA

Against the above discussion it is important to present the understanding of

gender development linkage issue in South Asia and the interactions of international,

regional and national understanding of the same.

South Asian region reflects both tradition and modernity, where the societies are

intricately woven with traditional and modern features. The most striking feature

amongst the South Asian nations is the common historical past with the experience of

imperialism and colonialism under the foreign domination. The historical legacy played a

very significant role in the overall national building process. Moreover, the close

geographical proximity as well as cultural affinity has given a feature of commonality

among these neighbouring South Asian nations, especially Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

South Asia also represents a region where dialectic and dilemma exist side by side in its

socio-cultural and political structures.

One can find that the analysis brings in complexities while formulating, adopting

and implementing gender and development linkages due to the presence of both

traditional and modern cultures which has direct relevance in the understanding of gender

and development linkages of the region. In Bangladesh for instance, the democratic setup

is mainly backed by the Islamic statist religion, where the issue of gender discrimination

is quite high. The same can be noted in the traditionally dominated society in Nepal

where the tribal community culture plays a very significant role in determining the

factors of gender development issues. On the other hand India still combined both the

traditional and modern practices, which in its own turn impacts upon gender

discrimination and gender empowerment issues. A picture of Bhutan provides the

continuation of a traditional society under Monarchical regime, which also influences the

27
gender development linkage issues. In Pakistan also the tribal cultural practices impacts

upon the gender discrimination and gender inequality. In Maldives also the cultural

practices induce in gender discrimination. In Sri Lanka though the status of women is

much better than the other South Asian nations the gender discrimination ingrained by

the cultural setup is to be seen in the social setup. South Asia is often faced with gender

based development dilemma precisely in the countries of the study namely Banlgadesh,

India and Nepal. Some of the critical issues of gender development linkages are based

upon multiple approaches to development alongwith the pressures of traditional practices

of the respective countries.

Moreover, the fact remains that South Asia presents a combination of traditional

and modern societies which have a strong decisive influence on any national / regional

programmes, plans, exercises to establish gender development linkage. The problem of

gender identity, social construction and unequal power structure underline the

relationship between the sexes in South Asia that have also impacted on the issue of

gender development due to the following factors as such patriarchy, hierarchy, social

practices, customs, etc.

One can also note that the entire region is faced with the existence of traditional

institutions mostly faced with political instability, economic problems, etc. In both the

political regime and the existing social practices of the South Asian countries majority of

the population have been supporting explicitly and implicitly gender bias and gender

discrimination. The following table shows the existing political regime of the countries of

South Asia. It shows that the region has experienced Democratic Government and

28
Constitutional Monarchy as well as Secular Democracy and Military Regime and all

these had impacted on gender and development linkages of the region.

Table: 1
Political Regime
Bangladesh Military Regime/ Democratic Government
Bhutan Monarchy/Constitutional Monarchy
India Secular Democracy
Maldives Democratic Government
Nepal Monarchy/Constitutional Secular Democracy
Pakistan Military/ Democratic Regime
Sri Lanka Democratic Government
Source: Personal Assessment

In this context, it may also be stated that on many human development counts

South Asia’s rank in Human Development Report is quite low. The HDI ranking of the

South Asian nations shows that Sri Lanka and Maldives falls under broadly categorized

Medium human development group whereas the rest of the countries fall under low

human development group. The following table shows the human development rankings

of the South Asian countries.

Table : 2
Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking of the South Asian countries
Country Year Rank
Bangladesh 1995 147
2005 140
Bhutan 1995 155
2005 133
India 1995 139
2005 128
Maldives 1995 95
2005 100
Nepal 1995 152
2005 142
Pakistan 1995 138
2005 136
Sri Lanka 1995 90
2005 99

29
Note: HDI rank among 174 countries for the year 1995 and HDI rank among 177 countries for
the year 2005.
Source: The Human Development Report 1998, The Human Development Report
2007/08
In this context, it is also pertinent to highlight the social development indicators of

South Asia in comparison with the World scenario. Though over the decade the South

Asian region had shown a progress in mitigating the social problems the issue of gender

discrimination remains one of the major issue areas which is hampering the overall

growth of the region. The following table shows the position of South Asia in respect to

the social indicators of human development as a region in the world scenario.

