BRIDGE Cutting Edge Packs Gender and Citizenship
There are those for whom citizenship is a site of achievement, of power and validation of
their place in the world - a way of achieving positive change and gaining a better standard
of living for all groups. For others it can be a malign concept - exclusive, alienating or
threatening - serving only to marginalise and exclude by allowing some in and expelling
those who do not fit on the basis of gender, class or race. Some may say citizenship has
“no relevance” to their lives, lives that are already too full with the pressures of daily life
to consider participating in broader decision-making or struggles over rights. Yet many
development workers have argued that using the language and the arguments of
citizenship is a powerful way of working in development programmes that seek to bring
about gender equality through focusing on people and how they interact with institutions.
This Cutting Edge Pack looks at practical ways to use citizenship for these ends. It
consists of: an Overview Report outlining the main arguments and approaches in regard
to citizenship, gender and development; a Supporting Resources Collection providing
summaries of case studies, tools, manuals and contacts; a Gender and Development In
Brief newsletter made up of three short articles on the theme.
Gender and Citizenship Cutting Edge Pack - Overview Report
This Overview Report looks at how feminists and women's rights activists have sought to
reframe citizenship from a gender perspective. It also looks at how struggles for women's
rights must be seen as citizenship struggles that affect everyone in society rather than
“minority interests”. This idea of citizenship has been used to tackle exclusion on the
basis of gender, for example with political quotas and affirmative action. It has also been
used to challenge the prevalent definition of the public/private divide which results in
lesser attention to the needs of those considered to be in the 'private' realm, usually
women. Within this report many engaging examples are given of collective action to
claim rights, participate and gain influence, and an exploration is made of how these can
lead to more meaningful forms of citizenship for those who have hitherto been excluded.
Recommendations from the Overview Report
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Issues that are 'left out' of citizenship rights – such as the safety of women in their
own homes, childcare and sexuality − need to be addressed and given public,
and/or institutional solutions.
In order for women’s citizenship to be acknowledged, institutions including the
state, civil society and families, need to incorporate their perspective into all areas
of activity. This can be achieved through gender mainstreaming in all policy
areas, even those that are supposedly “gender neutral”.
Affirmative action needs to be initiated to increase numbers of women in formal
political structures and other decision-making bodies as an effective way to kickstart processes of change towards gender equality.
Needs assessments are crucial to enable development initiatives to be based on the
experiences of real people. Participatory assessments and consultations have the
potential to put gender differentiated needs on the policy agenda.
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Good quality gender analysis is also essential. Policy-makers must be trained in
the technical skills of gender analysis and planning.
Policy-makers and project implementers should support social movements,
including human rights and gender equality NGOs, through resources, capacitybuilding and provision of training in advocacy and lobbying skills.
Spaces must be created and utilised for dialogue between civil society
organisations and government.
The creation of networks amongst those working on similar issues must be
supported in order to foster dialogue, gain information and develop effective
strategies.
Specific recommendations for women’s civil society organisations
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Civil society groups need to create a role for themselves as providers of valuable
information to policy-makers on women’s needs, gender discrimination and
potential strategies.
Groups need to be aware of entry points into decision-making and policy
dialogues – such as processes of law reform, new governments and
administrations, or important local, national and international events.
Groups need to invest time and resources in skills training, particularly in
advocacy and lobbying.
Gender and Citizenship Overview Report
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Author: S. Meer; C. Sever
Publisher: Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK
Publication Date: Jan 2004
Publication Type: Thematic Overview
summary:
Feminists and women's rights activists have sought to reframe citizenship from a gender
perspective and to show how struggles for women's rights must be seen as citizenship
struggles that affect everyone in society rather than ?minority interests?. This idea of
citizenship has been used to tackle exclusion on the basis of gender, for example with
political quotas and affirmative action. It has also been used to challenge the prevalent
definition of the public/private divide which results in lesser attention to the needs of
those considered to be in the 'private' realm, usually women. These struggles have taken
place at the level of both concept and action, for example sex workers in India challenged
their exclusion as full members of society by asserting their rights to organise. They
argued that it was important for them to define the problem of trafficking for sex work,
and the solutions to this problem, from their own perspective. Through giving voice to
their particular needs and demanding rights based on these needs, they challenged ideas
that sex is a private issue that should not be talked about in public. Many such examples
are given of collective action to claim rights, participate and gain influence, and an
exploration is made of how these can lead to more meaningful forms of citizenship for
those who have hitherto been excluded.
Gender and Citizenship Supporting Resources
Collection
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Author: C. Sever
Publisher: Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK
Publication Date: Jan 2004
Publication Type: Bibliography
summary:
Citizenship is an abstract concept and therefore great care must be taken in explaining
what it means in practice and what can effectively be done in the context of development
interventions and policy. Development projects which enhance the ability of marginalised
groups to access and influence decision-making bodies are implicitly if not explicitly
working with concepts of citizenship. Citizenship is about concrete institutions, policy
and structures and the ways in which people can shape them using ideas of rights and
participation. This Supporting Resources Collection aims to point development policymakers and practitioners towards key resources to help promote gender equality through
rights and participation. The resources show how development projects can understand
and acknowledge the roles of men and women - their gendered citizenship - and work for
processes of positive change of, and within, these roles. The collection is made up of
summaries of key texts, case studies, tools and guidelines and other materials.
Gender and Citizenship, Gender and Development In
Brief
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Author: ; BRIDGE
Publisher: Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK
Publication Date: Jan 2004
Publication Type: Briefing
summary:
How can working with ideas of citizenship help promote gender equality? Starting from
the perspective of people as citizens can enable development actors to support struggles
for rights and participation for those marginalised on the basis of gender. As in the case
of Naripokkho in Bangladesh, this involves re-framing citizenship rights and
responsibilities to include the needs of women and to ensure their access to policy and
institutions. People's understandings of citizenship differ according to context, and
change through time. Concepts of membership and belonging are re-negotiated as new
alliances are formed in the light of shared interests - as shown by cross-border antiviolence work in the US and Mexico.
http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/go/bridge-publications/cutting-edge-packs/gender-andcitizenship/
February 19, 2011