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Unit 6: Politics and Gender (Section 1 - Introduction to Gender and…
Unit 6: Politics and Gender
Section 1 - Introduction to Gender and Politics
1.1 Interaction of gender and politics
Brown
- women are excluded from politics and decision-making
Squires
- politics has excluded women and this has reinforced the public-private dichotomy
Public-private dichotomy - public (under state power), private (civil society) --> third dimension added, the domestic (household)
Feminist critiques of this dichotomy - it neglects that issues of the private sphere are largely shaped by public issues
Phillips
- power relations and dynamics begin at the public sphere
1.2 Politics and the state
Feminists criticize the state for being patriarchal and enforcing gender hierarchies; but also acknowledge the role of the state in institutionalizing gender reform within state institutions
State bureacracy
A gendered hierarchy
Masculine/dominant agencies vs. feminine/subordinate agencies
Need to improve state accountability
Shklar
definition of citizenship and the fact that the state has to protect the rights of it citizens
Molyenuex and Razavi
state protection of formal equality goes against recognition of diversity
Global conventions
Multiparty democracies work better when there is genuine competition
1.3 Civil Society
Definitions of civil society
Buffer between governments and market - this approach is criticized for assuming that CS compensates the impacts of capitalism
Civil society provides space for citizens to express demands and seek change from governments - this approach is seen as ignoring the role of markets and the relation between CS and markets
Views on civil society
Damaging and reinforces social hierarchies; other critical views recognize both the positive and negative influence of CS
1.4
Social movements for political change
Women's movements and women's activism
Role of NGOs in bringing about change
Cyber-feminism and new space for dialogue and activism
1.5 We Can Campaign
4 million signatories - half of which are men
Sought to engage people through the change-maker approach - encouraging people to reflect on their own biases and attitudes
Changes - within the family, outside the family and unexpected change (views on violence were more resistant than others)
Section 2 - Gender and Participation in Politics
2.1 Women in politics
Views on impact of women's participation in politics
Inclusion - it will make systems more equal
Reversal - seek for radical alternatives because the systems themselves do not allow for transformative change
e.g. Angela Davis - South Africa
Dispersal - modifying democratic practices to include responsibility and accountability - however, responsibility is complex and there are many different forms (functional, social, ideological, geographical)
Duflo et al
women's participation in municipal councils has had a positive influence on policy - e.g. in India and Norway
Views on Participation in development
Empowers and contributes to social change
Participation should be transformational - recognize power dynamics and inequalities
Needs to change from community-level participation to higher, policy-level participation
Deepening democracy
Providing space for citizens to engage in more politically effective ways
This requires balancing between strengthening citizen's voice, and strengthening government responsiveness
Those who reject participation all together
2.2 Getting Women in Politics
Statistics - women in politics have been increasing in all regions except in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Affirmative action politics - recruitment quotas - e.g. Uganda, Scandinavia and India
Often, however, these are ineffective - e.g. proxy representatives in India and women representatives looked at in disdain in Bangladesh; and women's participation in Uganda irrelevant due to patronage system
Goetz and Hassim
- key reading on South Africa and Uganda - importance of women's movements
Impact of women's participation depends on many factors
The type of women elected
The political system
Party commitment and interest in gender
Presence of a strong women's movement
Organization of women groups within the political system
Key Readings
Klot and Seckinlegin
- Egypt and Uganda - impact of women's participation in formal party structures**
Zia
- benefits of women's participation in politics in Afghanistan
Women Prime Minister drove reform - women centers at unis, women police stations, women judges
Women in cabinet - Gender Reform Action Plan; Women's Protection Act