Table:3
Social Indicators for Human Development of the World and South Asia
Year World South Asia
Human Development Index Value 1997 0.706 0.544
2005 0.743 0.611
Estimated Population (Trillion) 1997 5,829 1,289
2005 6,514.8 1,587.4
Life expectancy at birth (years) 1997 66.7 62.7
2005 68.1 63.8
Adult Literacy rate (%) 1997 78.0 52.2
2005 78.6 59.5
Combined first, second and third level gross enrolment 1997 63 52
ration (%) 2005 67.8 60.3
GDP Per Capita (PPP US$) 1997 6,332 1,803
2005 9,543 3,416
Life expectancy index 1997 0.69 0.63
2005 0.718 0.646
Education index 1997 0.73 0.52
2005 0.750 0.598
GDP index 1997 0.69 0.48
2005 0.761 0.589

Source: The Human Development Report 2007/08, The Human Development Report 1999, The
World Development Report 1998

30
 Another indicator to the effect is the United Nations Millennium Development

Goals, which is a universal framework for development and a means for developing

countries to work together in pursuit of a shared future for all. 57 The following table

shows the social indicators in the context of South Asia as reported in the Millennium

Development Goals Report 2007.

Table 4
Social Indicators for Human Development in South Asia
Year South Asia
Proportion of people living on less than $1 a day (%) 1990 41.1
2004 33.4
Poverty gap ratio (%) 1990 11.0
2004 6.7
Share of poorest quintile in national consumption (%) 1990 7.2
2004 6.7
Proportion of children under age five who are underweight 1990 53
(%) 2005 46
Total net enrolment ratio in primary education (%) 1991 74
2005 81
Employees in non-agricultural wage employment who are 1990 13
women (%) 2005 18
Share of omen in single or lower houses of Parliament (%) 1990 6
2007 13
Under-five mortality rate per 1,000 live births 1990 126
2005 82
Proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health care 1990 30
personnel (%) 2005 38
Proportion of land area covered by forests (%) 1990 14
2005 14
Emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) (Billions of metric tons) 1990 1.0
2004 2.0
Proportion of population using improved sanitation (%) 1990 20
2004 38

Source: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007

The above tables show that South Asia is one of the poorest, the most illiterate,

the most malnourished, the least gender sensitive and the most deprived region in the

world. The South Asian nations with their natural resource endowment along with their

31
economic policies / planning have brought numerous problems of resource depletion,

environmental degradation as well as discrimination and deprivation.

The present study has taken up three countries of South Asia viz. Bangladesh,

India and Nepal and will be concentrating on them. The common challenges of

development are behind the choice of these three countries alongwith the geographical

proximity, cultural affinity and the issue of gender sensitivity, etc. As rightfully observed

by an eminent academician that, ‘a striking commonality among these countries is that

most of them are posed for a faster economic growth. Moreover, all these countries face a

complex task of balancing between the national, regional and international interest in the

said area.’58 The three countries also serve as important representative references on the

perspective of gender and development linkages. All of these countries are also

experiencing population growth, external debt, poor social infrastructure, rigid social

stratification, etc. Another common feature is that all of them are SAARC members and

thus, at the regional level they had a common platform to devolve on issues of

development. Alongside, the three countries present three different forms of political

regime that had different impacts in respect to gender development linkage issues.

Moreover, amidst the common issue wise challenges each of the nation faces different

forms of these challenges. For e.g. the challenges of climate change is being handled

from different perspective by these three nations as it has different impacts because of

their different geographical locations. Following Myrdal, it is relevant to note here that,

‘the commonalities in basic conditions will help make the comparisons relevant while the

divergence will contribute towards making the comparisons rewarding for analysis,’59

32
 A look at the South Asian region also shows that South Asia as a region is faced

with the challenges due to the existence of an unusually high number of ethnic, cultural

and linguistic groups. Though this contributes to the rich diversity of the region, it is also

the source of structural violence, which has impacted upon women to a very great extent.

‘In South Asia, women’s right to live or spend a healthy life is hampered by the gender-

based discrimination.’60 The socio-political structures of these South Asian nations vary

from one country to another. Any understanding of gender based differences in terms of

gender roles found in any society is always essential for evaluating any policy institutions

in context of the overall natural resource management and their better policy and decision

making consequences.

The issues therefore, are directly linked with the gender and development relation

includes interalia sustainable development, governance and poverty.

The intensification of the process of globalization in the 1990s brought

tremendous changes in all the countries of South Asia including Bangladesh, India and

Nepal. The introduction of several WTO rule based policies have not been successful in

meeting the overall human development needs of each country within the region.

The ecological crisis has added to the existing conditions of poverty and

marginalization. The growing ecological crisis of the South Asian nations have began to

threaten the survival of the human population also. The 1999 Environment Report of the

Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India highlighted the concern in the

following manner :

 Sustainable and equitable use of resources for meeting the needs of the present

and future generations without causing damage to environment.

33
  To prevent further damage to our life-support system.

 To conserve and nurture the biological diversity, gene pool and other resources

for long term food security.

As another important factor in the context of gender development linkages,

poverty, a multi-dimensional phenomenon encompassing the structures or the pillars of

the societal development not only in terms of economic perspective but also in respect to

overall human “resource” development. This may signify the endowments of human

capabilities in terms of or in regard to the production or exchange in order to revitalize

the development strategy. In view of the human development perspective, poverty means

the negation of the ‘basic requirements’ for self-sustenance viz. food, clothing and

shelter. In this context, note should be taken of the fact that ‘need’ and ‘poverty’ are

incumbent to each other. Need is being defined in terms of the ‘requirements most

vulnerable towards development. Whereas poverty is the ‘deprivation of that need’, thus

leading towards slow growth rate.

Any understanding of gender based differences in terms of gender roles found in

any society is always essential for evaluating any policy institutions in context of the

overall natural resource management and their better policy and decision making

consequences and this is where the issue of governance comes in. The study provides an

opportunity to make an indepth analysis of the issues of gender development linkages as

well as to understand the problems, challenges and opportunities faced by the said

countries on issues of development.

Against this backdrop the dissertation will focus on the following issues that are

taken up as separate chapters.

34
HYPOTHESIS
As part of the analysis the dissertation is based on the following hypothesis :

The process of globalization has brought several changes in the development

policies of the countries like Bangladesh, India and Nepal. While there is a trend towards

growth based economic development, where majority of the population is deprived of

basic human development services. In addition to these, one finds the problem of

environmental degradation as an important area of concern for the common people.

Against this backdrop the worst sufferers remain the women. The issue of gender –

environment – development continues to remain crucial to any sustainable development.

The sufferings from hunger, disease, unemployment, etc. along with the depressing

conditions of women have severe socio-economic, political and environmental

consequences in all the countries of South Asia like Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The

measures, policies and the institutional mechanism for ascertaining adequate

development within any of the countries in South Asia could be materialized only with

the help of proper gender development relationship.

The South Asian countries have adopted their respective development plans as part

of the nation building process. There are a number of norms, policies and institutional

mechanisms to carry out the development plan.

In the light of the current global scenario the South Asian countries development

policies and strategies have undergone several changes. Needless to say that the state of

the present economic development trend is basically growth based. The issue of finding

gender development linkage still remains crucial inspite of the active influence of

women’s movements, social movements on the overall development debate and the call

35
for the adoption of sustainable development policies. The betterment in the conditions of

women in the countries that have been taken up for study viz. Bangladesh, India and

Nepal are basically to be ascertained with the help of policies, strategies and institutional

mechanism that have already adopted pro-gender character. Moreover, the role of women

in the decision making process as well as in the management and access to natural

resources provide scope to address the problem of gender development linkage.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study is an attempt to answer some of the questions having relevance to the

said issue. First, how do the development policies in the South Asian countries especially

in Bangladesh, India and Nepal link gender and development? Secondly, to what extent

does globalisation influence gender development linkages in the countries of South Asia

especially in Bangladesh, India and Nepal? Thirdly, to what extent the current

development policies meet the human development needs of Bangladesh, India and

Nepal? Fourthly what role do the institutions play in the overall development especially

of women’s development in Bangladesh, India and Nepal? Fifthly, what role do women

play in the natural resource utilization in these countries of South Asia? Sixthly, how far

the gender – environment policies are effective in formulating the sustainable

development strategies? Finally, how far do these countries guarantee the social and

environmental safety nets for the women?

Analysis for the purpose of addressing issues and finding answers to the questions

raised in the present study are made in the subsequent chapters of the dissertation with

the help of following methodology.

METHODOLOGY

36
 While conducting the research both empirical and normative methods are being

used. The work will also rely on the content analysis of the public statements, official

documents and interviews of Government officials, academicians, public figures, NGOs,

Researchers, etc. An opinion survey with the help of questionnaire will be carried out

among all the concerned persons / authorities. With the help of analysis the work will

attempt to identify the lacunae in the application of gender development linkage.

RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

In the present age of globalization the gender issue continues to remain complex.

For the purpose of restructuring the foundations of the state and society, gender

development issues are actively pursued. The contemporary developments in South Asia

especially the role of women in the entire development process in the countries of the

study made it necessary to take up the said issue.

The present study is an attempt to address these issues so as to contribute to the

existing research works on gender development linkages not only within Bangladesh,

India and Nepal but also in the South Asian region. Any successful experience or

limitations, if any, in this respect may also be useful at other levels in general.

The next chapter will take up the different feminist theories, movements and

feminist gender discourses that is relevant in the understanding of the gender and

development linkages.

Notes and References

1
The New Encyclopedia Britannica (1994), Vol-5, Pg-172
2
ibid

37
3
ibid
4
ibid.
5
Jackson, Stevi and Scott, Sue (eds.), 2002, ‘Gender: A Sociological Reader’, London,

(Routledge), Pg-2
6
John Money was a renowned Psychologist who created the now-common term, gender

role, which he differentiated from the concept of the more traditional terminology, sex ro

role., Encyclopedia Britannica 2009

[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1240912/John-Money]
7
Benhabib, Seyla, 1994, ‘Feminism and the question of Postmodernism’, in ‘The Polity

Reader in Gender Studies’, Cambridge, (Polity Press), Pg-88

8
Ann Okley was an eminent sociologist and feminist who dealt with social problems

with gender ideologies and arrangements. See, Bhasin, Kamala, 2000, ‘Understanding

Gender,’ New Delhi, (Kali for Women)

9
1999 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development, 1999, United Nations, New

York, Pg- ix
10
Bhasin, Kamala, 2000, ‘Understanding Gender,’ New Delhi, (Kali for Women), Pg-3
11
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.3, 2002, Pg-784
12
Eagleton, Terry, 2000, ‘The Idea of Culture’, Oxford, (Blackwell Publishers Ltd.), Pg-

34
13
Tuana, Nancy; Tong Rosemarie, 1995, ‘Feminism and Philosophy, U.S.A., (Westview

Press Inc.), Pg-2

14
Nussbaum Martha. C. and Glover Jonathan (ed.) 1995, ‘Women, Culture And

Development’, U.S.A., (Oxford University Press), Pg-3

38
15
Euijter, Arie de, (2001), ‘Globalisation : A Challenge to the Social Sciences’ in

Schuurman, Frans J., (ed.) ‘Globalisation and Development Studies : Challenges for the

21st Century’, New Delhi, (Vistaar Publications), Pg-39

16
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.9, 2002, Pg-200

17
Mann, Michael, 1994, ‘Persons, households, families, , in ‘The Polity Reader in Gender

Studies’, Cambridge, (Polity Press), Pg-192

18
Skjelsbaek, Inger and Smith, Dan, (eds.) 2001, ‘Gender, Peace & Conflict,’ London,

(Sage Publications Ltd.), Pg-10

19
Opcit. No.17, Pg-193
20
Chatterjee, Partha, (1999), ‘The Partha Chatterjee Omnibus’ New Delhi, (Oxford

University Press), Pg-62

21
Jones, Pip, 2003, ‘Introducing Social Theory,’ Cambridge., (Polity Press), Pg-6
22
Beasley, Chris, 1999, ‘What is Feminism?,’ London, (Sage Publications), Pg-9
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‘Towards Equality- The Unfinished Agenda- Status of Women in India-2001’ (2002),

prepared by National Commission for Women, India, Pg-4

24
Moore, Henrietta, 1994, ‘The Cultural Construction of Gender, , in ‘The Polity Reader

in Gender Studies’, Cambridge, (Polity Press), Pg-20

25
Afshar, Haleh, 1985, ‘The Position of Women in An Iranian Village’ in Afshar, Haleh,

(ed.) ‘Women, Work, and Ideology in the Third World,’ New York, USA, (Tavistock

Publications), Pg-66

26
See Nussbaum, Martha, (2002), ‘Women’s Capabilities and Social Justice’ in

Molyneux, Maxine and Razavi, Shahra (ed) ‘gender Justice, Development, And Right’,

London, (Oxford University Press), Pg-45

39
27
ibid., Pg-45
28
Wollstonecraft, Mary, (1929), ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’, U.K.

(Everyman’s Library), pg-9

29
Gamble, Sarah, 2001, ‘The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism’

London, (Routledge) Pg-33

30
Tuana, Nancy, Tong Rosemarie, 1995, ‘Feminism and Philosophy’, USA, (Westview

Press, Inc.), Pg-5

31
See, Visvanathan, Nalini, Duggan, Lynn, Nisonoff, Laurie, Wiegersma, Nan, (ed.),

1997, ‘The Women, Gender and Development’, London,, (Zed Books limited), pg-5
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Haq, Mahbub, 1976, ‘The Poverty Curtain : Choices for Third World’, New York,

(Columbia University Press), 1976

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The Human Development Report 2005, UNDP, Oxford University Press, Pg-18
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The Human Development Report 1990, UNDP, Oxford University Press Pg-9-10
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The Human Development Report 2001, UNDP, Oxford University Press Pg-8
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Walter Viktoria and Bowe, Albha, 2001, Practicing Gender – The Tool Book, Friedrich

Ebert Stiftung Bonn 2001, Kampala, Uganda, Pg-4

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Human Development Report 1999, UNDP, Oxford University Press, Pg-23
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Rai, Shirin.M., 2002, ‘Gender and the Political Economy of Development’,

Cambridge., (Polity Press), Pg-64

39
‘The Right to Development :A premier’, 2004, Centre for Development and Human

rights, New Delhi, (Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd.), Pg-51

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Beneria‘, Lourdes and Sen, Gita, 1997, ‘Accumulation, Reproduction and Women’s

Role in Economic Development : Boserup Revisited’ in Visvanathan, Nalini, Duggan,

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Lynn, Nisonoff, Laurie, Wiegersma, Nan, (eds.), 1997, ‘The Women, Gender and

Development’, London,, (Zed Books limited), Pg-43

41
The Human Development Report 1999, UNDP, Oxford University Press, Pg-16
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The Human Development Report 2006, UNDP, Oxford University Press, Pg-47
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Opcit. No.41, Pg-25
44
The Human Development Report, 2005, UNDP, Oxford University Press, Pg-17
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Bah, Eugenia Date, (ed.), 1997, ‘Promoting Gender Equality At Work : Turning Vision

into Reality for the Twenty-first Century, London, (Zed Books Ltd.), Pg-ix
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The Annual Report 1999, United Nations Development Programme, Pg-43-44
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The UNESCO-MAINSTREAMING –2002, The needs of women, BSP/2002/WS/2,

Pg-5
48
Gender and Development : Our Framework Strategies and Policies, 2003, Asian

Development Bank, June, Pg-12-13

49
See Nussbaum, Martha, 2006, ‘Women’s Capabilities and Social Justice’ in Eade,

Deborah (ed.), ‘Development with Women ,’ Jaipur, (Rawat Publications)

50
Marchand, Marianne H. and Runyan, Anne Sission, (2001), ‘Feminist Sightings of

Global Restructuring: Conceptualizations and Reconceptualizations’, in Schuurman,

Frans.J.(ed.) ‘Globalization and Development Studies: Challenges for the 21 st Century’,

New Delhi, (Vistaar Publications), Pg-145

51
‘Governance for sustainable Human Development’, A UNDP Policy Document, The

United Nations Development Programme, January, 1997

52
See, Brunsson, Nils and Olsen, Johan P. (ed.), 2000, ‘Organizing Organizations’, Viva

Books Pvt. Ltd. (New Delhi)

41
53
http://ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/003-001/003-001.html#authors
54
Aggarwal, Ashish, (2008), ‘Indigenous Institutions for Natural Resource Management :

Potential and Threats’, Economic and Political Weekly, June 2008, Pg-21
55
ibid.
56
Engendering Development : Through gender equality in rights, Resources and Voice,

2001, A World Bank Policy Research Report, Pg-2

57
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, United Nations Department of

Economic and Social Affairs, June 2007

58
Sen, Sumita, 1996, ‘The New Ocean Regime: Emerging Dimensions in the Asian

Perspective’, Calcutta, (The Asiatic Society), Pg-5

59
Myrdal, G., 1972, ‘Asian Drama : An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations, (An

abridgement of the Twentieth Century Fund Study by Anthony Seth King),

Harmondsworth, (Penguin Books), Pg-17

60
The Human Development in South Asia 2005 : Human Security in South Asia , 2006,

Oxford, (Oxford University Press), Pg-116

42
 ANNEXURE-I

Gender development and Poverty in Bangladesh

43
Gender development and Poverty in India

44
Gender development and Poverty in Nepal

45